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By Adam Fenwick NASCAR.com
Photo Michael Jaworecki/Myracenews
Trevor Catalano had mild expectations for the 2024 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season.
At just 17, he was embarking upon his first full season within 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 just kind of 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 Catalano said. “We got down to the science of running one car and being more consistent with Tommy the last three years.
“We were just trying to get our feet wet and have a solid rookie year.”
The driver from Ontario, New York far exceeded his own expectations.
He won a race at New Hampshire’s Monadnock Speedway and posted three top-five and four top-10 finishes on his way to eighth in the final championship standings.
As a result of his solid season, Catalano was named the 2024 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Sunoco Rookie of the Year.
“I wanted to come in and be a top-15 car,” he said. “I wanted to run in between that top 10 and top 15 area, maybe sneak into the top 10 every once in a while. That was my goal coming in; just get laps and figure out how this whole tour thing rolls and kind of get consistent.
“I think we exceeded a lot. We had speed at almost every single race we showed up to (so we could) run inside the top 10. I think that’s amazing. Yeah, we blew a couple motors, and I made many mistakes throughout the year and put us behind the game.
“But that was part of the learning. Trying to get better and not make as many mistakes.”
The season was a bit of a whirlwind for Catalano, who started the year in February at New Smyrna Speedway with a fifth-place finish. He backed that up by racing with the leaders and finishing third in the second race of the year at Richmond Raceway in March.
Catalano immediately found himself near the top of the Modified Tour standings with drivers like defending series champion Ron Silk and multi-time champion Justin Bonsignore.
“The fifth place at New Smyrna, we were happy. We were up late hanging out laughing. That was awesome,” Catalano said. “After that, we said, ‘OK, let’s regroup for Richmond. Let’s try and be consistent here. A top 15 would be amazing.’
“Then we were like ninth in practice. I was like, ‘Oh, we have a really good car here.’ We drove up to third during a long run, ran the leaders down. I was like, ‘Man, this thing is really good.’
“I messed up on one of the restarts and got into Justin (Bonsignore) a little bit and then got sideways. I messed up the car, but we still finished third. That was huge.”
After Richmond, though, Catalano experienced a bit of a drought. An engine issue at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park relegated him to a 19th-place finish, which he followed with a 17th-place effort at Monadnock and a 24th-place run at Riverhead Raceway following suspension problems.
Those results could have snapped Catalano back to reality, but all they did was motivate him.
Fast-forward to July 20 at Monadnock and the Duel at the Dog 250. Utilizing a daring strategy call, Trevor held off Silk to capture his first Modified Tour victory and the first for the Catalano Motorsports team.
The gamble, which saw Catalano stay on track when most of the leaders hit the pits for a fresh tire during a caution with 71 laps left, was a perfectly timed strategic masterpiece. He took the lead on Lap 195 and led the final 56 en route to the victory.
“We got like 100 laps into the race and the car was really good, but I was struggling to pass people,” he said. “We came in during the caution (on Lap 131), and we said we’re going to pit right now and we’re not pitting again. Then everybody went to go pit the second caution, and I said (on the radio), ‘Are you sure dad?’ He said, ‘Yep, we’re sticking with it. We’re staying out, and we’re going to gamble.’”
Silk filled Catalano’s mirror throughout most of the final run. The rookie somehow found a way to keep the reigning champion behind him, a feat that even now seems improbable.
“Fifty to go, and Ron Silk is up to third and Justin is fourth and then they both get to second and third and all you can think is, ‘Yup, this is over.’ You’ve got two champions behind you, and you’re not going to be able to hold them both off. That’s all I could think about.
“Mom was on the radio and just kept telling me, ‘Just don’t mess up, and you’ll be fine. Just don’t miss your marks.’ It was awesome. To have my mom spotting and my dad crew chiefing … it was really awesome to have the first win come 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 the Rookie of the Year with Tommy, that was kind of one of the things I set aside and said, ‘I want to win the Rookie of the Year,’” said Trevor, now 18. “You’ve got to start somewhere, and I feel like that’s a really good starting spot.
“You just add your name to an awesome list. Hopefully we can try and go win somewhere and maybe try to win a championship before we’re done.”
