In 2015, then 17-year old Chase Dowling teamed with a legendary pillar of the Modified community for his rookie season on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour.
In 2019 Dowling will come full circle to reunite with that legend on the Whelen Modified Tour.
Dowling told RaceDayCT exclusively Sunday that he will drive a part-time schedule on the Whelen Modified Tour in 2019 for longtime Modified competitor and team owner Jamie Tomaino.
Dowling finished ninth in the Whelen Modified Tour standings in 2015 driving for Tomaino.
“Jamie has been great to me in the past when I first was running the Tour,” Dowling told RaceDayCT. “He gave me a shot to run the Tour and kind of get my name out there a little bit and it’s just a big circle. It shows everybody that you don’t want to burn bridges in racing. I told Jamie ‘If we’re going to do it, I have high standards and you have high standards.’ He wants to get back on top with his organization and he’s got the equipment to do it and I’ve got the drive and motivation to this car where we need to be to compete at the top level of the Whelen Modified Tour.”
Dowling finished second to champion Justin Bonsignore in the 2018 Whelen Modified Tour standings driving for Rob Fuller Motorsports. He also picked up his first career series victory in 2018, winning the inaugural Musket 250 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in September. Overall Dowling had nine top-five’s in 16 starts in 2018, which included four second place runs. Dowling also worked for Fuller as part of Fuller’s company, LFR.
Dowling and Fuller parted ways after the season and Dowling has since moved to North Carolina.
“I didn’t really have any plans to run the Tour [for 2019],” said Dowling, who turns 21 on January 15. “I was kind of thinking I would just ride it out and try to regroup myself and kind of figure out where would be best for me in the future. But I was approached when I was down here. Jamie Tomaino said ‘Why don’t we do something?’ I called a few of my sponsors up and got some stuff together and we’re going to build a brand new car and run a select few races.”
Dowling said he and Tomaino will do 5-7 Whelen Modified Tour events for 2019. He said the NAPA Spring Sizzler and NAPA Fall Final at Stafford are definitely on their schedule, along with events at Thompson Speedway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway and South Boston (Va.) Speedway.
“The biggest thing is you want to go to the race track to win the races and be in front and do the best you can,” Dowling said. “Sometimes running full-time isn’t the best situation. … I’m excited to do what we’re doing. I probably could have strung something to run full-time again, but Jamie gave me this opportunity and I like where we can run select races and I can focus on the car for a few weeks and give it everything we have. I can really focus on what we’ve got going on and focus on winning the races that we’re going to.”
Away from the Whelen Modified Tour, Dowling said he will run select Tour Type Modified events with team owner Jimmy Paige in 2019.
Dowling said, as of now, the team expects to run the three Open Modified shows at Stafford Speedway and the Valenti Modified Racing Series events at Thompson.
“Obviously Steve Lemay and Jimmy Paige have been really good to me the past year or two and I didn’t want to let those guys down,” Dowling said. “I really want to drive that car for those guys.”
Dowling is also hoping to land some time behind the wheel of a Super Late Model. He’s done some testing with Super Late Model teams recently.
“I’m trying to get some sponsorship together,” Dowling said. “Obviously seeking sponsorship to do that. In the meantime, we’re not really banking on that until we see if money can come through or if we can find partners or sponsors that can come through to support that.”
Sean – I am a Patreon member, but I can’t seem to unlock the Chase Dowling article.
Rafter,
There was a mistake in the posting with some new WordPress updates. It is unlocked now.
Got it – thanks.
Wonder if Chase got a job at Fury he knows the LFR set up .
They didn’t say what chassis
Tomaino is a Troyer Guy, i’d be surprised if they went in a different direction..
I thought Tomaino was Troyer?
I’ll be interested to see what the reaction is to these moves from Dowling.
On the one hand it seems like he’s walked away from the single most important modified organization in the Northeast and the guru that owns it. On the other hand youth should not be wasted being locked in. It’s a time for experimentation and searching. Including enjoying the holidays in North Carolina riding horses with his sister.
Chase had one top 5 in 2015 with Tomaino. Now he’s convinced he can achieve excellence in the races he runs with the new team and we wish him the best.
So Dowlings newly clipped SK ride is now for sale or has been sold and he’s now a resident of North Carolina. I guess the pipe dream of him driving the 99 SK at Stafford moved south as well.
Otherwise he’s appearing numerous times at Stafford in touring modifieds so that’s something to look forward to. Trying to diversify into the Super Late Models is clearly not what I wanted to see but can also recognize it’s probably the smartest career move.
Thank you racedayct for the update on one of our local rising stars.
The intrigue is building.
Now we see Dowlings 2018 SK ride, the 36, the reclipped LFR that was for sale presumably on the Stafford site driverless. Owned by Start Finish Production that as I recall is Ben Dodge and sponsored by TAS Construction. That makes two outstanding rides that have not named drivers and shall be fun to see how things develop. Will they actually field a car and who will drive them?
Doug, the 36 SK is listed in the roster for 2019 at Stafford driver tba . As for the former #15 tour car, Rib Fuller had announced that he would only run a limited schedule in 2019. My guess is Stafford Thompson and New Hampshire. Also guessing he will have a few different drivers filling the seat. Tomaino is a TROYER guy, who is building cars now, most likely using the 99 as a test bed, much like Rib did with the 15. Chase is talented enough to provide Jamie with good feedback, and isn’t commited to running the full schedule, leaving him open to pursue other ventures.
I was trolling for insiders more in depth information on the 36.
The car was redone and for sale and Dowling moved to North Carolina.
Now it pops back up with Ben Dodge’s Start Finish Productions as owner, on the current team page with no driver.
That’s a pretty intriguing development I should think.
As for Rob Fuller we pretty much all know what his plans are. Which is to say we know what they don’t include full time but have zero idea of what they include other then excellence.
You can call Tomaino a Troyer guy, experimenter, developer………whatever. As far as the NWMT goes he’s now a dabbler. Great history in the series but an old guy just keeping a foot in it of late. A North Carolina resident who now teams up with fellow North Carolina resident Dowling. More dabbling in the offing. History shows they won’t be anywhere near the first tier and may struggle to reach the second tier. Meaning if somehow they do manage a top 5 finish or even a podium then it will be one of he best feel good stories of 2019. As well as transform Dowling from a top young driver to a genuine modified chassis guy that learned his lessons well from the maestro.
Never knew Chase worked for Billy Colton.