New Look for Our Motorsports
Tommy Barrett, Jr. of Millis, MA will be sporting new colors this season on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour. The No. 22 car is black with red numbers and a silver stripe. The car will also have chrome bars and wheels. Barrett said Saturday that his car may be switching to yellow numerals for the Icebreaker.
The team selected the TA2 chassis from Troyer Race Cars of Rochester, NY. The new chassis was assembled at Northeast Race Cars and Parts in Pascoag, RI. It has performed well thus far in competition. Ryan Preece won four times in six races to claim the World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing championship at New Smyrna (FL) Speedway. Eric Goodale won at New Smyrna and his first NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour race at Caraway (NC) Speedway.
“He (Crew Chief Brad Lafontaine) thinks this is the way to go and it’s probably going to be,” Barrett said. He’s usually right.”
“I can’t say enough about the talent that there,” Our said. “I’m very fortunate to be teamed up with Brad and be a house car out of there and then have Troyer with the new car. When we called to try a new car, Troyer made sure we had one right away.”
The car is based on one they brought to the PRI show in Indianapolis with this color scheme.”It was gorgeous, so we’re trying to mimic those colors again but lettering it up,” Our said. :” … It really brings it out. I think it’s going to be pretty sharp.”
Our Motorsports has added another major supporter. Milton CAT has helped Our before , but this is the first year for them to put their name on the car. The company with New England and New York locations will be backing the team’s Modified and ARCA efforts.
“They’re awesome people,” Our said. “They always helped me because of the business I’m in, but this year they said put the name on the car. So they’re kind of stepping it up for me a little bit and helping and it’s very nice and very appreciated.”
“I know Tommy’s grown a year with us and we’ve done a lot of coaching and learning together,” Our said. “I’m for positive that this year will be much better positive season for Tommy. In saying that, the competition is seasoned too. This is going to be a stellar year for competition. The whole NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour northeast has stepped their program and game up. There is no question about it.”
“I’ve noticed a lot of people are converting their MRS cars over to tour type cars, so we’re definitely going to have a good field for the 30th year,” Barrett said.
“That’s what everyone does every year,” Barrett said. “We try to step it up and so we got the new car. We’ve got a couple of people joining the team and I think it’s definitely going to be a good year, especially after last year. Like I said, we had some ups. We also had some downs, but I think we’ve got a real good package going this year.”
Our pointed to Woody Pitkat in the Buzz Chew No. 88, Bobby Santos in the Tinio No. 44, defending champion Doug Coby, and Hall of Famer Bob Garbarino. Pitkat and Santos won multiple races last year and the teams are together for another season. Coby is switching to the LFR Chassis and Garbarino is working with former champion Todd Szegedy.
“You’ve got some teams that have really stepped their own program up huge. This year is going to be a stellar, competitive season. There’s no question in my mind. And you have a lot of new teams too, a lot of new drivers. It’s going to be something very good for the Modifieds and now with the televised series, a lot of it being on TV, I hope it should move in the direction it should be noticed and done. It should be in a very positive direction.
The most extensive television package in recent memory will have nine races broadcast on NBC Sports Network during the 30th anniversary season.
“The Modifieds were dying, but honestly I think they hit a plateau and now it seems with the TV and the teams it could be going the other way,” Our said. “And truthfully, if NASCAR was smart and paid attention and put a little effort into it, this could be a driving series for them. I mean a driving series. It could be a series that is unbelievable. They have their cup, they have their Xfinity their trucks and the K&N, and I think this could be as good as any of them.”
Things have been too quiet for Chris Our’s tastes since his ARCA car attempted the Lucas Oil 200 at Daytona in February.
“There’s not a lot on Tommy this year,” Our said. “I think people the other media took it that we were bailing out of the Modifieds and they kind of not even noticing Tommy right now, which is a little disappointing. … We were running part-time (on the Whelen Modified Tour), which I did say that, but I was getting a little discouraged too. But it seems it’s coming back, so it seems like we’re coming back.”
“We’re looking forward to go to Thompson and we’re looking to run like normal right up front,” Our said. “We put a lot of effort into this. … I think we’re going to move forward from here and go to Stafford and I think you’ll find us keep moving forward. As long as everything goes the way it should be, which I think it will, you’ll see us at all the races.”
With Barret expected to run most if not all of the Whelen Modified Tour events, it suits the 19-year-old driver.
“I just love driving Modifieds,” Barrett said. “Obviously I haven’t driven every single car, but they’re definitely my favorite and I wouldn’t no matter what I’m racing I wouldn’t want to not race a Modified for the full season.”
Barrett will compete twice at the upcoming NAPA Auto Parts Spring Sizzler weekend at Stafford (CT) Motor Speedway. In addition to the 200-lap NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour race, Barrett will race the preliminary 40-lap SK Modified® race. Barrett will be driving the No. 68 car for John Rufrano, owner of Keith Rocco’s No. 88. Barrett said that he will also enter the NAPA SK 5K race.
“I talked to him (Rufrano) this winter a little bit and he was looking to run part-time in the SK,” Barrett said. “And I told him ‘I’m ready to wheel that thing to victory lane whenever you want,’ so we talked a little bit more and put something together. I’ve got Brad helping me a little bit on the setup and I’m definitely very excited and can’t thank John Rufrano enough for the opportunity.”
“…Who knows, we come out with a bang in the sizzler; John could be interested in running some more races. I’m ready to run every week if that’s what he wants to.”
The next ARCA race for them is at Talladega (AL) Speedway for the International Motorsports Hall of Fame 200 on May 1. With three tests at Daytona, Barrett has some help from one of the restrictor plate masters, eight-time Daytona winner Bobby Gerhart. Former Modified standout and Stafford champion Greg Sacks is also assisting the upstart team. The race will be broadcast on Fox Sports 1.
“We’re ready to go to Talladega and get some experience and I know Bobby Gerhart’s going to be helping us out a little bit more,” Barrett said. “..It’s all about aerodynamics and all about the draft, so it’s definitely a good learning experience. I’ve got a lot of people helping me including Greg Sacks. He’s a Firecracker 400 winner down at Daytona. It’s just a whole different experience. We’re new to it and we’re just going to build off of it this year and see where it goes.”
The team is using an engine from Bobby Gerhart with a speedway body on the car. With the possible exception of Pocono, the car will be reskinned with the new composite body and a spec fuel injection engine before its next race.
“After that we’re going to probably play it by ear a little bit,” Our said. “Bobby Gerhart’s been very good with us in working with us. So we’ll see from there and I want to focus on the modified too. The ARCA is a little bit of a bonus for us to move to try to do other things, but our roots are the Modifieds so we need to not throw that aside either.”
Barrett is committed to the Northeast Race Cars and Parts Tri-Track Open Modified Series. The expanded series will have races at Lee USA, Monadnock, New London-Waterford, and Seekonk. He won the Open Wheel Wednesday finale at Seekonk last year. Barrett considers the four tracks among his favorites, with wins at all tracks except Monadnock.
“That’s the big talk of what’s coming up this year and you can’t really beat it,” Barrett said. “With the rules package it doesn’t cost you a whole lot of money. It’s not cheap, but it won’t cause you what it does on the tour. …With the purse that’s getting paid out, you can’t really compare it to anything and James Schaefer, the racing guys, everyone just involved with that whole thing is so committed to the Tri-Track Series and that’s why it’s becoming such a big thing.
“… I believe I’m actually driving the 22 car in the Tri-Track Series so I’m looking forward to that.”
“We’re going to run that together with his car most likely at least as we need it,” Our said. “So we’re working on putting that together getting that ready. he’s always done so stellar with that we don’t want to change that up a little bit except put a little more love into it.“
“That’s a nice series now,” Our said. “A big, big, big step up by Northeast Race Cars he’s going to be sponsoring that race now. … We need to run really good for that. We need to stand beside Brad who’s so good to all of us and in between works hard for us.”
“It gives some people, even people that don’t run on the tour; it gives them something to work towards. And they might run only a couple of races a year, but they can do. And there’s money for everybody and then there’s the b main. They’ve done a hell of a job and I’m so excited that Northeast Race Cars is part of it in being the main sponsor ’cause I can’t say enough about them with their cars. You look at the cars that come out of that shop as far as it just amazing all of the teams that have come out of there run so well.”
“We struggled a little bit in the first half of the year until we got used to each other,” Our said. “…Once we got that going that’s when things settled down a little bit. We had some racing incidents. There were some races we should have won, but didn’t happen. But we were fortunate enough to win one with Bristol, which was huge, but I have a feeling this year coming off the get go, we’ll be smoother, a little more organized with Tommy and Tommy’s going to be a little more seasoned and groomed to move forward. I honestly think coming out of the gate we should be a good top five contender.”
Barrett will begin his second season in the Canto Paving/Ferguson Waterworks Chevrolet this weekend.
Sources: Nicholas Teto/YankeeRacer.com
2015 car courtesy of Thirty Two Signs