{"id":23754,"date":"2018-07-27T16:45:53","date_gmt":"2018-07-27T20:45:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/16\/?p=23754"},"modified":"2018-07-27T15:46:41","modified_gmt":"2018-07-27T19:46:41","slug":"cugini-ready-for-50-laps-of-fury","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/16\/2018\/07\/cugini-ready-for-50-laps-of-fury\/","title":{"rendered":"Cugini ready for 50 laps of fury"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Cugini ready for 50 laps of fury<\/strong><\/p>\n

WATERFORD \u2014 The NEMA Lites were created in 2008 as an entry-level division to support their big brothers in the NEMA Midgets.<\/p>\n

In a short period of time, however, the Lites have grown into one of New England\u2019s most competitive open-wheel touring divisions, a perfect compliment to the powerful NEMA cars.<\/p>\n

Dan Cugini, 26, from Marshfield, Mass., should know. He has competed in the NEMA Lites for six years and has won one driver\u2019s championship, two owner\u2019s championships and has racked up 12 career wins, including two in 2018.
\nOn Saturday, however, Cugini will be trying to do something that he has never done before \u2014 win a 50-lap race.
\nIt will be a challenging night for Cugini and his fellow NEMA Lite drivers when the Jim O\u2019Brien Memorial takes place at the New London-Waterford Speedbowl, one of the crown jewels of the Speedbowl\u2019s Nostalgia Night.
\nIn addition to the NEMA Lites, the CT. Pro 4 Modifieds, the New England Antique Racers and the Senior Tour Old-Timers will be making guest appearances.
\nThe guest divisions will be joining the Speedbowl regulars \u2014 +the SK Modifieds, the SK Lite Modifieds, the Sportsman and the Mini Stocks. Qualifying gets under way for the nine-feature program at 4:45 p.m. with the opening ceremonies and features to follow.
\nCugini says this will be a special night for him and the rest of the NEMA Lite gang. That\u2019s because the race is dedicated to the memory of Jim O\u2019Brien, who was a car owner and official in NEMA for 40 years. He was known for his ingenuity, his sportsmanship and his class both on an off the track. He was the pulse of NEMA from 1971 until his death in 2011.
\n\u201cI know his sons, Dennis and Matt, and it\u2019s always good to have them at the track,\u201d Cugini said. \u201cIt will be a tribute to a great racing family.\u201d
\nCugini is coming into the O\u2019Brien Memorial with plenty of momentum. He has won two of the last three races and has five Top 3 finishes in seven Lite events. He leads the point standings by a sturdy 146 points over Avery Stoehr.
\n\u201cThe car has been stout,\u201d Cugini said. \u201cIt\u2019s right where we want it to be right now. We\u2019ve been spending all week dotting our i\u2019s and crossing our t\u2019s and our plan is to put out the best car we can.:
\nHe needs to. That\u2019s because the Lite competition has been tougher than ever.
\n\u201cAny race you go to, there are at least 12 to 15 cars that can win,\u201d Cugini said. \u201cThat makes it a lot harder.\u201d
\nPlus the drivers will be in uncharted territory \u2014 50 laps at the Speedbowl, double than the usual race distance of 25 laps.
\n\u201cWe\u2019ll be going with our usual baseline setup and snug the car up a bit,\u201d Cugini said. \u201cWe have real good tires from Hoosier and they\u2019ll stay under you for the entire race.
\n\u201cBut I\u2019ll still have to baby that right rear tire. And I\u2019m not good at babying the right rear tire.\u201d
\nCugini plans on being a factor for the lead early in the race.
\n\u201cI definitely want to be the one that sets the pace,\u201d Cugini said. \u201cI want to get into the Top 3 as quickly as possible and don\u2019t let the leaders out of my sight.\u201d
\nCugini says he was introduced to midget racing by the Seller family, and it didn\u2019t take him and his dad long to go all-in.
\n\u201cWe have six midgets in our garage and we do almost everything in-house,\u201d Cugini said. \u201cWe do our own motor work and our own chassis work, but the more I can do in-house, the more I can race.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s a huge time commitment \u2014 my dad and I are in the shop three nights a week and we spend a lot of time together. It\u2019s worth it.\u201d
\nWhile Cugini competes in the full-powered Midgets every so often, his main commitment is to the Lites.
\n\u201cWe take pride in the fact that the Lites are a tight, close-knit group,\u201d Cugini said. \u201cEveryone helps each other and teaches each other new set-ups. It\u2019s a great atmosphere.\u201d
\nThere\u2019s another thing Cugini likes about the Lites.
\n\u201cThey\u2019re fast cars,\u201d Cugini said. \u201cThis is not an entry division. On Saturday, we\u2019ll be the fastest cars in the show.\u201d
\nCugini\u2019s sponsors include Worldwide Preowned in Falmouth, Mass., Bob\u2019s Collision Center in Weymouth, Mass., Bumper to Bumper Accessories in Broxton, Mass., Pro Built Transmissions of Holbrook, Mass., Enterprise Equipment of Weymouth, Mass. and Lu-Mac\u2019s Package Store of Preston.
\nHis team consists of his dad and mom, Max and Ken Zachem and Chase Cook.
\nHis sister, Megan Cugini, also competes in the NEMA Lites and is sixth in the standings with one Top 3 finish.
\n\u201cI think that\u2019s pretty cool,; she is a bad ass on the track.\u201d Cugini said, paying tribute to her sister\u2019s tenacity. \u201cWe are spending a lot of time with her and it\u2019s working. She hasn\u2019t missed a race in five years.\u201d
\nOn Saturday, however, Cugini knows it will be all up to him.
\nOnce there are 10 laps to go, it\u2019s all up to the driver,\u201d Cugini said. \u201cI will drive the car until there\u2019s nothing left.\u201d
\nThe O\u2019Brien Trophy will be worth the extra effort.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cugini ready for 50 laps of fury WATERFORD \u2014 The NEMA Lites were created in 2008 as an entry-level division to support their big brothers in the NEMA Midgets. In a short period of time, however, the Lites have grown into one of New England\u2019s most competitive open-wheel touring divisions, a perfect compliment to the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3,50],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23754","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-connecticut","category-waterford-speedbowl"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23754","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23754"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23754\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23755,"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23754\/revisions\/23755"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23754"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23754"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23754"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}