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By Adam Fenwick
NASCAR.com
The Goodie Motorsports No. 58 Modified will be at every NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour event in 2024, just not always with Eric Goodale at the wheel.
The team, owned by Goodale’s father Edgar Goodale, will chase the Modified Tour owner’s championship this season with Eric sharing the No. 58 with his cousin, nine-time series race winner Timmy Solomito.
“My dad has been fielding a car on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour for 16 or 17 years back to when my brother raced on the Tour,” Eric Goodale said. “He’s got a lot invested in it, and I know he’s always wanted a championship.”
The decision to split driving time in the No. 58 so the team could chase the owner’s championship comes one year after Goodale decided to step away from full-time competition on the Modified Tour for the first time since 2008.
That decision had everything to do with his children.
“Two years ago, I kind of realized as I was getting older; I have young kids, and they play a ton of sports,” Goodale said. “I love being involved with all of them. I coach their tee ball; I coach them in football. My oldest son Mason raced last year for the first time, and I knew my time was going to be short.
“So I made the decision that this is going to be my last year (2022) that I can really fully commit to running a full Tour schedule, and we came down to the last race, the last lap of that race with the ability to win a championship, and we came up a few points short.”
That defeat in 2022, which saw Goodale finish just nine points shy of the series championship, left a bitter taste in not just his mouth, but his father’s, as well.
After talking it over, they decided to take a different approach at winning a championship. Instead of chasing the driver’s championship, they would chase the owner’s championship much like Tommy Baldwin Racing successfully did in 2022.
“Last year was the first year I’d missed Tour races in 12 or so years,” Goodale said. “I think it left a little hole in my dad. He wanted to have one more opportunity to do it. I’m just unable to do it with my job and my kids’ sports, so we decided figure out if there was somebody that I would be OK with putting in the car.”
They didn’t have to look far for an answer. In fact, they didn’t even have to look outside the family.
RELATED:See the 2024 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour schedule
Solomito, a veteran of 125 series starts, was the obvious choice to share the No. 58 GAF Roofing/Riverhead Building Supply Modified with Goodale.
For Solomito, the chance to drive the No. 58 for Goodie Motorsports came as one big surprise.
“It came kind of as a shock to me,” Solomito said. “I started a business a couple of years ago and kind of stepped away from the Tour. I haven’t really run full-time much anywhere. My uncle, Edgar, texted me and said, ‘Hey, next time you’re in Riverhead, stop by. I need to talk to you.’
“I went down to Riverhead Building Supply that they own and sat down with Eric. I knew something was up when I turned the corner and my aunt was there. It kind of caught me off guard.
“Exciting, obviously, for me. They have a really good team, and Jason Shepherd, the crew chief, and the guys on the team take it seriously.”
Solomito was a regular on the Modified Tour for six seasons from 2014-19, winning nine races and finishing second in the series standings in 2017 while driving for Flamingo Motorsports.
He stepped away from full-time competition in 2020 but has continued to run a partial schedule with the series each year, including three races last year at Riverhead Raceway, his home track.
Now he’ll be a more regular fixture with the series as he and Goodale try to win an owner’s championship in the No. 58.
“I haven’t had too many opportunities since Flamingo Motorsports a couple of years back,” Solomito said. “I’m looking forward to getting to the race track with these guys, and hopefully we’ve got some speed and we can have some fun.
“I’m sure it’ll take me a little bit of time to get acclimated with everything and get up to speed. The ultimate goal is to run up front and to win. That’s what we hope for.
“It’s exciting for me. I stepped away to start my business, and I’ve been fortunate enough that it’s been very busy, but this gives me an opportunity.”
While the driving schedule hasn’t been set, Goodale said the races he expects to miss in 2024 are at tracks where Solomito has excelled in the past.
“The races that I’m unable to do are at tracks that he is actually very good at,” Goodale said. “I can’t do the Monadnock races. I can’t do the Oswego race, and I can’t do the Lancaster race. I don’t know if he’s won at Oswego, but he’s run well there. He’s won at Monadnock. I’m still up in the air about Seekonk, but he’s won races there, as well.”
To kick off the season, Goodale will pilot the No. 58 when the Modified Tour heads to Florida’s New Smyrna Speedway for the New Smyrna Beach Area Visitors Bureau 200 on Feb. 10.
From there, it’ll be full speed ahead for Goodale and Solomito as they look to bring the Modified Tour owner’s championship back to Long Island for Edgar Goodale.
“It would be freaking awesome to go out there to secure a championship for him,” Goodale said. “He does put a lot of time and effort into my racing program. I would like to see it pay off. I know it would be extra special for him.”
