Trevor Catalano had moderate expectations for the 2024 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season.
At just 17 years old, he was entering his first full season in NASCAR’s oldest division, joined by his older brothers Tommy and Tyler as the Catalano Motorsports team took on the challenge of fielding three full-time entries.
“To be honest with you, I thought about waiting a year and not doing the tour this year just so we could kind of get back into the groove of running more than one car,” Trevor said Catalan. “We’ve been working on the science of running one car and being more consistent with Tommy over the last three years.
“We were just trying to get our feet wet and have a solid rookie year.”
The Ontario, New York driver far exceeded his own expectations.
He won a race at New Hampshire’s Monadnock Speedway and had three top-five and four top-ten finishes en route to eighth place in the final championship standings.
With his strong season, Catalano was named the 2024 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Sunoco Rookie of the Year.
“I wanted to come in and be in the top 15,” he said. “I wanted to run between the top 10 and top 15, maybe sneak into the top 10 every now and then. That was my goal when I arrived; just go around and figure out how this whole tour unfolds and sort of becomes coherent.
“I think we’re way over the top. We had speed in almost every race we competed in (so we could) place in the top 10. I think it’s amazing. Yes, we blew a few engines, and I made a lot of mistakes throughout the year and put us behind the game.
“But that was part of the learning. I’m trying to improve and not make so many mistakes.
It’s been a bit of an eventful season for Catalano, who started the year in February at New Smyrna Speedway with a fifth-place finish. He backed that up by running with the leaders and finishing third in the second race of the year at Richmond Raceway in March.
Catalano immediately found himself at the top of the Modified Tour standings with drivers like reigning series champion Ron Silk and multi-champion Justin Bonsignore.
“Fifth place in New Smyrna, we were happy. We went to bed late and laughed. It was great,” Catalano said. “After that we said, ‘OK, let’s regroup for Richmond. Let’s try to be consistent here. A top 15 would be amazing.’
“Then we were ninth in training. I thought, “Oh, we have a really good car here. » We climbed up to third place during a long run and knocked the leaders away. I was like, ‘Man, this stuff is really good.’
“I missed one of the restarts and got into Justin (Bonsignore) a little bit and then got sideways. I missed the car, but we still finished third. It was huge.
After Richmond, however, Catalano hit a bit of a drought. An engine problem at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park relegated him to a 19th-place finish, which he followed with a 17th-place finish at Monadnock and a 24th-place finish at Riverhead Raceway following suspension problems.
These results could have brought Catalano back to reality, but they only motivated him.
Fast forward to July 20 at Monadnock and the Duel at the Dog 250. Using a bold strategy, Trevor held off Silk to score his first Modified Tour victory and the first for the Catalano Motorsports team.
The gamble, which saw Catalano stay on track as most of the leaders pitted for a fresh tire during a caution with 71 laps remaining, was a perfectly timed strategic masterpiece. He took the lead on lap 195 and led the final 56 laps en route to victory.
“We did about 100 laps of the race and the car was really good, but I was having trouble passing people,” he said. “We arrived during the caution (on lap 131) and we said we were going to the pits now and we were not going back. Then everyone went to the pit for the second caution, and I said (on the radio), “Are you sure dad?” He said, “Yes, we stand by that. We stay outside and we go play.
Silk filled Catalano’s mirror for most of the final round. The rookie found a way to keep the reigning champion behind him, a feat that still seems improbable.
“There’s fifty minutes left, and Ron Silk is third and Justin fourth, and then they both come in second and third and all you can think is, ‘Yeah, it’s over.’ You have two champions behind you and you won’t be able to hold them both off. That’s all I could think of.
“Mom was on the radio and kept telling me, ‘Don’t make a mistake, and everything will be fine.’ » Don’t miss your marks. It was great. Having my mom supervising and my dad being the crew chief…it was really awesome to have the first win with mom on the radio.
Trevor joins an impressive list of drivers to win the Modified Tour Sunoco Rookie of the Year award.
They include men like four-time series champion Bonsignore, two-time champion Donny Lia, 2003 series champion Todd Szegedy and other familiar names like Eric Goodale, Patrick Emerling, Timmy Solomito, Chase Dowling, Jake Johnson, Austin Beers and Catalano’s older brother, Tommy.
“When we won Rookie of the Year with Tommy, that was kind of one of the things I put aside and said, ‘I want to win Rookie of the Year. ‘year,'” Trevor, now 18, said. to start somewhere, and I feel like this is a really good place to start.
“You’re just adding your name to an awesome list.” Hopefully we can try to win somewhere and maybe try to win a championship before we’re done.
