There had been seven different winners over the first seven races of the 2025 season for the NASCAR Modified Tour coming into Saturday’s USNEPower Duel at the Dog 200 at Monadnock Speedway.
It was a number that matched a series record dating back to the 1999 season.
When it came to picking possible candidates to set a new record with eight different winners in the first eight races, it’s fair to say Tommy Catalano likely wouldn’t have been someone many would have pointed to.
It’s no knock on Catalano, but the eight-year series veteran had been struggling for much of the season. Two seventh place finishes in the first seven events marked his best efforts of 2025.
But Catalano, of Ontario, N.Y., proved the naysayers wrong on his way to an ultra-dramatic first ever series win.
Catalano gave race leader Patrick Emerling a bump in turn three on the final lap and then edged Emerling in a photo finish to win the UNSEPower Duel at the Dog 200 Saturday at Monadnock Speedway.
The race was extended to 204 laps due to a late caution.
Catalano was making his 97th career series start Saturday. Over his first 96 starts he had one second place in 2022 and one third place in 2021.
“To come here and do what we did, it’s phenomenal,” Catalano said. “You start getting down thinking maybe it’s not meant to be. You just keep plugging away, keep at it.”
It cemented Monadnock as a showcase of the Catalano family’s racing legacy. Tommy’s younger brother Trevor scored his first career series win at Monadnock in the same event last July.
Tommy Catalano became the eighth different winner in the first eight events of the NASCAR Modified Tour season, setting a new record for different winners to start the season for the series.
Emerling, of Orchard Park, N.Y., was second and Kyle Bonsignore of Bay Shore, N.Y. was third.
Emerling, who was the fastest in qualifying and led 159 laps, wasn’t happy with the tactics employed by Catalano during the green-white-checkered finish.
“We had the best car today and we led basically the whole race and the whole team executed really good and we had a really good car,” Emerling said. “We were doing exactly what we had to do. We had the race won in the last corner and just got smashed out of the way. Smashed into the left rear. I guess that’s – that’s not the type of racing I do – but I guess that’s how it goes.”
Caution flew on lap 158 for a Trevor Catalano spin. At that point Emerling was leading and headed to the pits with most of the lead cars. But Luke Baldwin and Tommy Catalano stayed out. It put Baldwin and Tommy Catalano at the front of the field for the restart. On lap 174 Tommy Catalano found the lane under Baldwin to move into the lead out of turn four.
With Tommy Catalano leading and Emerling battling Bonsignore for second, caution flew for the damaged car of Mike Marshall and multiple other spinning cars on lap 192.
It set up for a green-white-checkered finish. At the green for the green-white-checkered, Emerling got the advantage over Tommy Catalano off of turn two and down the backstretch. Tommy Catalano gave Emerling a tap in turn three, getting Emerling’s car nearly sideways coming out of turn four. Emerling wrestled the car back straight coming to the white flag with Tommy Catalano getting back under him into turn one.
Emerling was ahead of Tommy Catalano off of turn two on the final lap and heading into turn three. In turn three Tommy Catalano hit the right rear of Emerling, sending him up the track through turn four. Emerling wrangled a sideways turning car out of turn four as Tommy Catalano got fully underneath him off of the corner, with Tommy Catalano edging Emerling in a photo finish at the line.
“I didn’t really want to get him like that into [turn] three,” Tommy Catalano said. “I was hoping to just kind of move him up the hill a little bit.”
Said Emerling: “We were the dominant car all day today. Yeah, it kind of stinks. … Luckily we have a redo tomorrow [at Monadnock with the running of the Cheshire County Clash]. We’re looking forward to that, just doing our thing and executing and hopefully we don’t get smashed out of the way.”
The race went to caution within seconds of starting as Brian Robie got knocked off track in turn four as the field took the green to start the event.
When the race restarted, Emerling quickly made his way to the front, dropping Austin Beers to second. By lap 50 Emerling had opened about a one second lead on Beers with Bonsignore running third, about two seconds off the lead.
Caution flew on lap 57 for the stopped car of John-Michael Shenette. On the lap 66 restart Beers fought Emerling hard in the outside lane for three laps.
On lap 78 Ron Silk got under Bonsignore to move into third. By lap 112 Emerling had opened his lead over Beers to just over a second with Silk stalking all over Beers.
Caution was back out on lap 114 when the car of Matt Hirschman slowed with an apparent right front issue. Under caution the bulk of the field headed to the pits.
The race restarted on lap 76 with Emerling fending off a challenge from Beers. Behind the leaders, Baldwin got by Silk to move to third.
Caution came back on lap 158 for the spinning car of Trevor Catalano in turn two.
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