Trevor Catalano Scores First NASCAR Modified Tour Win for Himself and His Family – Short Track Scene

The Catalano family has been trying to win a NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour race since 2018.

Saturday night at Monadnock Speedway, 17-year-old Trevor Catalano delivered the win his entire family had been craving.

Trevor, the youngest of three brothers currently racing on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, held off reigning champion Ron Silk to win the Duel at the Dog 250.

“This is amazing,” Trevor said. “My mom and dad, they give us everything they can to come here and be competitive. They gave me everything I know. I just can’t thank my parents enough.

“It’s a whole family operation. We all pick up from each other and try to deliver the best car we can and come out every week and be competitive. Man, this thing was on rails.”

Before Saturday, the best NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour performance for the Catalano family was held by 26-year-old Tommy Catalano, who finished second at Richmond Raceway during the 2022 season.

To improve on that performance, Trevor and the Catalano Motorsports team had to gamble.

When the yellow flag waved for Tim Connolly’s stalled car with 71 laps to go, most of the front-runners opted to pit for a new Hoosier tire.

Three drivers – Kyle Bonsignore, Woody Pitkat and Trevor – instead opted to stay out and inherited the top three positions. Patrick Emerling and Ron Silk, who were the leaders before the caution, would start fourth and fifth for the restart.

When the race resumed, Trevor went to work, beating Pitkat with ease and taking the lead from Bonsignore on lap 195. Trevor promptly built up a half-second lead over the field, but it didn’t last.

Behind him, Silk was on the move. After passing Bonsignore with 53 laps to go, Silk quickly set off in pursuit of Trevor.

The next 50 laps saw Silk chase down the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour rookie, trying to bait him into a mistake and nearly getting a shot with 23 laps to go when Trevor stumbled in Turn 3.

Silk caught up with him, but Trevor was wiser for his age and used Melissa Fifield’s lap car as a hold, forcing Silk to close in behind him again in the first and second corners.

“I made a couple of mistakes. I thought Ronnie (Silk) was going to get me. He raced me clean,” Trevor said. “I just tried to ride as hard as I could without making any mistakes.”

That was the closest Silk would come to completing the pass. Trevor crossed the finish line .254 seconds ahead of Silk to earn his first NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour victory in his ninth start.

Silk, to his credit, said he didn’t want to drag Trevor out of the way. He wanted to sweep him clean, but just didn’t have the car to do it.

“I probably should have just rotated the center a little bit better,” Silk said. “I would say we were basically even. I didn’t want to knock him out. He did a great job. He didn’t make any mistakes. I was hoping he would make one and I could get my nose under him.

“Congratulations Trevor, he did a fantastic job.”

Four other members of the Catalano family had attempted to win NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour races before Trevor’s victory Saturday night. They included his mother, Amy, and his three brothers, Timmy, Tommy and Tyler.

However, it was Trevor, the youngest of the group participating in the series at the time, who got the job done.

“This is one I’ll probably never forget,” said Trevor.

After falling through the field on the final restart, Emerling pulled away to finish third. Matt Hirschman and Kyle Bonsignore rounded out the top five.

Pitkat, Justin Bonsignore, Matt Kimball, Tommy Catalano and Austin Beers finished in sixth through tenth place respectively.

The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season continues on Saturday, August 3 with the Nu-Way Auto Parts 150 at Lancaster Motorplex in New York. FloRacing will have live coverage of the event beginning at 8 p.m. ET.

NWMT Tour Duel at the Dog 250
Monadnock Speedway
July 20, 2024

Trevor Catalan*
Ron Silk
Patrick Emerling
Matt Hirschmann
Kyle Bonsignore
Woody Pitkat
Justin Bonsignore
Matthew Kimball
Tommy Catalan
Austin beers
Brian Robie
Craig Lutz
Stephen Kopcik*
Jake Johnson
Tyler Catalan*
Kyle Ebersole
Nathan Wenzel
Ken Heagy
Melissa Fifield
John-Michael Shenette*
Tim Connolly