Catalano Debuts Tonight
ATLANTIC CITY, NJ — Tommy Catalano of Ontario, NY is making his TQ Midget debut this weekend at Boardwalk Hall. He is driving for the Brainards. Catalano hopes to compete at Trenton next month.
“They’re definitely quick,” Catalano said. “They’re fun. They’re different compared to the Modifieds, for sure.”
Catalano will make his NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour debut this season. He hopes to attempt five races ahead of a potential full season in 2017. His schedule includes Oswego (NY) Speedway, and one race at Stafford (CT) Motor Speedway, and Thompson (CT) Speedway Motorsports Park.
“We’ve been talking about it for a while and having that race up there. That kind of pushed the situation a little bit and kind of I guess set us off that way and so it’s going to get us hooked. Hopefully, we can make the best of it.”
[Jan. 29 Photo Gallery] by Nicholas Teto
[Jan. 30 Photo Gallery] by Nicholas Teto
“I’ve talked to some drivers that run there. (I’ve) never actually been to any of ’em except for Oswego and we were at Thompson once. So it will be interesting, watch some videos online, on TV.”
Catalano is part of a large racing family that has success at Chemung, Holland, and Spencer in upstate New York. His parents are Dave and Amy. His mother has won Pro Modified championships at Holland. Uncles Buck and Patsy are track champions at Spencer.
Catalano won his first Holland Getzoni Nationwide Insurance Pro Modified championship last season and the Most Popular Driver Award. Amy finished third. Tommy finished third in Spencer NASCAR Sunoco Modified points while his mother finished sixth. His brother Timmy won the NASCAR 4-Cylinder Scorpions title at Spencer.
Catalano’s sponsors are Power and Construction, C.P. Ward, Vicari’s Pizzeria.
He races Modifieds against his parents. His younger brother races in the support divisions and his youngest brothers compete in Go Karts.
“Once you’re on the track it’s every man for themselves and we’d laugh about it on the way home and sometimes it’s a quiet ride home. But most of the time it’s a nice ride home, so it works out well.
Catalano will be racing next month’s Speedweeks at New Smyrna (FL) Speedway. Not many local drivers attend and Catalano feels that provides him an advantage in setting up the car.
“That’s very important. Nothing else gives us a head start on the competition. … That’s one of the key factors and one of the main reasons we do it. Yeah, we like racing. Yeah we go there for fun and we want to run well, but to get a leg up for the racing up here in New York, it definitely helps.”
Catalano made his Sunoco Race of Champions Modified Tour debut last season. His best finish in eight starts was fifth at Holland.
The third generation driver started in Go Karts at four-and-a-half and raced Four Cylinders at 11. He made his Modified debut at 14 and won the New York State Rookie of the Year.
He has competed at Chemung Speedrome, Holland Motorsports Complex, Lancaster National Speedway, Oswego Speedway, Shangri-La II Speedway, Spencer Speedway, and Wyoming County in New York. He also competed at Wall (NJ) Stadium.
Sources: Nicholas Teto/YankeeRacer.com
http://www.hollandspeedway.com/
http://hometracks.nascar.com/nwaas/story/catalano-adds-family-championship-legacy_09032015
http://hometracks.nascar.com/020215_catalano_nwaas_feature_holland
http://stevepettysports.blogspot.com/2010/07/chenaille-finally-cracks-wcis-victory.html