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Pete Pernesiglio

NEMA Midget #50

The love of competition is why Pete Pernesiglio races. Though he has raced the Modified Tour, Pro 4 Modifieds and Strictly Stock, Pete now races NEMA Midget #50.

He has raced all of the tracks from Oswego and Oxford to Thompson and Riverside Park and many more. His favorite track is the one he is on that day.

Racing with the New England Midget Association is a lot of fun. Pete races 3 times a month depending on the schedule and puts 30 plus hours, additional, into his racecar weekly. Those hours vary depending on the outcome of the previous race.

Pete’s most challenging race was Budweiser Nationals at Waterford Speedway. He was leading the race with Russ Stoehr close behind him the whole time. Without rear mirrors, he didn’t really know how close. It was a teeth-clenching highly competitive race that Pete won.

Wayne Carr is Pete’s Crew Chief and his wife and family are his support team. He also enjoys racing slot cars. I guess you might say that racing is in his blood. Is it because his Dad started taking him to the races at age 2 and there was a racecar in their garage by the time Pete was 8. Pete may have inherited his love of racing from association.

Photographer/Journalist: Sheila Somers