Column By: STEPHEN DURHAM / RPW – LOUDON, NH – There were plenty of headlines to cover last weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, as the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour was a part of a double header Saturday with the NASCAR Xfinity Series.
For two drivers a part of the Whelen Modified Tour in 2024, it was their first time to ‘Magic Mile’ and they flexed their muscles during the race, although not having the finishes they wanted.
The first driver being Luke Baldwin, who just turned 18 this past weekend at Loudon, made his Whelen Modified Tour debut at New Hampshire. Luke, who is the son of longtime modified team owner and former Cup Series crew chief, Tommy Baldwin Jr.
With qualifying rained out on Friday for the Whelen Modified Tour, Luke was slated to start deep, starting in 27th for the Mohegan Sun 100. Baldwin found himself fighting in the top 10, and near the top 5 during the second half of the race.
On lap 78, things would come to an end for Luke, as he was involved in a wreck while running in the top 10, ending his day prematurely.
“New Hampshire was an incredible experience, despite the results. I learned a ton and had a blast,” Baldwin says “I never thought I would be at this point in my career so soon, I couldn’t be more thankful.”
Another young driver who has had strong races already in 2024. Being Trevor Catalano, where he has two top 5 finishes early this year at New Smyrna and Richmond.
Catalano had speed on Friday in the one and only practice session for the tour, as he was 5th quickest behind Ryan Preece, Justin Bonsignore, Matt Swanson, and Jake Johnson.
Catalano had issues in the latter part of the Mohegan Sun 100, with a left front going down, but ultimately would come away with a 12th place finish on the day.
“We showed good speed, the first 50 laps I was just trying to learn, figuring out what I needed to do at the end to put myself in the right position for a strong finish, or maybe sneak out a win,” Catalano says.
For the whole Catalano family, three brothers were all racing together at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. For Trevor, it was an experience to be working with his older brother Tommy.
“After the pit-stop we talked about trying to get the lead and set the pace for the field, but it’s a tough place to get in line with the people you want to work with,” Trevor explains “we learned a lot this year, and hopefully we can come back next year and do even better.”
One more driver who made his return to Loudon was the 22 year old Sam Rameau, making one other start earlier this month at Seekonk, finishing in 11th.
With qualifying rained out, Rameau would start deep on the field in 23rd, but would work his way through the field throughout the race, coming home in 5h place.
“I felt like we had a really good car, guys did great on pit road, and everyone at the shop made this car” Rameau says “it really goes back to shop, we were really good right out of the box, really proud of these 06 guys.”
Rameau has additional races ahead lined up, following multiple series through the summer, with an additional few races expected with the Whelen Modified Tour.
