Team Cass Lake Racing    

January 13th 2008 

Team Cass Lake ’s Nadolny gets frequent flier miles on WPSA

By MARVIN GOODWIN Of The Oakland Press

    James Nadolny isn’t a trapeze artist who flies through the air with the greatest of ease. But on any given winter weekend in northern Michigan , the West Bloomfield High School sophomore flies through the air on his custom snowmobile, negotiating the twists and turns on a number of tracks on the World Power Sports Association (WPSA) Michigan snowcross circuit.
    Nadolny competes with Team Cass Lake , a fledging race group comprised of youngsters from around the Cass Lake area in West Bloomfield Township.

    Joseph Spencer, who also attends West Bloomfield High; 9-year-old Kaitlynn Tolonen, who attends Apollo Elementary in Highland Township and 4-year old Arthur Nadolny, a preschooler from Waterford and the cousin of James, are also on Team Cass Lake. Yes, even Arthur earned a trophy nearly as big as him on his pint-sized snowmobile.

    “We put this together when my son was about 12 years old,” said Mike Nadolny, James’ dad. “They had a snowmobile race (at Alpine Valley) and we just happened to be there and my son snowboards ... and he said, ‘Dad, I’d like to try that.’ ”

    He did and he liked it. A couple months later, he entered his first race in Gaylord and took third place in his age group. Mike Nadolny, who owns Custom Collision Experts in Sylvan Lake , began putting Team Cass Lake together shortly afterward. Since then, James Nadolny has been ne of the top competitors in Michigan in his age group. Last year he was second place in season totals in two different age groups, and was first place among novice racers. He was the No. 1 racer two years ago in the WPSA Michigan 10-13 year-old junior class and was third in the Midwest Affiliate Championship, which included Michigan , Minnesota and Wisconsin.

    Two weeks ago at Gaylord, he earned nine first places, and second, seventh and eighth places in three classes. His seventh- and eighth-place finishes were earned despite crashes.

    Because of his success on the circuit and his high-flying jumps, Nadolny has picked up the nickname Flight 107, which is the number on his snowmobile.
    Nadolny reaches heights and distances — as far as 100 feet, his dad approximates — many of his competitors are not able to achieve.

    “It’s pretty enjoyable, it’s just a big adrenaline rush really,” said Nadolny, whose fear of heights is nonexistent while racing. “It’s not scary at all because I’m used to it.”
    Nadolny commandeers a production snowmobile built especially for racing.

    “It’s not for trails or anything,” he said. “The motor is tuned differently ... the chassis is beefed up a lot more and it’s pretty much made to take abuse.”
    Indeed, a typical course contains straightaways, twists and turns, moguls and jumps at an angle which propels the snowmobiles like a launching pad, according to Mike Nadolny. “
    That’s why they call it snowcross,” he said.

    Each weekend, the family loads a 36-foot trailer with four snowmobiles, racing outfits, tools and equipment and travel north to sanctioned WPSA races in areas such as Cadillac, Gaylord and Sault Ste. Marie and other northern places.

    Mom Jill Nadolny helps coordinate lodging and registrations, and other moms help with food preparation, video equipment and other duties. A crew of mechanics also make the trip. Since races are held Saturday and Sunday, the weekend is chock full of activity.

    “It’s a whole lot of work but it’s worth it to see my son enjoy himself (and) to be involved in some kind of sport,” Jill Nadolny said. “It’s something he does very well so it’s worth all the effort.”  

Team Cass Lake often gives a good account of itself, with a healthy contingent of supporters from the Cass Lake area and Oakland County cheering the racers on.
    “I probably spent about $40,000 this year racing around the state,” Mike Nadolny said.
    But young James is good enough to gain some sponsorships, among them Motor City Powersports of Bloomfield Hills and Dee s Marine of Clinton Township.

    The recent warm spell has wiped out some scheduled races but Team Cass Lake is anxious to get back in action. Nadolny wants to see how far he can go in snowcross.
    “It’s pretty much like a hobby (now) but I can see myself going pro class, not national, but regional,” Nadolny said.     

 And there lies another chance to reach even higher heights.
    Contact Marvin Goodwin at marvin.goodwin@oakpress.com.

April 4th 2007

Local snowmobiler among nation’s elite

By Brad D. Bates
C & G Sports Writer - West Bloomfield Beacon

West Bloomfield High freshman James Nadolny, 15, is about as far from your average young athlete as you can get.

It’s not just the fact that he competitively races snowmobiles that makes him different, either.

What sets him apart is that he has already placed his name among the top racers in his age group and has even garnered attention from national sponsors.

“He’s getting noticed by the factory teams from Arctic Cat and Ski-Doo,” said Mike Nadolny, who is both father and coach to James. “It’s the type of recognition where it’s almost like becoming a famous hockey player, knowing that they’re keeping an eye on him.”

Nadolny races for Team Cass Lake and has top finishes at the state and national level in the Michigan region of the World Power Sports Association.

“It’s adrenaline-pumping,” Nadolny said regarding his reason for racing.

This year, he placed fourth in the 14- to 15-year-old class and was 10th in the 16- to 17-year-old class at the Nielsen Enterprises Grand Finale March 16 in Lake Geneva, Wisc.

“There’s nothing like it when he’s out there,” Mike said of watching his son compete. “He’s put his heart into this, and he’s excelled over and over. He’s known as the kid who gets the most air and the best times.”

Nadolny, who has been riding sleds for more than 12 years, broke into competitive racing just three years ago.

“I’ve been around snowmobiles most of my life,” he said. “I just started (racing) and got good at it. Then I won my second race and got my first first-place trophy, and I wanted more.”

It’s not just his expertise in driving the sleds that makes him unique at his age, but also his knowledge of the machines.

Nadolny has been working on motors in his father’s garage at Custom Collision Experts in Sylvan Lake for years, and he has even helped some of his competitors with mechanical problems prior to races.

Since he has had so much success racing against drivers in his own age group and experience level, Nadolny said he is now focused on moving to higher levels with the hope of someday reaching the professional level and competing during the X Games.

“We were at a race and there were all the guys from the X Games there, and a bunch of kids were asking them for autographs,” Mike said. “I asked James why he didn’t want an autograph, and he said, ‘I don’t need one, they’ll know who I am in a couple of years.’”

You can reach Brad D. Bates at bbates@candgnews.com or at (586) 498-1029.