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Log Book The green flag drops. Howling around the track, choked by dust and exhaust, MKC Danny Dupepe is in his element, behind the wheel of his lawn mower racer. Armed with 17 years of mechanical know-how gained from the Coast Guard, he has taken what most consider a dreaded weekend chore, mowing the lawn, and turned it into sport. With a top speed of 55 mph, his machine isn’t like anything you’ll find in the lawn and garden section. The original mower was stripped down to its frame and everything else was either modified or replaced. The engine was bored, polished and given a new camshaft. And, in case you were wondering, the mower blades were removed. This April Dupepe won the first American Racing Mower Association national race of the season. It was also the first win of his career and he did it with style. “I won by at least half a lap,” he said. “Blew them out of the water.” He didn’t look back either. In only his third season, Dupepe and his custom cutter mowed down the competition all year, finishing first in the point standings ahead of fifteen other teams in the sportsman class of the AMRA Southeast Region. Before transforming into a crusty demon of dirt on Saturdays, Dupepe spends his week as a mild- mannered member of the Boat Forces Standardization Team in Yorktown, Va. His job involves inspecting boats to make sure they meet the exacting specifications set by the Coast Guard. So why would someone whose job is making sure machines do exactly what they’re supposed to do, take so much pleasure in making them do anything but their intended purpose during his free time? He laughs loudly. “Just to see what it can do,” he said with a southern twang. While the lawn mower racing community is fairly small, competition between racers is intense. Dupepe isn’t afraid of contact, admitting he’ll bump someone to get out front. “Shoot, they want to beat you too,” he said, adding that at the end of the day they’re all friends. “You go shake hands with the other racers and apologize for anything that might have happened and they usually understand that it’s all a part of the racing,” he said. Racing without corporate sponsors and without prize money, team Dupepe is an all-volunteer force. While he is the driver, his wife, Kim, serves as team owner and helps manage the finances. “She tells me when I can buy stuff and when I better not,” he said. Shane, his four-year-old son, fills the role of crew chief. “My son is only four but he can turn a screwdriver and a wrench so he’s helped me build as much as he could,” he said. Before every race Dupepe and his son make sure the mower runs properly, make any adjustments needed, and then they wash and wax the mower. After that it’s off to the races where daddy Dupepe turns on the mojo. What’s the best part of racing? “Getting time to spend with my little boy and my wife,” he said. Shouting from the bleachers, watching dad take the checkered flag, they agree. Mower Muscle MKC Danny Dupepe, #31, takes a turn while racing his lawn mower in Gwynns Island, Va., June 28. ST OR Y A ND PH OT O BY PA 2 K IP WA DL OW , 5T H D IST . 38 Coast Guard — Issue 4, 2008 39 uscg.mil/mag
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38-55-LOGBOOK.pdf