Nicole Manske

Pageant titleholder bio
photo =
name = Nicole Manske
birth = birth date and age|1980|07|2
location = Wausau, Wisconsin, U.S.
hair color = Auburn
eye color=Green
ethnicity = American
title=Miss Illinois Teen USA 1998
nationalcompetition=Miss Teen USA 1998 (semi-finalist)

Nicole Manske (born July 2, 1980) is a beauty queen and news reporter from Roscoe, Illinois who has competed in the Miss Teen USA pageant.

A native of Rockton, Illinois, Manske graduated from Hononegah High School in 1998. While there, she and future auto racer Danica Patrick were cheerleaders together in 1996.

Manske won the Miss Illinois Teen USA 1998 and competed in the Miss Teen USA pageant broadcast live from Shreveport, Louisiana in August 1998. Manske was a semi-finalist in the pageant, placing third (of ten) in the evening gown competition, seventh in swimsuit and tenth in interview, placing her eighth overall on average. The competition was won by Vanessa Minnillo of South Carolina. Two years after passing on her title she competed in the Miss Illinois USA 2001 pageant and placed first runner-up to Rebecca Ambrosi.

Manske attended Northern Illinois University in Dekalb, Illinois, earning her first job while at Northern Illinois for WREX-TV, the NBC station in Rockford. She worked as a general assignment reporter for WANE-TV in Fort Wayne, Indiana before going to WISH-TV in Indianapolis, Indiana in April 2004. During her career at WISH-TV, Manske covered the Indianapolis 500, the United States Grand Prix, the NFL's Indianapolis Colts, and the NBA's Indiana Pacers. She was also a pit reporter for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network. In the May 15, 2006 edition of The "Indianapolis Star" , Manske announced that she would be leaving WISH-TV for Speed Channel in Charlotte, North Carolina with the 2006 Indianapolis 500 on May 28 being her last day.

Manske was the co-host of "The Speed Report" (formerly "Speed News"), a weekend motorsports program on Speed Channel at 7 PM and 8:30 PM EST on Sundays, a position she has held since from July 1, 2006, when she replaced Connie LeGrand to January 27, 2008.

On January 23, 2008 it was announced that Manske was leaving Speed Channel to become the new host of "NASCAR Now" on ESPN. It was announced that she would be replaced by on a part-time basis by Fox and Speed reporter Krista Voda.

Personal life

After spending years as a blonde, Manske dyed her hair back to its natural brunette color in time for the September 16, 2007 edition of the "The Speed Report". She is also a big fan of the National Football League's Green Bay Packers.

References

* [http://www.indy500.com/news/story.php?story_id=4678 Indianapolis 500 coverage with Danica Patrick]
* [http://www.pageant.com/teenusa98/index.html Miss Teen USA 1998 competition (Shown as Miss Illinois Teen USA)]
* [http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050805/COLUMNISTS04/50805025 Indianapolis Star column on Manske's dating of 2005 Indy 500 winner Dan Wheldon]
* [http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060515/COLUMNISTS04/605150387/1037 Indianapolis Star column on Manske's departure from WISH-TV to SPEED Channel.]

Persondata
NAME=Manske, Nicole
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION=American sports journalists
DATE OF BIRTH=1980
PLACE OF BIRTH=Wausau, Wisconsin
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=