Doug Cleveland Gets Ready For 34th NEMA Campaign
Brockton, MA — Doug Cleveland, about to start his 34th season as a Northeastern Midget Association competitor, is “one of the old school guys.” He is currently making ready for NEMA’s 57th season opener May 23 at Monadnock Speedway.
“If there is a race we’ll try to make it,” continues Cleveland, part of a two-car team that includes brother Brian. “We’re aiming for the opener and see what happens after that.”
Doug and wife Linda, his partner since 1987, are the very heartbeat of NEMA. Linda, involved as a scorer since 1993, won the Wen Kelley Memorial Award last year. Cleveland has won almost all of NEMA’s awards including the Ray Roberts (last year) and Johnny Thomson (1999) trophies.
Ironically, 1987 was also the year Cleveland became an owner/driver. He currently campaigns a self-built car powered by a Mopar engine.
The 51-year old wound up 10th in driver points last summer. A realist, he proudly sees himself as one of the guys “who would collect bottles and cans to buy a tire” and defines “a good night” as “when the car rolls on the trailer and I don’t have to spend a lot of money fixing it.”
He’s been at it since jumping into a car owned by his late father Jim and uncle Paul. His car continues to carry the family number – 87 – and a tribute to his dad and cousin Mark, the latter driving the car when Doug took other rides. “It is absolutely important for us to do that,” he says. “Without it, the young guys wouldn’t have a clue of the club’s history. Truth is, they wouldn’t be there if wasn’t for guys like them.”
His single win came in Jimmy O’Brien’s car in Quebec (Sanair) in 1977. “They can’t take that away,” he says. “Neither of us had any money but we pulled it off one night. We beat Bob Cicconi.” He drove for a number of owners including Ed Czyzewski and Carl Kibbe before going on his own.
The Clevelands travel with a truck and motor home and gas is a big part of the yearly expenses that approaches $9,000. It has to be a “close to the vest” operation. He does not crash a lot, something he credits to experience more than economics. “I’ve been doing is so long, I don’t stick my nose where it shouldn’t be,” he says. Still, he insists, “once the helmet goes on I don’t think about anything but driving” and he still impresses himself with “wow moves.”
He is an unabashed cheerleader for NEMA, especially the willingness to help each other. “It is more so than other divisions,” says Cleveland, who received engine help from Circle Performance Machine’s John Andruk last year. “It’s been like that for as long as I can remember.”
Monadnock is the first of 17 races at eight different tracks on the ’09 schedule.
Sources: Pete Zanardi/NEMA PR