(Press Release from NASCAR Integrated Marketing Communications)
The Catalano family is going all in with the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour in 2024.
Brothers Tommy, Tyler and Trevor Catalano will compete full-time with the series next year. It will mark the first time three brothers have run the entire Modified Tour schedule at the same time.
The 2024 season also will mark the second time at least two members of the Catalano family have raced full-time with the Tour. Tommy and Timmy Catalano competed in every event during the 2019 season.
“It’ll hopefully be fun. Obviously it can be a lot, but hopefully we can get through it,” Tommy Catalano said. “We’re fortunate to have the sponsors that we have that help, and obviously we all pitch in our spare money and go to work every day so we can go have fun on the weekends.”
The 2024 season will be Tommy’s third full-time run with the Modified Tour after competing in every event in 2019 and 2022. In 74 career starts, the 25-year-old has four top-five and 23 top-10 finishes with a best finish of second.
The upcoming season will be the first full schedules for his younger brothers, 19-year-old Tyler and 17-year-old Trevor. Tyler has one previous Whelen Modified Tour start, which came at Oswego Speedway in 2023. Trevor has not yet competed with the series.
Tommy will continue to drive the No. 54 entry next year. Tyler will drive the No. 84, and Trevor will be behind the wheel of the No. 56 when the season begins at New Smyrna Speedway on Feb. 10.
All three entries will be fielded out of the Catalano Motorsports shop and will carry sponsorship from Power & Construction Group and FX Caprara.
The genesis behind the decision for all three brothers to join the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour stems from their united desire to race as often as possible and do it as a family.
“We like to all race. All my brothers, myself, my mom, it’s just something we all like to do,” Tommy Catalano said. “If there is one of us running the Tour full-time, it makes it tough doing the back-to-back (races) to get races in locally for (my brothers). They’ve been really eager to give it a go on the Tour.”
Tyler’s first full Modified Tour season is the natural next step for the 19-year-old who has grown up racing in the Northeast alongside his brothers.
In his first Modified Tour start at Oswego, Tyler raced with the leaders throughout the evening and finished on the lead lap in 10th. He’s looking forward to the challenge the full season presents while also racing against his brothers.
“We don’t give each other much slack anymore when it comes to racing because every spot is harder to get then the next. There’s not really much room to give,” Tyler Catalano said. “I think on the Tour, the spots are just so hard to come by, I don’t think we’ll be giving each other much slack during the races.”
When Trevor makes his Tour debut at New Smyrna, he will become the sixth member of the Catalano family to compete with the series.
He’ll join brothers Tommy, Tyler and Timmy as well as his mother Amy and uncle Buck on the Modified Tour ledger. He’s looking forward to forging his own path in NASCAR’s oldest division next season.
“I think it’s going to be a lot of fun,” Trevor Catalano said. “Hard work, for sure, to bring three cars to the race track obviously. I think that’s kind of what we’ve strived for here by us, we all race together, and we all go with the same thing. We feed off each other to help the whole program get better and improve.”
Fielding three full-time NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour entries will be no easy task for Catalano Motorsports. One challenge they’re already tackling is tracking down enough crew members for the 16-race schedule.
Previously, when Tommy would race with the series, his two younger brothers would be part of his crew. Now that all three will be racing, they’ll need three full pit crews.
“As a starting point, I lost my crew; my tire changers were Tyler and Trevor,” Tommy Catalano said. “That’s something we’ve been trying to (work on). We’re bringing in what we call outside family. At the end of the year, ultimately the people we bring in, we spend so much time with them they become almost like family.
“It’s a huge commitment obviously. You want everyone to feel like family, as well, because no one is doing this to get rich. They’re doing it because they love racing and they want to help out. That’s the biggest thing.”
The 2024 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season kicks off at New Smyrna on Feb. 10 during the track’s annual World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing. In addition to the Modified Tour opener, multiple members of the Catalano family will be in action throughout the week in a mix of Modified and Super Late Model events.
The Catalano clan wouldn’t have it any other way.
“I would assume we’re all on the same page with the goals, but ultimately it’s about consistency,” Tommy Catalano said. “Finish all the races, keep the cars in one piece the best we can, and build on it.
“To expect to come out of the gate and finish one-two-three is obviously not a realistic goal. That would be nice; that’s what everyone would love to happen, but we’re trying to be realistic about it. Part of it keeping it sustainable and keeping it fun for everyone is having realistic goals for everyone to be excited about.”
Wow!
Tall task for anybody, and I hope they are still all talking to each other at Year’s end! We all probably have a good idea of how working with family can end up, but I certainly hope that’s not the case here.
You know, a few years ago, I thought Tommy was on the verge of breaking through with consistency and would string together a bunch of nice runs. However, I’m feeling those times were more of a “flash” than anything else. He seems to have regressed somewhat since then in my view.
With that being said, one must admire the tenacity and dedication this effort will take, and I wish them all the best of luck.
Will the full time Catalano crew provide Justin Brainsnomore with even more opportunities to make more boneheaded decisions?
That is some serious $$$. They all should finish in the top 10 in points if they run all the shows
Love it!!! Seems like they are all good people. I wish them much success!!!
I gather that the lack of regular weekly modified racing at tracks in Western New York has driven the Catalano family to the Whelen Modified Tour. Good luck to them.
Awesome news!!!!
So I’m thinking that’s about 10 cars running full season wow 4 more than last year, what a competitive series, you guys should be so proud racing for PEANUTS, HAPPY HOLIDAYS 2 all be safe. 🎅PEACE
I’ve run a few iracing modified races against someone named Trevor Catalano and always meant to look up if he was related to the family. I guess now I know.
6/22/23 Syracuse.com
“At the recent Spencer Speedway season opener, the Catalano Racing Team arrived with five shiny Troyer-built, Race of Champions Tour modifieds. Each car was driven by a Catalano family member.”
It’s a bigger commitment obviously but it’s not like they have no experience getting the entire clan to races to compete.
At the start of last year Tommy Calalano had a pic of his car and pristine was the only way to describe it. It takes a lot of work and expense to chrome parts and Tommy was sporting chrome rub rails. Frankly I can’t imagine a more futile extravagance then chrome rub rails that likely have a life span of one event but Tommy is a perfectionist so there they were.
Mother Catalano has said racing is as much about family entertainment as racing success. For the staggering money they will be spending they could each buy 1957 Chevy Nomad station wagons and take them to a summer home they bought on one of the beautiful lakes they have in the region but each to their own.
I had Tommy in one of our racing pick contests and feeling pretty good as he was running a respectable 5th. Then as the race winds down he gets into it with someone I forget who. Tommy take the 6th and load the car up in one piece I’m screaming at the TV but no Tommy gets into it and wrecks. “Finish all the races, keep the cars in one piece the best we can, and build on it” Tommy says. I’ll believe that when I see it.
Every year the naysayers aim their sights on the Tour as teams drop out and every year there seems to be teams that commit to the Tour that surprise us. The racing Catalano’s are unique this is very special.
Does anyone know if the New Smyrna World Series is going to be on FloRacing this year, As of now it’s not listed, Maybe they haven’t updated their schedule yet. Thanks and Happy Holidays to all.
Per the FloRacing web site 12/13/2023
“Breaking Down The 2024 New Smyrna Speedway World Series Schedule”
“For the third year in a row, all nine nights of racing will be broadcast live on FloRacing. FloRacing has been the broadcast home for all things NASCAR Roots, including the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, ARCA Menards Series, and much more, since 2022.”
Thanks Doug, I looked at the schedule for February on my cellphone. Didn’t think about the website as I thought it would already be listed.
That’s a lot of cash … What business is the Family in …. ??