If you had asked 6-year-old Keith Niemann what he wanted to be when he grew up, he, like many other 6-year-olds, would have said, “I want to be a firefighter! Or a race car driver!” Although most kids admire—and sometimes idolize—firefighters and race car drivers from afar, Niemann is living the dream.
“My dad [Greg] was the assistant chief of the volunteer department in the small town [Attica, KS] where I grew up, and my mom [Sharon] was the EMS director,” he says. “My dad also raced cars at the local track. I spent most of my days at either the firehouse or the racetrack.”
Niemann followed in the footsteps of both parents by joining the Fire and EMS Career Exploring program and getting the required certificates. Unlike his parents, who worked at the small Attica Volunteer Fire Department, Niemann wanted to work in a busy city department. He, along with hundreds of others, applied to the Wichita, KS, Fire Department for the few available positions. It took a couple of years, but he finally got the call. In the meantime, he attended college, worked in some smaller departments … and got more into racing.
The National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) has a robust sportsman (amateur racing) program and has several local tracks near Niemann’s hometown, including Kansas International Dragway, which was known as Wichita International Dragway when Niemann’s father started racing.
“My dad started racing street cars at Wichita Dragway when he was in high school and continues to this day,” Niemann says. “I grew up going to the track and helping him work on the cars. We still build our own engines and transmissions and do much of the fabrication and the mechanical aspects.”
When he turned 16, Niemann’s father gave him the opportunity to get his racing license in their 7-second dragster. The younger Niemann has raced ever since.
Niemann is a 22-year veteran of the fire service with Wichita Fire Department’s training division, assigned to Firehouse 22, and is going on 30 years of dragster racing assigned to the Top Dragster Class, which is a sportsman’s class.
As a field training officer, Niemann responds to all fires and major alarms on his shift as well as serves as a lead instructor, teaching hands-on skills to members of all ranks. He also is the president of the local chapter of the FOOLS of OZ and teaches engine company operations.
Niemann received the Tom McGaughey Fire Service Award, which is given annually at the Kansas State Association of Fire Chiefs conference to a member or members of the fire service in the state of Kansas whose bravery and courage went above and beyond the call of duty.
Niemann has won a few drag races over the years as well, but—as with firefighting—he isn’t in it for the glory. It’s the love of the sport that keeps him going. Although he’s a fan of all auto racing, Niemann enjoys the speed of dragsters, where each race takes just a handful of seconds or so. He also enjoys that drag racing is basically a noncontact sport.
“The car you build can stay pristine, so the events are similar to car shows in that you will have classic cars that are original and immaculate as well as purpose-built drag cars that are mechanical works of art,” he explains. “The cars are sensory overload; they are some of the loudest race cars, they are the fastest accelerating cars on the planet, and the upper-level cars (top fuel, top alcohol) can be measured on the Richter Scale during a race.”
His race car is an M&M top dragster with a Dart Machinery big block Chevrolet replicate engine with AFR heads and Hoosier tires. For safety, he uses DJ Safety restraints, a Simpson fire suit, an Impact helmet and a Stroud parachute. The 2,400-hp engine powers the dragster from 0–60 mph in 0.86 seconds, with the car being capable of reaching a top speed of 224 mph in just a quarter of a mile.
Niemann notes that the adrenaline rush that he gets in racing when the “Christmas tree” counts down to green is very similar to the feeling when the alarm sounds for a call at the firehouse. However, he believes that the even bigger similarity is both jobs’ attention to detail.
“Both firefighting and racing have a thousand processes in preparation and in execution that must be done correctly to succeed,” he says. “If one thing is missed or overlooked, the outcome may not go well.”
Although both professions are considered extremely dangerous, Niemann tells Firehouse Magazine that firefighting is hands-down the riskier of the two.
“You put controls in place in both jobs to minimize the risk, but there are many more variables in firefighting,” he explains. “Drag-racing cars are surprisingly safe. Our car is built to similar standards as the 300-mph fuel cars that have a great survivability record … not saying our car crashing at 220 mph couldn’t kill you, but, barring a freak accident, drivers regularly walk away from even very ugly crashes.”
Niemann credits AMKUS Rescue Systems with providing safety at the tracks. In fact, AMKUS and the NHRA recently extended their relationship, which makes AMKUS the official rescue tool of NHRA through 2023. He also credits his firefighting gear for keeping him safe.
Niemann says he has suffered a few burns here and there and some close calls but hasn’t been injured severely during his 22-plus years of firefighting and 30-plus years of auto racing.
Balancing act
So how does someone manage to be a very successful field training officer and a successful race car driver—and be a family man who is helping to raise three kids? Much like the fire service and drag racing, it’s a team effort. Niemann works with his wife, Stacie, and twin boys, Braden and Hunter, to figure out schedules. (His oldest son, Nathan, is a sergeant in the United States Marine Corp infantry.)
“We usually sit down with a big calendar and (as a family) look at family functions, vacations, race weekends and fire conferences and just try to balance it all out,” Niemann explains. “Sometimes you need to skip a race to make a conference and maybe the next year skip a conference to make a race. It’s like anything, give and take. I love my job, I enjoy traveling and training off duty, and I enjoy racing, so it’s worth the effort to balance them all.”
“My boys raced on the junior circuit from ages 8 to 16, and they come out now and help out with my car,” Niemann says. “We are working on an S/ST car for them to take turns driving, along with my dad.”
For family vacations, the Niemann’s have a boat and RV and head to the lake for some wakeboarding and water skiing or to the mountains for snow skiing. Niemann also enjoys jogging and playing ice hockey (his fire department has a beer league team)—and, of course, there are the cars.
“I also just enjoy working on cars,” he adds. “I have a Jeep project I’ve been working on, building a cage, performing an LS swap … I like the quiet time in the shop making a bracket or welding up some tubing. The twins are both seniors in high school, so I hope to get the Jeep done and take it camping with Stacie when it’s just the two of us.” Even plans for the later years of life involve cars, because Keith Niemann always is in motion.
