Timmy Solomito Up to Speed at Thompson
First Ride for ‘The Natural’ in Flamingo Motorsports Car
THOMPSON, CT — Timmy Solomito of Islip, NY has been comfortable in his new car Saturday at Thompson (CT) Speedway Motorsports Park. Solomito was fourth quickest in NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour practice at 18.833/119.471, behind defending champion Doug Coby. The 23-year-old will be driving the Diversified Metals/R.B. Enterprises No. 16.
“The car felt pretty good underneath me and I was really happy with it,” Solomito said. “… (We) made a couple of adjustments, it’s just getting our communication down being with a new team and a bunch of new guys. They’re not used to me. I’m not used to them, so we’re just working through that right now and learning each other and what each other like as far as handling from me and what Sly likes to hear is communication and what the car’s doing.
“So far we’re doing pretty well, and just hope we can continue that throughout the year and can’t thank Eric and the whole gang, Sly and the entire crew for all they’ve given us for this year and great equipment, and great team, and a lot of good guys to learn from, so really looking forward to it and really thankful for the opportunity and just hope we can give them the best finishes possible.”
Car Owner Eric Sanderson is pleased with the decision to bring the sophomore on board. Sanderson enjoys working with another young driver to bring them to the next level. He made the decision after 2013 champion Ryan Preece moved to Eddie Partridge’s No. 6 car. The team ended on a high note winning the final two races and finished second in points.
“They’ve overcome a lot and just to win those last two races,” Sanderson said. “The team never got down. The team was always up, up, up, up. It just seemed like that whole last season we seemed to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and we did make a couple of mistakes teamwise and had a couple of things break. But yeah those last two wins it made a big difference.”
“When Ryan decided to leave, we as a team decided to talk about it a lot and we obviously had a lot of choices and Timmy’s name kept coming up,” Sanderson said. “So we talked with Wayne (Anderson) and asked if we could talk with Timmy and that’s that. So he seems pretty happy and that’s what counts.”
“We’re looking forward to some wins this year,” Sanderson said. “I think Timmy’s capable and obviously this car is capable and we still got a great crew, the same guys as last year.”
“That’s always a great feeling when the guys are really welcoming and they want you to drive the car,” Solomito added. “You can’t really ask for more than that. You just got to go out there and give them 110 percent every lap that you’re out there and that’s what we plan to do and I hope that we have some good finishes this year and some good runs and the main thing is everybody has fun. Everybody goes home in one piece at the end of the weekend.”
“I think we made a great choice with Timmy Solomito. So far so good and just after all the snow just glad to be here and see racetrack. We’re going to go out and have some fun this year. That’s what it’s all about.”
Like their most recent two races that ended in victory lane, the team is running the spec engine this weekend. Sanderson said they would run the engine “at a lot of tracks.”
Sanderson owns two businesses in Palmer, MA, Flamingo Motorsports and Sanderson MacLeod. He got started as a car owner at Stafford (CT) Motor Speedway in the old All-American Sportsman division in 1969. He drove in the All-American Sportsman for a few years before moving up to the Modifieds.
“Driving (a) Modified was fun, but I wasn’t that good,” Sanderson said. “I got in the way. So I decided it was time to take another avenue and I kind of got away from it for a few years.”
He joined Modified driver Chris Kopec at Riverside Park Speedway in 1994.
Solomito could join last year’s champion Doug Coby and 2010 champion Bobby Santos, III as drivers who won the title in their first season with a new team.
“I’m the only new added person to the equation,” Solomito said. “So it certainly helps that these guys have been together for a little while and they’re just going to have to get used to me and I’m going to have to get used to them so it could happen. You never know.
“We’re just going to go out there and do the best that we possibly can, put our best foot forward everyday and every time we hit the track and give 110 percent and that’s really all you can ask for when you go home at the end of the day you can tell yourself I gave it my all and that’s really all that you can do until it comes down to the wire and see where you stand and go from there. Certainly the opportunity here is huge and it’s great to be on board with these guys and just really looking forward to getting going and seeing how we fare out this weekend.”
Solomito may enter some of the Northeast Race Cars and Parts Tri-Track Open Modified Series events in his dad’s car. His schedule is dependent on sponsorship, though.
“I definitely would like to get to the Waterford (CT) Speedbowl show and maybe the Open Wheel Wednesday show (at Seekonk, MA) and possibly even Monadnock to shake down for there ’cause the race there it a little bit before the tour race,” Solomito said. “… I love racing, so it’s always good to be out at a racetrack.”
Solomito will likely run his father’s car at Riverhead (NY) Raceway’s opener on May 2.
“We always end up hitting Riverhead a few times, four or five shows and it’s always good to stay sharp on your weekends that are off, so we’ll probably be there a little bit,” Solomito said.
Older brother Shawn will succeed him in the Wayne Anderson No. 75 car. Shawn has additional responsibilities with recently buying a house and expectant father.
“That’s pretty huge for him,” Solomito said. “… It was good that he was able to step inside the 75 deal and showcase what he can bring to the table and Wayne’s a great guy and that’s a great team over there as well and I’m hoping that they run very well and have good success.”
(I) really want to thank everybody that has believed in me over the years and really happy to get to this point in my career and be on the tour on a full-time team,” Solomito said. “Just really looking forward to seeing where it takes me and how far we can go.”
The Flamingo Motorsports team of Palmer, MA won the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championship with Mike Stefanik (2006) and Preece (2013). Sanderson is one of four owners to win multiple titles since 2000.
Solomito switched to the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour full-time after a strong start last year. He won the Sunoco Rookie of the Year with two top fives and six top 10s in 13 starts. Solomito’s 10.8 average finish was the best by a Rookie of the Year since the award began in 1999, eclipsing Todd Szegedy’s 11.9 in 2002.
Sources: Nicholas Teto/YankeeRacer.com