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The Discovery Channel's wildly popular television show, American Chopper, will feature former NHRA sportsman world champion David Nickens and Dan Smith on an upcoming episode.

An engine builder by trade, Nickens, who supplies powerplants to numerous sportsman-level racers, was contacted by American Chopper stars Paul Teutul Jr. and Paul Teutul Sr. to fabricate a special piece for one of the theme bikes they were making at their renowned Orange County Choppers shop in Rock Tavern, N.Y. Nickens garnered the pair's attention with some of his recent handiwork, which he had built out of necessity for one of his friend's custom choppers.

"This all started when I was looking at the induction system of one of my buddy's Harleys," Nickens said. "I thought it was just about the worse design I'd ever seen so we made our own. Well, it turns out the bike picked up power right away not to mention the fact it looked better and when he entered that particular bike in a show he was literally run over by the questions people had about the new induction system.

"We realized pretty quickly that we should be making and selling these things. As that product line grew we started getting requests for special one-of-a-kind designs. Once we produced a few of those I guess one of the Paul's saw one and realized we might be able to help them on a project they were working on. They got in touch with us and we helped them out."

The project used a design theme that honored the Statue of Liberty. Using his imagination, Nickens went to work and created a one-of-a-kind carburetor that looks just like the torch on the original Statue of Liberty. It even lights up in the appropriate place.

"It's a perfect match," Nickens said, "right down to the coloring and dimensions. It was a fun project and the TV folks came to the shop here in Conroe [Texas] and filmed us making it and fitting it to the bike. I can't wait to see the finished product."

When completed, the bike will be showcased at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. The edition of American Chopper featuring Nickens is tentatively slated to run in April.

This story is copyright 2004 National Hot Rod Association. It may not be reprinted or retransmitted in any form without the express written permission of NHRA.com.