When the 2023 racing season ended, the plan for Chase Dowling was to step away from racing for a year.
Not all that much has changed when it comes to the plan for Dowling, but he’ll make an exception when it comes to chasing a victory in Loudon, N.H.
Dowling will get back in a race car for the first time since last October to run the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Mohegan Sun 100 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on June 22.
Dowling will drive for Tinio Motorsports in the event.
“Me and [Tinio Motorsports owner/team manager Lawney Tinio] have had a long relationship,” Dowling said. “He gave me a call and asked me if I’d be interested. I said absolutely. It was a short conversation. We just decided to put something together and see how it goes.”
Dowling made two starts on the Whelen Modified Tour in 2023 for team owner Michele Davini, and also drove a combination of Open Modified and Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series events for a team owned by Ben Dodge.
His last time racing was on Oct. 21, 2023 at the Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series Haunted Hundred at the New London-Waterford Speedbowl. He finished 11th in the event.
“I’ve just had a lot of personal stuff going on this year,” Dowling said. “I’ve been so busy with work. My fiancé and I are getting ready to build a house. Ben and I had a great relationship. … It kind of just got to point where we weren’t having a lot success I just flat out told him that I needed a break from everything and needed to handle some personal life things. He was great to me. So I’m just kind of taking a year off to handle the personal stuff. Obviously I have a love for the sport. I’ve grown up racing. I just want to be able to do it 100 percent.”
Dowling has made 73 Whelen Modified Tour starts since 2015. His only series victory came in the 2018 Musket 250 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. In 12 series starts at NHMS, Dowling has four top-five’s and six top-10’s with an average finish of 9.8.
“With [Tinio Motorsports], that’s a great team, a great car and a great opportunity to run a race this year,” Dowling said. “I look at that as a deal where we could have a good shot at winning in that race.”
I was wondering what was going on. Feel like I hadn’t seen his #9 in ages.
Th #9 car and equipment that Ben Dodge owned was sold at the end of last year.