Nydahl Family

[Ron Hill]

A Twenty One Minute Gun Salute To The NYDAHLS. This article is from the U.S. Title Series paper. Bruce Summers sent it to me...

[Pete Nydahl]

Thanks Ron and Bruce for posting this article,I think that was written by Tim Chance back in 1985?? I showed this site to my mom,she enjoyed the memories very much.I raced alky from 1976 thru 1994,my kids and I will be back alky racing again.

[Master Oil Racing Team]

Hey Pete! How old are your kids and how many do you have? Man....you were a kid when I quit racing.::) I have fond memories of your Dad. Merry Christmas.

[Pete Nydahl]

Hey Pete! How old are your kids and how many do you have? Man....you were a kid when I quit racing.::) I have fond memories of your Dad. Merry Christmas.
I have a son Kurt age 9 and a daughter Amy age 12.We are racing stock outboard , 125cc classes may be in our future plans.

[kws]

What Pete forgot to mention was that his girl Amy is already a National Champ also.
J hydro if i recall corectly

[Miss BK]

The Nydahls will be celebrating something else come January...

Congrats Amy!


From http://www.apba-racing.com/News.php

Inductees for the 2005 APBA "HALL OF CHAMPIONS"

INBOARD
Mike Allen, Destrehan, LA
Dan Kanfoush, Niagara Falls, NY
Jimmy Shane, Havre De Grace, MD

INBOARD ENDURANCE
Donald (Joey) Cucci, Lake Havasu City, AZ

JUNIOR CLASS
Amy Nydahl, Bristol, WI

MODIFIED OUTBOARD
Brian Palmquist, Diamond Lake, IL
Thomas Sutherland, Chelsea, MI
Larry Terzinski, Rhinelander, WI

OFFSHORE
Robert Nunziato, Dania Beach, FL
Doug Kelly, Boca Raton, FL

Al Culbertson, Jappa, MD
Walt Collins, W. Roxbury, MA

Val Fiorillo, Toms River, NJ
August Pensa, Union City, NJ

OPC
Jay Fox, Bay City, MI
Tyler Kratochwill, Middleton, WI

PRO
Jim Nilsen, Edgewood, WA
Brandon Thirlby, Traverse City, MI

STOCK OUTBOARD
Joe Pater, Saint Joseph, MI
Edward Hearn, Valparaiso, IN
Kevin Ladd, Whitmore Lake, MI

[racnbns]

I have a son Kurt age 9 and a daughter Amy age 12.We are racing stock outboard , 125cc classes may be in our future plans.

Pete is being a little modest so let me blow their horn. Amy won APBA high point in both J hydro and J runabout and national champ in both classes.

Kurt started about mid season and I think Pete said he beat his sister once??.

Pete never mentioned his tunnel boat racing. Pete, fill us inhere, especially how that V-8 Evinrude feels when you stomp on it.
Bruce Summers
V-71

[Master Oil Racing Team]

Pete, I don't have any kind of sports channels here that carry boat racing, but several years ago we had one of those contrary big dishes and I saw you in a tunnel. White, if I remember correctly. Tell us about all your racing and what your kids are up to. Give us some photos from the pits too.

[spn#43]

Here are some photos of Pete.;) ;)

PS;One of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet

[spn#43]

Here is Pete helping my nephew in his first boat race. :) :) ;)

[Miss BK]

I have some too, but having trouble getting them to post....

[Miss BK]

From St Louis 2005....

[racnbns]

From St Louis 2005....

I'm glad you gals/guys had some good shots of Pete racinghis tunnel boat. He kinda put his race career on hold to help Amy and Kurt get started. A family man all the way and I'm proud of you Pete!

Bruce Summers
V-71

[Pete Nydahl]

Those are some nice photos Miss BK and SPN,Thank you!The tunnel boat racing is going to be cut back quite a bit.Will be spending more time with Kurt and Amy racing.Will try and git the V-8 back on the water.It's runs like hell on the big straightaway but takes time to get it there.A 2.5 Merc will give it fits.Heres a pic of my Dads 6 banger on Bruce Summers F runabout.1973 era.

[Tomtall]

700 pro national champion.:cool:

[Tomtall]

From Sept. 1989 Propller mag.

[epugh66]

Ahhhhhhhh, you guys are doing OK, but I'll reach into the vault and bring up some real "Pistol Pete" photos!!!

"I saw a blue poodle" San Antonio,TX.

[epugh66]

I couldn't find a photo of the blue poodle....wait...there never was a blue poodle!
First up, Ray and Pete prepare the MOH/125cc for race day. Second up, we all wait for the five minute gun. Pete seems to be suffering from the pre race jitters.

[Danny McManus]

Pete is a true Gentleman boat racer...they don't get any truer to the sport...
luv ya man!!!!!:D :D

[Michael J Gwaltney]

Hydro-Speed is title of article in Friday SEP 21 Kenosha News about Nydahl's of Bristol. Three large photo's of Amy (13) Kurtis (11) Nydahl with their boats. "Family enjoys thrill of power boat racing."

Article mentioned Amy as two time national champion in 2005 in junior runabout and hydroplane. Kurtis won junior runabout class in August this year at Moses Lake, WA Nationals.

It isn't often that Amy and Kurtis get to have their friends come to watch them compete. But the opportunity will come on SEP 21-23 as the Nydahl family joins in the action at Hydrofest, a Badger State Outboard Association power boat racing event at Lake Andrea in Pleasant Prairie, WI.

Proud father, Pete Nydahl does all the wrenching and boat work with his drivers assistance. "Granpa Ray" would be proud to see the dedication of this family to the sport. Michael J

[Ron Hill]

I seems the Parker 9 Hour was always the first weekend in March, which worked great for people from the FROZEN mid West. Ray was pretty much the test driver for Jack Leek and OMC at the time. We we up at Savard's Motel and Bar, test on Lake Havasu at a place called Havasu Springs.

OMC had just built the first 100 cubic inch V-4 motors and Ray was driving Ernie Trekel's Switzer Wing. Ernie was a high school band teacher.

Ray's goal was to see 100 MPH and he saw it just before dark.

OMC stayed at Havasu Springs most of the month of February and as motel and bar, called Savard's. That night Ray and I were having a drink in Savard's bar. Old George Savard was a grouchy old man, but if I had a bar and a motel in the middle of no where, I'd be grouchy too.....especially, if I had toi tend bar, when other wer drinking.

Anyway, I was telling Ray, that my dad had received a new 1949 inch three cylinder Evinrude, from Edgar Rose and we were going to race it in F, if we could get it to run well. My dad had installed it on an old Evinrude torque tube on one of my 15:16 Konig gearcases. I said, when were tested it the motor didn't want to rev at high RPM, my dad thought maybe the coils were cutting in and out.

Ray starts to answer my questions and Jack Leek, yells across the bar to Ray and says, "Mr. Nydahl, that is 'classified' information." Ray turns to me and says, quietly, "Everyone in the bar and motel are with OMC....and talking about the new 49 inch three cylinder is 'classified'? **** Jack, I'm quitting OMC."

Ray quit OMC right after that and started making Nydalh hardware. I always felt that OMC's loss of Ray Nydahl was YUGE!

Polaroid picture of the first 49 cubic inch three cylinder racing OMC.

[Master Oil Racing Team]

Ray had some cast aluminum brackets that fit the Konig bosses for the coil mounts. Ray's bracket contained four OMC coils that were built for the 50,000 volt (don't exactly remember) surface gap sparkplug that OMC was advertising. It was called "Polar gap". Rather than a central electrode with an overarching piece of metal hanging just above the central electrode, the polar gap was just that single electrode. No adjusting the gap. Supposedly the 50,000 volt system was enough.

Ray tried, with mixed results, to make this CD ignition system (1st in alky) work. And you and your Dad are correct Ron...the coils were the problem. Very good, but when they get hot, and get cooled with water, they were very erratic. They would come off and on. Very hard to evaluate motor problems.

[racingfan1]

Here a couple pictures from a stock and mod race held at Lake DePue in June of 2009 and OSY400 at the 2009 PRO Nationals. There were a large turnout of OSY400 that year as the stock Nationals were in Michigan so many of them stopped by DePue to run. Also a 125cc runabout picture.

[racingfan1]

Some pictures from 2010 Constantine race.

[Ron Hill]

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http://www.boatracingfacts.com/forums/images/icons/icon1.png Ray Nydahl
Eight years ago today, my dad, Ray Nydahl, lost his 17 year battle with emphysema. As he did throughout his life, he accepted the consequences of his actions with dignity and integrity.

Up until his death he remained a motor sport enthusiast, reading and watching anything he could find on boat and car racing. His favorite NASCAR driver was Dale, Sr. About 2-3 weeks before he died, his health took a sudden drastic turn for the worst. We all knew, including Dad, that the end was very near. A few days before he died, he told us he was going to “stick around” until Sunday so he could watch Earnhardt win at Talladega. Only half of that prediction came true. Dad died around 9AM and #3 won the race later that afternoon after a dry spell of more than a year.

When Dad started racing in the early ‘60’s, he started with the Midwest Powerboat club. I have memories of many from that club who are no longer with us.


Jack Dodge and his wife, Jeanne, were like uncle and aunt to us. I’m not sure if Jack ever raced but it seemed he was always at the races helping make things happen. Jack raised Dachsunds and occasionally had a litter. He had decided that “Nydahl needs a dog.” One weekend in the spring of ’75, Jack and Jeanne came for a weekend visit and brought Dad’s first puppy with them. He was immediately hooked! If I remember correctly, Jack died in the early ‘90’s. I haven’t heard anything about Jeanne in several years.
Fred Lonsdorf always had a huge smile for everyone. Ralph Stahl was always a soft-spoken gentleman. Dave Shaughnessy was a faithful and close friend. I remember Bob Smith pulling into a race site with a HUGE trailer piled high with boats that he towed with a Trans Am. I can still recall Don Tarnowski, the club announcer, saying over the PA, “The next class of the day is “D” as in dog hydro.”


I am looking forward to attending the reunion at Depue this year. A few weeks ago my husband asked me what I wanted to do for vacation this summer. My reply: “I don’t care what else we do as long as we make it to Depue!” Mom is looking forward to being there, also. Of course, Pete and his family will be there. As a kid, Depue was the highlight of my summer because it meant we would see people that we usually only had a chance to see once a year. Depue was one of our closest races, but it was so great to see people who came from places like California, Tennessee, Washington, Long Island, Florida, Texas, . . .



If Dad was still alive, I’m sure he would love BRF. He would be reading every post! A while back, my husband found me (yet again!!) checking out the action on BRF. His question to me was, “Are you missing your dad?” . . . Yes, I am.
Sandy (Nydahl) Plummer



I found this post on the thread "Those no longer with us". Does anyone know when Ray passed.


Sandy said 8 years but when was this written?

[Master Oil Racing Team]

Ron, one clue is she said she was looking forward to the reunion at DePue this summer. I'm taking that to mean the one in 2007. She also said that Ray died the morning that Dale Earnhardt won at Talledaga after a year's dry spell. Find out when Dale died and it was before that. Also, is there not some kind of a date somewhere when it was originally posted?

Ray was one-of-a-kind. He was very outspoken. My Dad and I always liked Ray, and you could depend on him being at every major race there was.

ADD: Got your answer Ron. First, I found out that "Dega" is part of the Earnhardt family lore. Dale Sr. got his first victory in July 1983. Twice he won both races in a particular year. Between Dale Sr. and Jr. they have a combined 16 victories. His 10th and last victory was in October of 2000. He was killed at Daytona in 2001. Sandy said his death was 8 years earlier on the same day Dale won, and that puts Ray's passing in October 2000. That would have made her post in 2007, a little earlier than the upcoming first DePue Reunion.