Dan Cugini muscled his NEMA Lite past race leader Jim Cataldo on lap 3 of the 25-lap race at Seekonk Speedway to leave the field behind until a late-race caution brought the field back together for a restart. This got Ryan Locke within striking distance, as well as Kevin Iannarelli, Mike Scrivani and Ben Mikitarian. But Cugini was not ready to give up the lead he had earned and pulled ahead again. Locke kept close to the checkers but was unable to reel Cugini all the way in before they crossed the strip a half-second apart. Locke garnered second for his intense pursuit of the leader with Jim Chambers grabbing third. Inannarelli and Scrivani rounded out the top five.
Polesitter Richie Coy and outside pole Jim Cataldo dueled at the green, going wheel-to-wheel through a complete circuit. But Cataldo grabbed some second lap speed and pulled into the lead on turn one. Cugini got past Locke, with whom he had shared row two in the meantime and then Cataldo. Cugini was second in lap two and hunting down Cataldo. Another circuit was all Cugini needed to grab the front by himself while Cataldo settled into second, ahead of Cataldo, but as Cugini pulled away, Locke grabbed second and Chambers pulled into fourth behind Cataldo with Paul “Dangerous” Scally up into fifth.
Cugini was running nicely by lap four and behind him, Locke led Chambers. Kevin Iannarelli was up to fourth, just ahead of Scally. Two laps later, Scally was working Iannarelli’s bumper. As the field ahead began to stretch out, Scally, who had won his heat race, was all over Iannarelli. In pursuit came Mikitarian, Scrivani and Cataldo.
Cugini was lapping slower cars by lap 12, threading through the pack. Locke began closing up on him briefly. But by lap 15, Cugini had cleared the field and picked up his pace, regaining some of his early lead. Scally ran into mechanical problems, now, and it forced him to retire to the infield as the race continued to wind around him.
Another time around and Cugini had eight cars on Locke. Chambers was threading through the last of the pack in third with Iannarelli giving chase.
Caution put Locke alongside Cugini for the restart and they were away with Cugini taking the front. But Locke was not as easy to dismiss late in the feature. He stubbornly stayed within striking distance, but Cugini was not about to let his lead slip away. They poured it on, running close as the laps wore down to the checkers. Cugini took it home for the win with Locke a close second.
Outside the top five came Mikitarian in sixth, Jim SantaMaria in seventh, then Meghan Cugini, Cataldo, Chris O’Brien, Richie Coy, Anthony Burr, and Christopher Vose.