Tony Membrino, Jr. Enjoying SK Light Championship Chase at Stafford Speedway
Stafford Springs, CT — As Stafford SK Light driver Tony Membrino, Jr. enters his third season of open wheel competition, things are continuing to improve for the Plantsville native. Membrino won the DARE Stock championship in 2010 and made the move into the SK Lights in 2011, where he place 11th in the standings. Membrino was a championship contender last season, finishing third in the standings and picking up his first win. The 2013 season has seen a continued evolution for Membrino and the #44 CWPM Cadillac team as they have recorded another win and currently sit second in the points standings. Membrino has yet to have a finish lower than sixth this year, but he says there is still more speed to be found in his car.
“As far as consistency with how the car runs, I think we’re right where we wanted to be,” said Membrino. “Some of the finishes we’ve had haven’t been where I expected to be. I thought we’d have more podium finishes and wins than we do right now, but more importantly the car has been pretty consistent and fast, and that’s confidence I like to have in the car. Maybe we haven’t had the right lane choice or luck wasn’t there for us, but the car has been there which is a bit bittersweet. Our worst finish is 6th and we’re always fast and up towards the front, so I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t pleased with how we’re running this year. For most of the races this year the car has been good but there’s always that but factor. For instance, I can sail the car into the corners but not have the forward drive up off the corner. There’s always been that one little thing that we can tune and get a little better whether it’s at the track or in the shop during the week. We know where we need to go and there’s still a little extra speed we could unlock. But for the time being if we’re still struggling to find that, we are consistently one of the fastest cars so we have a bit of a cushion while we fine tune where that last bit of extra speed is.”
In a day and age where equipment is constantly evolving and drivers are coming to the track with newer cars, Membrino is doing his job with a chassis that is older than he is and dates to the early 80’s with Reggie Ruggiero. But where his chassis might be lagging in age, Membrino has an ace up his sleeve with help from the man who builds the Raceworks chassis, Ed Flemke, Jr.
“It makes me laugh how some people swear by a certain chassis brand when it comes to Stafford,” said Membrino. “My chassis is older than I am and it speaks for itself how fast it goes. I’d have to say my car is from the early 80’s. It was one of Art Barry’s cars that Reggie Ruggiero drove in the Race of Champions. You can get any car to turn, you just have to put the right driver, right equipment, and the right setup in the car. I’d guarantee that some people would look at our setup numbers and wonder how we go as good as we do. My father works really hard to find out what makes me comfortable in the car to get it to the front and that’s what works for us. Our car is really good but sometimes it makes me scratch my head wondering what we could do if we had a new chassis. Our car might be at a bit of a disadvantage because if we need help or spare parts, there might not be anything at the track. But we do have the advantage of having Ed Flemke there with us every single Friday and that’s a big thing to have the guy who builds the chassis working on the car as soon as I pull it off the track on a Friday night.”
The SK Lights have been one of the most competitive divisions at Stafford this season with great racing and thrilling finishes, which Membrino says is all down to the drivers, both old and new that are currently racing in the SK Lights.
“When I started this year, it was like starting all over again because I was used to running with guys like Frank Cardile, Dylan Kopec, and Zach Aszklar,” said Membrino. “I didn’t really have a guy or guys who were my rivals on the track. But with these new guys like Ronnie Williams, Tyler Hines, Chase Dowling, and Troy Talman, it definitely makes me have to step my game up. Look at Chase, he was fast right out of the box and he won at the Sizzler. Troy was fast when he raced at Thompson and he beat me to win his first race this year. The competition is still strong whether it’s old or new faces and that means that we can’t slack off. Fortunately for me, we’ve only picked our game up and its interesting running with the new guys and it has been a lot of fun.”
With a strong first half of the 2013 season in the books, Membrino says he is still learning about his car and he is hopeful to continue his good fortune into the second half of the year.
“I’m learning something new about the car every day,” said Membrino. “When the day comes that you get out of the car and you haven’t learned anything is the day you should probably hang up the helmet. I want to get better every time I hit the track and I want to learn something every time I come off the track. Hopefully the second half of the year will go just as well as the first half of the year has gone and maybe even get a couple of stronger top-3 finishes and wins because I feel like that’s where we belong.”
Membrino has a bevy of sponsors on his #44 machine this season with CWPM, Richards Corporation, Equipment Services, TD Services, Membrino Electric, NAPA Valley Auto Supply, Jay Pahl Auto, JMW Construction, Embroidery Works, Scuba Steve Scuba Squad, Tech-Air, Raceworks Chassis, T/A Engines, and Magnus Transmissions.
“We have a bunch of smaller sponsors, but they still come in handy just as much as a large sponsor and we’re still searching for extra sponsors,” said Membrino.
Should Membrino keep up the pace he has showed during the first half of the 2013 season, he will definitely be among the championship contenders again as the season winds down in September.
For more information, contact the Stafford Motor Speedway track office at 860-684-2783 or visit us on the web at www.staffordspeedway.com.
Sources: Scott Running/Stafford Motor Speedway PR