Hockey Dad Makes Daughter a NY Islanders Themed Race Car

Fathers will do just about anything for their daughters, and if it has something to do with the New York Islanders, well, that's a bonus. What Daddy's girl wants, Daddy's girl gets, so when Rich Giordano's 15-year-old daughter Nikki asked dearest dad to make her an Islanders-themed race truck, his answer was, "Yes! Yes! Yes!"

Giordano is the owner of G Force Collision, an auto body shop located in Lindenhurst, NY, and when he wasn't fixing motor vehicles, he was racing in them. For years, he raced Super Pro Truck and Blunderbusts at Riverhead Raceway, a quarter-mile oval race track with a Figure 8 course, the only auto racing venue left on Long Island.

Parents hope that they'll have anything in common with their kids when they grow up and become teenagers. The dream is to have one shared passion - something that can bond them and bring them closer together. For Giordano and his daughter, they have two - racing and the Islanders.

"My brother got me into the Isles after my dad got him into them, says the 15-year-old. "But then I became a huge fan, even bigger than him."

Nikki grew up watching her dad race at Riverhead and started racing truck Enduro last season and absolutely loved it. She started racing when she was 14 and was the youngest in her division this past season. She isn't old enough to get behind the wheel on the Long Island Expressway but is able to race Enduro with a NASCAR license. Enduro is short for "Endurance racing" since it consists of 40-50 laps around the oval.

Thanks to Dad, when Nikki takes to the track next season, she'll be doing it with a new look.

"Over the offseason, I told my dad I wanted to have an Islanders truck, says Nikki. "Owning the body shop, he made it happen! He painted it orange and blue Panorama Signs (a sign and graphics company in Copiague) did the rest!"

The car is No. 37, but it doesn't have anything to do with former defenseman Brian Strait or All-Star forward Mark Parrish. "My family’s number was seven, but I put a three in front of it for my own identity," said the younger Giordano.

I wonder what she'll get for her Sweet 16!