Racing legend Pete Nydahl returns to Lake DePue

DEPUE — Pete Nydahl, 54, from Kenosha, Wis., a boat racing legend of the past, returns to Lake DePue this weekend to run both 250cc and 350cc hydro classes at the US Title Series National Championships sponsored by the DePue Men’s Club.

Nydahl came back to racing for the 2019 season, which started in Lake Alfred, Fla., in late April. He is coming off a second-place finish last weekend in Constantine, Mich., in the 350cc class and is looking for his first championship since 1992.

Nydahl, a second-generation racer, was introduced to the sport by his father, going to his first race when he was just 2 weeks old back in 1965. He got his first boat ride at the age of 11.

He continued to race in the PRO division until 1994, before taking three years off from boat racing altogether.

“I really didn’t think I would come back to racing, but then I got the idea to go Formula One tunnel boat racing,” Nydhal said.

F1 racing is the highest class of inshore powerboat racing in the world. Drivers run about 50 miles, and it is similar to Formula One car racing.

Nydhal raced tunnel boats for about six years until his daughter, Amy, was old enough to start racing. When Amy was old enough to race Junior Stock Hydro, that’s when he decided to step away from racing completely. Two years after that, his son, Kurtis, would also be old enough to start racing.

Even though Nydhal hasn’t been behind the wheel for many years, the Nydahl name has been well known in the boat racing community and especially popular with boat racing fans. That’s because Nydhal has given the spotlight over to his kids, Amy and Kurtis, playing the role of owner and crew chief of NCM Racing.

“I had my chance, then it was time to step aside. When they were younger, we ran as much stock outboard as we could,” Nydhal said. “We would hit 10 or maybe 12 races a year with stock outboard racing, there was a lot of local events and so we started there.”

Racers can start racing J-Stock hydro and runabout at the age of 9 and can run that class until the age of 16. When drivers turn 12, they can add another class, and at the age of 16, they can run almost all stock classes that are available.

“As they (the kids) got older, we bought bigger, faster equipment. We came back to PRO division in 2008, when Amy got a 125cc Hydro, and that’s the direction we stayed.”

Nydahl has continually put championship boats on the water as crew chief of NCM Racing in both the 250cc Hydro and 350cc Hydro classes.

“I was perfectly content with just being on the shore for all those years, and watching them progress,” Nydahl said. “I had no desire to get back in a boat again.”

Being chief mechanic for Kurtis and Amy brought much joy as Nydahl watched his kids compete and have success. Just being involved in the boat racing community with his family, doing what he loved and was passionate about, was completely satisfying, until last spring.

He started losing some weight, feeling better and by the end of last summer, he felt the desire to race again, or to at least to go for a ride and see what it’s like.

“I wanted to have my own boat to try, but that didn’t happen,” Nydahl said. “So, I told Amy that I was going to take hers for a ride in Florida in the spring.”

Amy was unable to attend the US Title Series race in Lake Alfred, Fla., due to her upcoming wedding. So, for Nydahl, that’s when it all started back up. Amy had nothing but excitement upon hearing her dad was taking her boat for a ride.

“He called me a couple of months before he went down to Florida and asked me what I would think if he took my boat out and maybe raced it down in Florida. Of course, I said yes,” Amy said. “The idea of dad getting back into a pro boat was pretty cool, and I was super pumped for him. I could just hear in his voice how excited he was about it.”

Not only was there a great deal of excitement for Nydahl as he took his first ride in Lake Alfred, but a deeper appreciation for the driving his kids had been doing for years.

“I went out for the first time in the 350cc Hydro to test. It was a pretty foreign experience, because it had been so long, but it didn’t take me too long to grasp onto it. I was hanging on pretty tight and trying to make good turns.”

After making about five laps around the racecourse, Nydahl pulled into the pits, and his son Kurtis was the first one there to greet him.

“I got up out of the cockpit and I reached down and shook his hand and said, ‘Man, I have so much respect for you and your sister. I will never criticize any of your racing again. I won’t get on your case for making mistakes.’”

As crew chief, Nydahl would ride the kids pretty hard. “My father used to ride me pretty hard, too,” Nydahl said. “I guess the apple didn’t fall too far.”

After the race in Florida, Nydahl’s plan was to run the rest of the year. He really wanted to get his own equipment, specifically one of his boats from Europe.

“I really didn’t want to run their boats, I didn’t want to make them look bad, so I was trying to get one of my boats back from Europe in time, but that wasn’t going to happen, so I didn’t have a choice but to run hers.”

Amy finally got to see her dad race in person last weekend in Constantine, Mich. Even though she wasn’t racing, the adrenaline rush was still there.

“I think my heart pumped just as hard and I got just as much adrenaline watching Kurt and Dad out there,” she said.

For Kurtis, having his dad back on the racecourse has been a different experience than it is for Amy, as they are both teammates and competing against each other.

“It was exciting,” Kurtis said. “I was really young when he stopped racing, so I didn’t get to see him race much, but you hear a lot about how he was a legend and at first it was sad I’d never get to see him run like that, but now I’m running against him.”

Drivers in the US Title Series earn points based on how they finish each race, and the highest total points earned all season is the high-point champion. Nydahl had been the US Title Series high-point leader in the 350cc Hydro class through the first three races of the 2019 season, but it was at the Constantine race last weekend where Kurtis placed first and overtook his dad’s high-point lead, which he currently holds by only 73 points.

“I want a jacket,” Nydahl said. “I haven’t had a jacket, a Title Series High Point, it’s been 30 years since I last won in 1989.”

However, Kurtis won’t let it come easy.

“It’s a bit odd,” Kurtis said about racing against his father. “I know I better beat him, I can’t let him beat me his first year back, I just can’t let that happen.”

With just one race remaining after the DePue National Championships, it is safe to say there is a lot on the line this weekend. Both Kurtis and his dad will be vying for a first-place finish at DePue to not only earn a National Championship, but also to also chase the high point title and earn a jacket.

Nydahl says it’s “by luck” that he has had any victories over Kurtis this season. Kurtis broke down in Pleasant Prairie, Wis., where Nydahl was able to beat him out in both classes and take the overall victory in 350cc Hydro.

“It’s a pretty neat feeling to be running against your kid. I was really hoping to be running against both of them this weekend. I feel pretty proud when I look over and see that’s my boy and he’s kicking my butt.”