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Nick Licata grew up in Pomona, California, during the ‘70s, a time and place that set the tone for a young So-Cal kid who was impressed by the sound and visuals of the happening muscle car and drag racing scene. It was the soundtrack of the times and it was all-consuming in this teenager’s mind.
Photojournalism courses at a local junior college offered him the structure, tools, and knowledge to photograph his favorite subject: the sport of drag racing. Shooting trackside at Pomona Raceway in the mid-1990’s was the beginning of a freelance grind that consisted of traveling the country chasing the NHRA Drag Racing circuit while shooting for National Dragster and other notable drag racing and muscle car magazines.
After a few years on the road and selling his work to Primedia magazine titles, Drag Racing USA, Popular Hot Rodding, and Super Chevy magazines, he was offered a full-time position as online editor for a number of publications under the Primeda banner. After a few years of feeding multiple websites with online content, the editor position at Camaro Performers magazine was offered to Nick. Having owned a 1967 Camaro in his late-twenties, he developed a passion for F-bodies, making the position a good fit. At the helm of Camaro Performers from 2007 - 2014, the editor position at Chevy High Performance magazine opened up and Nick moved over to carry the Chevy High banner for six years until that magazine ceased publication in January 2020.
All tallied up, Nick spent 18 years at the MotorTrend Group with a career that started out behind the lens and ended in front of a computer screen. “I’m looking forward to getting back to my roots of shooting cars and being able to create some art – you know, doing what I really love.”