MODIFIED MINUTE
Modified Minute - 100% devoted to the Modified Racing World
MODIFIED MINUTE
EPISODE 3
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In Episode 3 of the “Modified Minute” you’ll hear Jonathan Puleo share a conversation he had with his father moments before he won the 2026 SK Modified Championship. Tyler Rypkema shares what really happened and why FloRacing TV failed to interview him in Martinsville despite his podium finish. Tommy Baldwin shares memories of his father along with his current role at Rick Ware Racing and fielding TBR Modified cars on the racing circuit. “Hot Dog of the Week” covers a driver’s “on the job training”. And, we relive Michael Christopher, Jr.’s winning run in the TC 13 from inside his car.
We are now perfect.
SPEAKER_08This week on the modified minute.
SPEAKER_07I mean, I think my fans were a little irritated about it, but at the end of the day, if if they want me to fly under the radar, I am absolutely fine with that.
SPEAKER_00It's already done with now. Like we already we already lost it. So if we get a little bit of luck here, like it is what it is, you know, and everything's in front of us. Got enough of you, motherfucking!
SPEAKER_05And you get to a point that you get aggravated, you know, and just all that plus a dog of the week, radio replay.
SPEAKER_08Either or. So tighten those belts because this week's modified minute is next. They're called the Mod Squad. Ground Pounders. The men that live by the grace of God and 600 horsepower.
SPEAKER_03Here they come to the strike, down to the finish, checker flag in the air. Fox and you are up to hell. Here comes Salamino to the inside. Here comes John Fitti Jr.
SPEAKER_08And off the corner to the Y they come. This is the Modified Minute. Go inside the world of modified racing with Jackaroot. Modified Minute is brought to you by Wadell Communications, the official track side radio supplier for the Mod Squad. By Mid-State Psyched Development, safety, knowledge, and innovation. By Wheelers Auto Services, the finest in top-level service of premier automobile makes and models. By Hummel Brothers Quality Means. 100% quality since 1933. By Hoosier Tire East. Tires designed for champions. By Riverhead Building Supply. Build Smarter. Build better. By New England Racing Fuels. New England's authorized distributor of Sunoko Fuels and Products. And by Ferguson contractors. Building excellence since 1925. Here's Jack.
SPEAKER_06Hey, welcome back and thanks for listening. Our guest list this week includes the Wheel of Modified Tours current point leader, Stafford Speedway's SK Modified Champion, a ride aboard Michael Christopher's PT Watts SK, along with a crew call with one of Modified Racing's best, whose career stretches all the way back to sweeping floors at his father's race shop over 50 years ago. And I think you'll find this week's Hot Dog of the Week selection just a little bit surprising. You know, the Modified World's focus is on the World Series of Racing upcoming at the Thompson Speedway. But last weekend, the Smart Tour made a stop with their Southern Modifieds at Dominion Speedway. So why don't we get you up to speed with the results from that event in the old Dominion State?
SPEAKER_08Time to get you up to speed in the modified world. Up to speed is brought to you by Mid-State Site Development. Mid-State safety, knowledge, and innovation. The Flying VA Classic rolled off under sunny skies and in front of a great crowd.
SPEAKER_04It's time to make some noise at Dominion Raceway because the smart modified tour lives by the grace of God and 600 horsepower. Off of turn number four, we will go green with the flying VA Classic at Dominion Raceway. I believe it'll be red and four that we're left with. Go to line on that one. So coming around this time, the orange light. Oh, the trouble behind that. Oh, Miss Murray almost got double. And that'll allow all of them to get back to second and another fall when possibly to get into third because Jack Baldwin is on the inside of McMurry for two studios teammates. One is the FNS racing, the other is the PSR house car. Oh following away up the racetrack, Jack Faldwin, as well as the O2! Excuse me, Wallace gets into the Stoke 2 machine. That race is all windy. See the fiber's net on that race car has dropped a little bit as well. And why is it such a big deal? For Jack Baldwin comes into this race third in the series point spinning. 10 points out of the point leader. Lofton fires don't fall with. And look at the right rear tires spin and contact between double race cars, including Danny Fohn, the point leader, and Brandon Ward. More to go for Carson Lofton. Why not our camera's here to kill the big gap, big gap? That's big grade racing team. Look at that huge weed over Jack Bob in second. The Lofton family has been around modified racing for a long time. This win will mean a lot to the teenager tonight. Carson Lofton will win the Flying VA Classic at Dominion Raceway. His dad, a nine-time winner in the Smart Modified Tour, and now Carson Lofton winning a traditional race, the Flying VA Clastic, here at Dominion Raceway.
SPEAKER_06Now that the 26th season is fully underway, let's take a look at the major modified series and their point standings.
SPEAKER_08Let's take a look at the chases for the championships. Brought to you by New England Racing Fuels, New England's authorized distributor of Sunoko fuels and products. Sunoko, the official fuel of NASCAR. A pair of podium finishes in the first two races has put Tyler Ripcom up on top of the early Wheeling Tour standings with Defending Wheeling, Modified Champ Austin beers, just two points behind. The remainder of the top five are Patrick Emmerling, Martinsville winner, Steven Coxtick, and Eric Goodday. Next up for the tour is this weekend's Icebreaker 150 at the Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park. In the Smart Modified Tour, Jack Baldwin takes the top spot, followed by a tie for second between Joey Braun and Ryan Newman. Danny Bone is fourth with a tie for fifth between Will Lambrose and Brandon Ward. The Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series kicks off their 2026 campaign this weekend as part of Thompson Speedway's Motorsports Park Icebreaker Weekend.
SPEAKER_06Well, thanks to Mother Nature, it might have taken two days for the wheel and modified race at the Martinsville Speedway. But when the checkered flag waved, Tyler Ripkema came home with a strong third place finish in his old blue bowler number three and took over the early lead in the 2026 champion standings. He is in this week's Racer Spotlight.
SPEAKER_08Racer Spotlight is brought to you by Riverhead Building Supply. Build better.
SPEAKER_06Build smarter. Well, joining us now is a guy that is really starting to make waves in the modified tour ranks. Ever since he teamed up with Old Blue, he has been on a tear, and right now, he has backed up a couple of well, what we would call podium finishes, with I would say, in my humble opinion, an awful lot of people looking over their shoulders saying, we need to look out for Tyler Ripko. He joins us now here on the Modified Minute. Tyler, it's been quite the run. First in New Smyrna, and then you back it up when uh when you finish on the podium at Martinsville Speedway. What what accounts for this newfound muscle that you and Old Blue and the bowler team are exhibiting?
SPEAKER_07I mean, it's a lot of time together, I think, is part of it. You know, we've had a full season together. Um, we started to get the ball rolling last season, you know, obviously with the big win at New Hampshire. Um and uh, you know, a lot of me stepping back also and trying to be smarter and not make mistakes and know when to be aggressive and when to take it easy, and and uh again, just time together, you know. Um Scott and Greg are getting to know me better, I'm getting to know Scott and Greg better, I'm getting to know a BRE car better. Um, so a lot of that just has to be time. And uh yeah, I think it's really we're we're really gelling well together uh between Scott, Greg, and and you know, my crew chief from the 32, uh Zach Truesdale, and and uh yeah, we're really starting to to come together.
SPEAKER_06I want to go back to New Hampshire where you scored your first career victory one year ago, and uh it was it was unconventional at best. What do you recall about that win?
SPEAKER_07Yeah, you know, I mean most of that race, you know, I was running second to Justin, or you know, for probably more than half the race, I was second to Justin and uh very content, you know, running second to him. I didn't have any desire to go out and try to delete a bunch of laps and you know show my hand, I guess. Um yeah, it was unconventional. Uh looking back, I was nervous as all get out, knowing that, hey, I'm gonna I'm saving this for the last lap. And if I screw up, you know, you're not gonna win this thing, you know.
SPEAKER_03Off turn two, can he make a move for the victory? The block. Bontanor drives right down to the inside lane of the racetrack. He can't go any lower. Here comes Ripkima on the apron through turns three and four, out in front, off turn number four, checkered flag in sight, and off the corner to the line they come, they make contact, Ripkama into the outside wall, but he takes the checkered flag.
SPEAKER_07Coming to the checkered, you know, just not knowing if Justin had a pusher. Um I had to do that late, uh, the late block. Um, a lot of times coming to the checkered flag, there there's three or four cars pushing each other, you know, and and uh so I saw him leave the mirror and I chased him, and it was just, you know, caught him by the couple inches there coming to the line. But I wouldn't I wouldn't change anything, you know. I mean, obviously if I had a bird's eye view and I could see it in slow-mo, I would just stay on the bottom there and not do that late block. But uh, you know, hindsight's 2020, and at the end of the day, the the checkered flag and the trophy came home with BRE and me. So uh no, I I uh I wouldn't change anything.
SPEAKER_06You know, that victory is added to a long list of over 300 victories that bowler racing enterprises have won in the modified circuit, going all the way back to the 60s, 70s, and 80s. You join a pretty elite group of drivers that have wheeled old blue.
SPEAKER_07Yeah, I mean, absolutely. The list is endless. Teddy Christopher, Fred Desarro. I mean, it it's Bugsy Stevens. I mean, it is just absolutely absurd. Um, the amount of drivers that have drove for the three team over the years and the accolades that they have brought to that team and who that what that team has brought to them. Um yeah, I mean it it it's uh it walking into their shop, it's just absolutely just it's history on the walls, you know. It's the shop that they started racing at and they're still racing out of. So it's it's it's unbelievable um to be a part of the three team and uh you know to start you know clicking off some good run runs here back to back. And and Scott said it best, you know, he's like, hey, he's like before we even started the race at Smyrna, hey man, it's the start of 16 races right now, we need 16 good ones. And then as soon as the race is over, he said, hey, heck of a driver or heck of a d drive, we need 15 more good ones. And then as as soon as Martinsville was over, he said, heck of a drive, we need 14 more good ones, you know. So we're not it's it's way too early to be staring at the points and everything like that. I could honestly right now I could care less where I am at and the points, you know. It's good to be up there, but I'm not gonna sit here and be content, you know. I need I need to be smart, be aggressive when I have to be, and we have to keep backing up and and you know, keep running these top fives, you know, have top five speed, you know. And uh, I mean, at the end of the day, it seems like that's what you have to do to be a contender at the end of the season, is you have to top five the heck out of everybody.
SPEAKER_06What's your take on this new American racer? You now have two races under your belt with the team and with that new Dr. Feel good. It's everybody says it's different, but it looks as if it's got a longevity to it that maybe heretofore with the old Hoosiers, uh, the drop-off was pretty steep. What's your what what are your your uh your feelings about this switch to the American Racer?
SPEAKER_07Yeah, I mean the switch, you know, I it adds a new uh just adds a whole new uh perspective for the tour this year, you know. I mean, everybody's in the same boat, it's a different tire. You know, uh the tire itself, it doesn't seem like it likes to be pushed. You know, like if you uh you know load up the right front a little too hard, it's gonna get tight on the right front. If you're trying to really get a good drive off and you're a little aggressive throttle off, it's gonna load up on the right rear and it's gonna get loose. Um but as far as the fall off, yeah. I mean, I believe we pitted around what lap 150, I think. Um, and that was our first set of tires for the race. And you know, I had started struggling, don't get me wrong, but uh yeah, you would have never dreamt of going 140, 150 laps on a set of Hoosiers. You would have been, you know, just you would have been a sitting duck. Um so it's different, that's for sure. And uh they do have a shelf life, it just seems to be like double what a Hoosier used to be.
SPEAKER_06Let me go back to the Martinsville race and flow racing's coverage of such in the end, they interviewed the winner second place, fourth place, and even fifth place absent from the roster of interviews was you. When you got home, how did your fans react to that absence?
SPEAKER_07Um, I mean, I think my fans were a little irritated about it, but at the end of the day, if if they want me to fly under the radar, I am absolutely fine with that. You know, I I'm not huge at interviews or, you know, this kind of stuff. You know, if it happens, it happens. I'll never turn down an interview. But at the end of the day, I'm perfectly fine with flying under the radar and uh just letting my on-track performance uh speak for me.
SPEAKER_06Is the bowler racing Oh go ahead.
SPEAKER_07Sorry, yeah. No, I do want to back up though and say, you know, I I have flows flow racing does an outstanding job for the modified racing. And you know, I absolutely absolutely and what they bring to the tour and what they bring to modified racing and short track racing in general is absurd. And and you look back, you know, 10-15 years ago, and I I think what they've brought to the table for short track racing and modified racing in general, it's it's you know, they they've been amazing. So absolutely no ill will toward them whatsoever. I understand, you know, the time crunches there under MRN was giving me an interview, you know, they had to get to victory lane, it was just a timing thing. Oh, wait a minute, wait a minute.
SPEAKER_06That's what most people didn't realize. So the camera crew came to you, but you were giving MRN an interview, so they moved on, and as you say, with the time crunch, because the victory lane had been set up, so it was an act of omission innocently because you were busy dabbing with someone from the radio.
SPEAKER_07Yeah, exactly. You know, it's like it's like I say, it's it was just it was a timing thing, you know. Yeah, there's no, you know, Ryan Flores, he came over to me afterwards before all this, you know, crap went off on on you know Facebook and everything, and and he said to me right after the race, hey man, sorry I didn't get to you. You know, we we M RN was in your window there when we were coming to you, and he's like, We had to go get to Victory Lane. So he's like, you know, we hit what we could and we turned around and you were still busy and we had to go. And I'm like, hey, it's no problem, man. You know, Ryan's always been good, and I was on stacking pennies with Ryan, and and uh yeah, no, it's like I say, I it's it is what it is, you know. But uh like I say, at the end of the day, I am fine with flying under the radar and just letting our on-track performance uh speak for us.
SPEAKER_06You like being sneaky, you know. I I guess so. I want to go back to uh the three. Are those cats do they operate old school? And I think you know what I mean, old school. They've been at it for so long.
SPEAKER_07Yeah, they've been at it for so long. Um I wouldn't call them old school. Like they are very, very smart. Um both Greg and Scott work very, very hard. Um the budget is not what you see for a lot of these other teams, you know? Like they do their own chassis and they still, you know, love building and and fabricating their own cars, and uh, I mean their cars handle awesome. Um, so I mean, old school in an essence of hey, they're still building all their own stuff, which is unbelievable.
SPEAKER_06You know, that's my that's my point. You're not going to you're not going to Troyer, you're not going to LFR, you're not going. And especially in an environment where this year, the Wheel and Modified Tour, every chassis has to be approved, whether it's home built, as a case of Bowler, or uh coming from one of the manufacturers. So I say good on them. That's what I meant by old.
SPEAKER_07Yeah, absolutely. And you know, it's been approved by NASCAR, obviously, and I took about as hard of a hit as you could take at Wilkesboro last year, and you know, was able to get out of the car and I was fine, you know. So that's a testament too that they're safe as well, you know. It's and uh yeah, they've been doing it so long, man. And I think it it it gives a strategic advantage, you know. Uh all these tracks we go to, they've got a notebook, you know, they've been there, they've tried stuff there, you know. And uh and when it comes down to the chassis itself, if they want to try something, they can fabricate it and we'll try it, you know. Um, you know, they're not going down to Fury or something and saying, like, let's try this or do this, and then you know, it ends up, you know, you forget about it, you know. Um no, like I say, I can't say enough about everything that they do and their ingenuity there and and their work ethic is uh it's it's you know unbelievable, these guys, how hard they work.
SPEAKER_06Next up is the icebreaker, Thompson, and uh the high banks of five eighths of a mile in distance. How excited are you to get A back up north and b hit those high banks where the speeds are incredible?
SPEAKER_07Oh yeah, no, I'm excited. I mean, uh, you know, Smyrna is obviously really fast as well, and and uh so no, I'm I'm excited to get uh back up to Thompson and uh have a good showing and and like I say, we've got to have 14 more good ones, so we just gotta keep our uh momentum rolling here, keep the cars all straight and clean, and and uh we'll see where we where everything shakes out in another 14 races.
SPEAKER_06And after Thompson, we're all headed to Oxford Plains. Uh I don't even think you were born the last time the modified's raced at Oxford Plains. So you know, how how are you gonna get ready for that? Are you just gonna go in new and uh or are you gonna try and get on i racing? I what's gonna be your battle plan when you hit Oxford?
SPEAKER_07Yeah, I I do have an iRacing simulator set up. I haven't been on it in years, just you know, I'm right now I'm in a hotel room, you know, out of town. But uh that is something I need to do, get that out and just get some laps. I know I did that years ago in like 2021 before we went to Martinsville. I ran a bunch of iRacing laps, so that is something I need to use to my advantage before going there. Um, the three team has been there and um not in a tour race, but a modified race recently with Jake. So, and they had a car that was really good. So um, yeah, I mean we have a notebook going into the racetrack, and it's just gonna be the fact that I've never raced there before. I've never even been on the property before. So that's that's uh gonna be a a learning curve for me. But uh like I say, you know, we're gonna show up with our right foot forward and uh, you know, show up prepared and and uh you know, do everything we can and put a hundred and ten percent on the track.
SPEAKER_06As you alluded to, you're coming to us. After a hard day's work out of a motel room, how often how many days a week are you away from home?
SPEAKER_07Depends on the week. You know, usually Monday to Thursday or Friday, I'm out of town uh coming home. And if it's a race weekend, you know, a lot of times we're just jumping in the truck and end of the race. And it's it's usually anywhere between two and three nights a week if you know we're not racing. If we're racing, it could be one night.
SPEAKER_06Well, listen, we wish you the best of luck. Can't wait for you to get up to Thompson. And uh it's good to see you put old blue back in the spotlight in the Wheel of Modified Tour.
SPEAKER_07Absolutely. I'm just glad old Blue put me in this back in the spotlight on the modified tour. It's all the all the thanks goes out to those guys.
SPEAKER_06One of the great things about the modified racing community is the passion and the love for it is passed from generation to generation. And that's the case with this week's Crew Call Cat.
SPEAKER_08Time to drop in at the race shop and get the inside dope from the guys who twist the wrenches. It's Crew Call. Brought to you by Ferguson Contractors, building excellence since 1925.
SPEAKER_06Well, today's racing spotlight shines on a guy who traces his legacy back to Belport, New York, where his dad, the late Tommy Baldwin, was one of Modified Racing's top shoes. To his credit, he now has on his resume, get this, a Daytona 500 winning crew chief title. He serves as the director of competition at NASCAR's Rickware Racing, and he fields some of the most potent modifies on the circuit today. And oh, lest I forget, he has two sons that are absolutely hot modified drivers. We're talking about Tommy Baldwin Jr., who's in the house. TB, thanks for joining us here on the Modified Minute. And finally, we come to this week's either or. I thought you'd like to hear from a guy with 50 years beneath his belt roaming the pits. He shared his story earlier in this episode, but now we put Tommy Baldwin back into the hot seat. With your resume as long as it is, I guess we gotta end this end this interview before we can even start it. Can you stack anything else onto your credits there in what you've done in your career?
SPEAKER_05Yeah, I mean, uh obviously I've been fortunate enough to uh have a lot of good people around me, right? And good support group to do, you know, be able to do what I've failed to do, you know, throughout my career. And uh you know, I had uh, you know, obviously my dad taught me a lot, you know, growing up how to work on these things and work hard and you know the responsibility of of getting up and getting to work every day and doing what needed to be done. So um, you know, that drive has taken me to this point, you know, um, where I am today and where I was, you know, growing growing in this sport. Your dad was very successful.
SPEAKER_06It certainly indicates to me that he imprinted upon you the way most racing dads do, as you say, the work ethic, but more importantly, the passion for the sport that you decided to pursue.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, I mean, I don't I don't think I had a choice. You know what I mean? You know, we you know, with the the the repair shop which we still have today, um you know, if I wanted to see him, I had to be there. You know, and I started I started working at the shop, at the repair shop when I was eight years old. I mean, we had a you know two gas pumps and I started pumping gas and checking people's oil, and next thing you know, I was sweeping flooras and wrapping up extension cords and air hoses, and you know, the next step was cleaning the race car the right way, and then the next time, you know, next thing was picking up wrenches and starting to work on them. So I had the opportunity to start very early, but you know, yeah, I had to I had to want it, I guess, back then. I you know, I just wanted to be there, I wanted to be around my dad, I wanted to be around, you know, all the guys that were there helping out, you know, and uh, you know, believe it or not, some some of the couple of the guys are still helping me today and uh you know, that I I grew up with. But you know, yeah, I had to I had to want it, I guess, back then. I you know, I just wanted to be there, I wanted to be around my dad, I wanted to be around, you know, all the guys that were there helping out, you know, and uh, you know, believe it or not, some some of the couple of the guys are still helping me today and uh you know that I I grew up with. So uh yeah, it's been special. It's uh you know, I've been fortunate enough to win win a lot of races in my career, uh, you know, throughout the whole Northeast and Southeast. And um Yeah, I've been blessed, you know, with uh some really good race car drivers, you know, starting with my dad and uh and now I got the kids racing, which is pretty cool, and uh yeah, having a lot of fun.
SPEAKER_06Let me ask you, what was you know, this sport is cruel as well as it can make you feel good on the day that you lost your dad, did you ever for a moment consider walking away from the sport that took basically the love of your life?
SPEAKER_05Yeah, man, I didn't I didn't have a it didn't even give me a chance to be able to think like that because you know it was weird that day because for some reason I didn't even know there was a race. You know, he was racing that night. I I don't know why. I was already in Michigan, I was really busy. We were going, you know, we were trying to get into the into the points battle of the championship with Casey Kane at the time. So there was a lot of things going on, and for some reason I lost track of what what was going on that week or for a couple weeks, and uh, you know, next thing I know I got a I got a call from from uh Brad Lafontaine uh what was going on, and you know, I asked him a couple questions what was going on there, and and and you know, and I asked him one question, he gave me an answer and I knew it was bad, you know. So um you know, it had a lot again an uh a a lot of responsibility at that point, you know. It's uh you know he passed away, it's like okay, now it's like alright, what he'd had it what did he have going on in Long Island with the businesses and what we have to do. There's just you know, a lot of things you had to go step up to the next step of of being you know, taking over the legacy, I guess, to the Baldwin legacy, you know, going, okay, man, I got now I gotta do this. So you know, right away we you know, we we stayed on Sunday, finished fifth at Michigan and flew home. Um Ray got me a plane, you know, got on Ray's plane and and flew. Me and my family flew to Long Island and took care of the funeral. And man, I had to get to work. I had to figure out what was gonna go on with the business, you know, and and and get things done there. And uh thank God we we got we had some really good people there that wanted to step up and do, and they're still there today. And you know that that facility you know, you know, he was getting ready to move down south um with me. He he was getting ready, he had enough of that place. So he's he was letting the place run down, and it was on it was only six, seven employees at the time. And um you know, so I had to get to work, I had to rebuild the place, and now we got two of them, we got 28 employees, and you know, it's just like you know, it it's funny, it took me like seven, eight years after he passed away. You know, he didn't leave anything. Like he it was a mess, dude. Like, no will be. No, no, no.
SPEAKER_06That's typical Tommy. All he wanted to do was strap himself in that race car and then, you know, chew nails and spit rust.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, yeah. And and and the thing is, you know, it took me like seven, eight years to figure out. It's like, you know what? I work for it, right? If he wants it, me, he's gonna have to work for it and figure it out the way I did, you know, and he and he he always he always instilled in me, he's like, this place would never run without me. This place would never run without me. Well, you know what, he was just setting me up. You know, he was setting me up to go. If something did happen to him, I was gonna have to figure it out on my own and and and you know, and show him that the place could run. You know, you know, now it's triple the size and four times the people. It's like, yeah, I told you, motherfucker. Yeah, you know, I told you, you know, how this is gonna this was gonna happen. So yeah, I mean, it's great, you know. Um you know, it's just all the stories, you know. Everybody always you don't go to any racetrack still to this day without somebody talking about my dad.
SPEAKER_06Probably the the most telling moment I remember was the running of the first and only Stafford 300. Your dad was running in the top ten, and I forget who he tangled with, but it was a horrific crash, and he was stopped on the back stretch along with the rest of the field under a red flag. He was so pissed off, he got out of the car, grabbed a bucket of speedy drive from the track crew, and went up to the driver that he felt had offended him and poured it on top of the air cleaner.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, yeah. Sometimes it happens. I don't know.
SPEAKER_06Is that where you trace your mercurial nature? Because you're not afraid to call someone out when you feel that he has wronged you or your team or done something untoward out on the racetrack.
SPEAKER_11That was you!
SPEAKER_05Yeah, I mean it just you know, we we work really hard, you know, and and it's it sucks that it's people that you know you feel you know, not that they don't work hard, it's just they take advantage of situations and they don't care, right? It's not their equipment, they don't they're not there every day, it's not their money, you know. And you you get to a point and you get aggravated, you know. It's just um, you know, my dad my dad had to fight for everything he had, man. You know, it's just every day was a fight. I watched that guy, most a lot of it was his own fault. But I watched that guy get beat up, man, you know, ever sometimes days, and you know, all I did is see him get up the next morning and get after it. You know, and it's just like how bad it doesn't matter how bad you had it that day, man, you gotta get up the next day and you gotta you gotta figure it out, man. You gotta make things work, you gotta do the things, and you know, don't that's unfortunate, you know, it's good and it's bad that it's in my head because I haven't yet be able to calm down yet because of that. You know what I'm saying? It's just like you know, you lay in bed at four or five in the morning, it's like you wake up, you know, and it's like please mind, don't wake up, mind. You know, don't think mind. Don't all of a sudden boom, and it's like, man, I gotta get to work, I gotta do this, I gotta do that, I gotta do all these things, you know. It's just like dad, I wish you didn't I wish you didn't instill this in my brain.
SPEAKER_06Let me ask you, to this day, you balance uh a pretty critical role in a in a cup operation at the very top level of NASCAR, and then have just as extensive a modified racing operation under TBR. How do you balance the two?
SPEAKER_05Well, I'm fortunate enough that Rick w wears a racer, right? And um, you know, we we do we share the modified shop with the late model shop, with Rick's late model shop. So um I I look after that a little bit too. So I I have my hours here and then I have my hours late at late afternoon, early evening hours at the modified shop. You know, it's just like you know, you gotta do what you gotta do, you know. It's uh um it's a lot of work, but you know, I always tell everybody it's like I get to I get to do my hobby for a living my whole life, right? How you know there's not many people that that can do that. So um, you know, I I will tell you though, racing the modified if you are not totally into it, like you know, when I was going when I went for the championship in 2000, I think it was 2021 when we won I think we won four championships that year. We won the World Series Championship, we won the Modified Tour Championship, we won the Smart Tour Championship, and we won that Granite State Championship. I was all in then. I all I was doing was working on the modified, and and uh for the past couple years you if if you're not in it all the way, man, you're missing something, right? These guys are tough. The modified the four or five teams that you're racing against constantly for the win in a modified series, it's just as good as the top teams in Cup, right? Those are the guys that you're racing against. And it's the same with the late models, it's the same with the past series up north, the same with the SKs, right, at Stafford Motor Speedway. It's the same. If these these people are all in and I I've learned that you have to pay attention to all this, you know, all of it to be successful.
SPEAKER_06Let me ask you a question, and I'm not sure where it's going to go. Uh yes, I agree with you. The passion that's exhibited and the commitment that has to be made to compete at the high level in modified racing.
SPEAKER_05Do you believe that NASCAR is just as committed to Joey Denowitz, uh, since he's taken over the last couple of years, he's done a phenomenal job in the background of what is going on with the modified series. And you know, bringing Gary Putnam now on as the director, um, a racer, you know. I mean, look, Jimmy Wilson did a good job. I mean, look, it is hard dealing with us blue-collar northerners, right? I mean, it it is. I mean, we we just we're different, we're a different mold, you know? And Jimmy did a good job over the years. Um but now having Gary there, somebody that's been around us and knows all the things and can listen and like understand that look, we're all together. We're not we're not trying to do things behind your back or against you. It's like hear us out. Here are all our issues, here's what we're fighting, here's what we're trying to do. And uh he's done a phenomenal job so far.
SPEAKER_06All right, I want to go back to a couple of years ago. I was standing in the infield at New Smyrna Speedway, and the 602s were were racing, and all of a sudden I hear Ben Dodge announced that one of the drivers was named Baldwin. And that was the first exposure I had to Luke, and then of course to Jack. And as a dad, how proud are you that you got two kids that have decided to pursue the same path as your as their grandfather and as their father? And how tough of a dad are you on them?
SPEAKER_05Well, I tried very hard for them not to raise, trust me. And um when we, you know, they they begged me for a legends car, and I tried my hardest not to be fast, because I did not want him to be involved in any of this. I just didn't. I mean, I know this lifestyle, right? I know what it's about. It's just it's a hard lifestyle of you know, if you're gonna be all in like like my dad and I was. I mean, it's just it's hard. And um, you know, but once we got in that modified, you know, they got in that modified, it was like, all right, you know, I'll uh let's just give it a shot. Well, I'm you know, kind of know what to do with those things a little bit. And next thing you know, we show up at New Samurna, and I'm not expecting like, look, look, guys, just go out, you know, have some fun. Let's figure. I mean, right off the bat, these winning races, and I'm like, now I'm in the biggest trouble I've probably ever been in now. And it's just like, you know, it's like not only, you know, I have my jobs, you know, and now I'm trying to navigate Luke's career, right? And trying to, you know, Jack drives for me, and then Luke drives for somebody else, and I'm trying to navigate Luke's career with the trucks and the O'Reilly's and late models and everything that's going on. It's like I got like four full-time jobs right now, you know. It's just like, when is it gonna stop? I'm almost 60 years old, you know. It's like, you know, something's gotta stop. But yeah, I'm having a lot of fun watching them. It's uh you know, it's uh they're good, man. You know, and uh uh Luke's Luke's gonna be a good one. We just gotta get him in the right place and the right stuff and find the money to do what we need to do, and uh uh we're gonna have a lot of fun, I think.
SPEAKER_06I want to take you back a couple of years ago to North Wilkesboro Speedway when the Smart Modified Tour ran their finale, and he was in the hunt to win his first Smart Modified title. 2024 when he came across the line and did what he had to do that evening, how did Tommy Baldwin Jr. feel?
SPEAKER_05Yeah, that was uh you know, that was uh a special day. You know, it's uh you know, when you see see all the hard work, you know, that you do, and you you just like you watch him during the race and uh see what happened. And then then the next year you watch you watch him take everything he learned the year before, right? And then apply it to that race and have the patience and do the things he did, and not only win the championship again, but win the race, you know, it's like okay, he's getting it, you know, he's paying attention, he knows, you know, he's he he knows what's going on, and um you know, Jack's you know, believe it or not, up until uh last year, you know, Jack's won won more races than he did. You know, but Jack just didn't get the at the uh at the time the opportunities to do what needed to do, what he needed to do. And so he's a little bit behind now, but you know, we're uh we're gonna catch him.
SPEAKER_06Look, this has been a real treat for me. I hope it has been a little painless for you. It's good to reminisce and go back to old farts that have been around modified racing for a long time. We wish you the best of luck in the 2026 campaign and appreciate your being with us here on the Modified Minute. Thanks, man. I appreciate having me on. You know, over the last forty years, the technology used for in-car cameras has resulted in their use no longer being restricted to the upper tiers of racing. Back in the day, as they say, they were heavy, bulky, and had a price tag in excess of one hundred thousand dollars. Now, almost every short track racer mounts a GoPro camera that costs less than a hundred bucks and takes it to the track. Fenceline Films on YouTube sent us this week's onboard with two ends.
SPEAKER_08It's time for radio replay. Radio replay is brought to you by Waddell Communications. Your Northeast Frank's ideal for radio temperature. This week one with Michael Friday in twenty twenty five.
SPEAKER_06Christopher, if you recall, finished second in Stafford's SK Modified Standings in 2025. The man who took the crown? Well, he is the subject of this week's SK Soundings.
SPEAKER_08This is SK Soundings. News from the SK, SK Life, and 602 Modified World. Brought to you by Wheeler's Auto Services. The finest in top-level service of Premier Automobile makes and models. Specializing in European, Japanese, and domestic vehicles.
SPEAKER_06Listen, before we talk about your run to the 2025 championship at Stafford, tell me a little bit about your racing journey.
SPEAKER_00Um, well, my dad used to race. Um he g he got into racing with my grandfather um back in I think the early 90s, um, and they had John De Cambino drive the car. My dad was kind of just like a mechanic on the car, and uh my dad always wanted to race. So I think he I think he got his opportunity to to drive his first car when he was probably about my age. And um I I was in a in a Jeff Gordon onesie when I was about three weeks old. So um I don't think it was really an option for me to not race. And um he got me into it. I I did it with my dad and and my grandfather, and uh it was just passed down from generation to generation. I started racing when I was five at the Waterford Speed Bowl, and uh they had like a little go-kart series, uh SXR series that Scott Tapley actually ran it. So um I ran there with a bunch of guys I I race with now, and um from there I moved up to the Bandaleros at Waterford and um did that for a few years and then just moved around with the flat carts and and wild thing carts I I got into a little bit later in my career and and then progressed into the legend cars. Um did a little bit of traveling stuff, mainly just Waterford, and and uh then I made my rookie campaign in the SK Lights in 2018 and and started at Stafford in 2020, and uh then I uh moved up to SK's in twenty one and here we are now.
SPEAKER_06Let's go back to when you hit the big track for the first time in the SK Light. How did you feel?
SPEAKER_00Um It was awesome. I mean, my first time ever at Stafford, I I got wrecked in a heat race, and uh that that was like a welcome to the show kind of moment. You know, we uh we actually had two off weeks from Stafford or Waterford, so um we ran Waterford, we were waiting the points there, and we went to Stafford, um, and then went to Thompson the next week and back to Waterford again. So um going to Stafford was definitely intimidating. You know, I d I remember coming off the track my first time and and uh just practice and I told my dad I've seen stuff I've never seen in my life. And uh I knew that's where I wanted to be. You know, the goal was always to to start off at Waterford and um eventually move up to Stafford, and uh 2019 was pretty humbling because we won the the title at Waterford in twenty eighteen, came to Stafford in twenty nineteen, didn't win a single race, so uh it definitely was where I wanted to end up and and I knew the challenges ahead.
SPEAKER_06But you never quit, JP, and eventually you did win in the SK Lights, and uh the rest, as they say, is history. I wonder how important has your dad been to the entire operation?
SPEAKER_00Uh he's been everything. Um I mean him him and my coroner Vinny, they uh they're best friends, so um I mean the race team started off with my dad as the driver and Vinny as the owner, and uh it slowly became, you know, my dad getting phased out of the driver's seat and me getting phased in, and uh it was pretty seamless.
SPEAKER_06How did that go over at the dinner table?
SPEAKER_00It went over good, actually. Uh I think my dad, you know, kinda achieved what he wanted to achieve and and he knew what we had, you know, as a team, and um it's been huge having him. You know, I I said it in my my champion interview that you know you can revolve yourself around all these champions, but little did I know that the best one was my dad. So um his his his achievements as a driver were something that I looked up to. I mean I was there every step of the way, the highs, the lows of it. And uh then when we started we definitely had a lot of lows, we definitely had a lot of highs, and and we still have those to this day, but um as everyone says, my twin, you know, you see us attached at the hip, we look identical, so uh just having him there is everything, and and that's the reason why we do it.
SPEAKER_06And then of course Vinny has been a supporter of you, but also your dad, and Mr. Reuter's been on the sides of the cars all the way back to when you were running Legends cars. Um how important has that relationship been to allow you and your dad to to really chart out what you want to accomplish and how you go about it. Having Vinny at your side and as I understand it, he played a he played a crucial role in when he suggested in the offseason that you guys go out and get a new car.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, no, he uh he's been everything for me, you know, and and uh I know you hear it a lot in other sports, but people say like I want to do it with my team, you know. Like sometimes a a player is on a certain team and and maybe they're not doing so hot and they're like, Man, I just really want to get a Super Bowl here. So in order to bring a championship home to our shop um with Vinny was was awesome. You know, I mean I remember being uh I think we we teamed up in 2011. Um so I was eight years old and uh you know, he saw that I wanted to move up to the Bandolero Division. He was there for my very first win, and uh I remember that day he was like, We're gonna build something special here. And uh I remember I have pictures actually sitting in my dad's car, and I remember him taking them and he's like, This is gonna be yours someday. And you know, obviously at the time you're like whatever, you know, and then you know I ended up actually winning a championship with that car. Um then 2020, um yeah, after 2019, uh we had a really, really tough off season where I lost my grandfather, and uh we actually we uh just came off a really good year, went to Stafford and we went winless. And uh Vinny was like, Listen, like I'm coming back, have your back fully, and uh whatever we need to do to win races, let's go. So we went out and got Marcello Rafano's car. Um we won five races that year, and and after Champions Night, we won Champions Night. I remember him coming up to me and he's like, It's time to go up to the SK's now, so whatever you think we need, let's go do, you know. And and that's just the kind of guy Vinny is. Uh just to me and my family, you know, he's not like a car owner, he's not a sponsor. I mean, he's but he's my family, you know. He's at he's at the dinner table with us Sunday, he's in the shop with us during the week, he's at the track haul on the trailer. I mean, it's uh it's really special what we have, the three of us. And uh it's it's always, you know, he sees the work we put in and and we try to keep his stuff as nice as possible, but uh like I said, it's not a partnership, it's a family that we have.
SPEAKER_06Well, let's talk about the chase for the championship in 2025. Uh started out the season and uh it was well, let me paraphrase Charles Dixon. Dickens, it was the best of times and yet sometimes the worst of times. The ups and downs. How did you and your pops and and Vinny navigate through all of that?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I mean it all started at Thompson. We went and we won the icebreaker there, and then uh we won the Sizzler, obviously, at Stafford.
SPEAKER_09And uh Jonathan Puglio looks to be a household name in the SK modified. Puglio leads about turn number four. Checker flag is out in Jonathan Puglio for the win.
SPEAKER_00Right there, you're like, okay, well, this is great.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, you're on a roll now, man.
SPEAKER_00Uh I remember the second week of the year, we we had the best car, and the yellows just weren't falling my way. We ended up second in that race, a a great finish. And uh the third week I ended up getting spun out running inside the top three, and um everything was kind of trending up. You know, obviously the you know, getting spawned with a few laps ago put me back in the points, but we had such a good car, and um then it all kind of came to a halt at Senator's night uh or Senator's cup race where I almost flipped over on the back stretch, and uh I remember being kind of far down a little bit in the points at that point, and my dad was like, Well, I mean, everything's ahead of us now. You know, there's only one way to go. I know what you can do, I I know what the car can do, and I know Vinny's behind us. So um we just never stopped working. You know, I I remember we went back to the track the next week, we thought we had the car squared away, we ended up finishing 10th because we didn't, you know, we didn't dot all our I's and cross all our T's, and uh from there after that, that was kind of like a smack in the face that like, listen, like we aren't on top, you know. It's uh my dad's famous saying is is that it's you know it's hard it's hard enough to get to the top, but it's even harder to stay there. So that was what was written on the board, that's what we're written on the walls, and uh at the end of the day we just never stopped charging.
SPEAKER_06And yet when it all came down to that final night, they call it champion's night for a reason, and uh you had been in the points lead, then you lost the points lead, and then going into that final night, you were gonna need a little help. Uh, but what did your dad say to you before you strapped yourself in the race car?
SPEAKER_00Well, funny enough, I actually uh after so fall final night, um, we had a really good run Friday, and we just took the point lead back. And at this point in the season, we kept taking the point lead, and then the next week we'd give it up. So I took the point lead Friday night. We had a top three run. We went there Saturday and and we were out to lunch pretty bad, and I think we finished like 11th or 12th. And um obviously emotions were pretty high, and and I remember um you know Vinny and my dad, we actually have a picture of us three right before I went out on Champions Night, and um I remember them saying, like, listen, like, it's already done with now, like we already we already lost it. So if we get a little bit of luck here, like it is what it is, you know, and and and everything's in front of us. Like go out there for the first time all year, I was able to go out there, no stressing and kind of just lay it all on the line. And uh that was almost a a little bit of a sense of relief. You know, I I knew we needed some help. Um, obviously I would like to not be in that position again, but uh my dad, you know, pulled me aside right after fall final Saturday and said, listen, you know, you keep mentioning you keep bringing up how every time we take the point lead, you know, you give it up. Well, guess what? There's only one week left, so go get it this week, and then there's not a week to give it away. And uh, like I said, my dad's big on putting messages on the board. So uh that was the that was the that's what we lived and died by. And uh I knew Vinny had my back, I knew my dad had my back, and uh we talked about it right up to the second we got in the car, and luckily it all worked out.
SPEAKER_09Championship turned to pick up the one here tonight, Jonathan. That's gonna pick up the track championship here before the SK modified.
SPEAKER_06Now the big question is as we get ready to embark on uh 2026, can JP, Vinny, and your dad score a double, do it again?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I I hope so. I mean, that's everybody's goal is uh, you know, try to try to defend and and try to do it as many times as you can. I mean, I uh obviously grew up watching guys like Keith that that did it a hundred times and and obviously Todd was able to do it pretty recently three times in a row, and and I know it it seeing how hard it was to do it one time, I can only imagine how hard it's gonna be to do it multiple times. But um at the end of the day, you know, we want to try to win more races. I feel like we gave away a lot of wins this year. I feel like we gave away I gave away a lot of a lot of wins and and um we'd like to be a multi-win team and try to obviously win the championship on top of it. But um we know what we can do, but at the end of the day, we know that, you know, it's not uh you know, we gotta go earn it. You know, it's not gonna be given to you just because you went and went out there and won it last year. Um nothing that nothing from 25, you know, nothing that's gonna happen in 26 has to do at 25, so it's a new year, and uh I fully understand that, but we're gonna try our best and put our best foot forward.
SPEAKER_06Well, we appreciate your visiting with us today and wish you the best of luck as we get ready to kick off the season here in the Northeast. Absolutely. Thank you guys for having me and uh see you guys at the best race this spring this week's hot dog of the week comes from the Smart Tour and a driver that raced a modified for the very first time in his career a few weeks back at the South Boston Speedway. Coming back to Sobo some 30 years after the track launched his NASCAR racing career.
SPEAKER_08It's now time to reveal this week's Modified Minute Hot Dog of the Week. Someone who stood above the rest. Brought to you by Hummel Brothers, Quality Meets, the top dog in modified racing. 100% quality since 1933.
SPEAKER_06Stavler checked that box when he showed up at South Boston Speedway to drive his brother's SNS Racing Modified in the King of the Modifieds event.
SPEAKER_04Series winner, Elliot Stabler!
SPEAKER_06After a difficult qualifying effort put him near the back of the back of his card, Stabler quickly adapted and found himself moving forward. There were a couple of tangles that slowed Stabler's progress, but he eventually cracked the top ten. The top five, locking down the fifth spot at the finish. No question. Elliot Sabler quickly learned the art of modified racing. And for that, he earns this week's Hot Dog of the Week. And finally, we come to this week's either-or. I thought you'd like to hear from a guy with 50 years beneath his belt roaming the pits. He shared his story earlier in this episode, but now we put Tommy Baldwin back into the hot seat.
SPEAKER_08It's either or, where our guest must choose one or the other. Presented by Hoosier Tire East, where we fuel passion, pride, and success with our tires designed for champions.
SPEAKER_06Well, joining me now to participate in what has become, well, something that could go sideways very quickly. Either or is Tommy Baldwin Jr. Are you ready, TB? I don't know. Depends on what you're gonna ask me. Well, we start with simple questions and you pick one or the other. Let's start with this one. Either porterhouse or fillet mignon.
SPEAKER_05Oh, filet mignon.
SPEAKER_06Why?
SPEAKER_05It's just better meat, man. It's just uh, you know, it's uh I'm not a I'm a I love steak's my favorite, favorite meal, but it's I'm a small piece, you know, six, eight ounce, nine-ounce steak and big old baked potato, and let me let me get after it.
SPEAKER_06Alright, this one I really wanted to know from you. Either old modified or new era modified.
SPEAKER_05Um I don't think I don't think that makes a difference. I just think the people have made a difference. Um I think it again it's hard to say that because I mean I've I've been around a long time, right? And I've seen different styles and different parts, and and you know, sit looking at my dad's coop is still in my it's in my shop, my dad's coop, you know, and uh got it up on ramps and it's nice and shiny and the other modified's there, and the difference, but the the big difference is the people, right? Is the guys that drove it, the guys just you know, if you think about it, man, they didn't know any better. You look in them cars, what what they drove, right? It's like how do they drive these things? I needed I'd need a tetanus shot to get in some of those old coups. Oh my gosh, it's crazy. And you know, the the cars today are so much safer, right? So, um, you know, do we wish we could bring a lot of those drivers back and get in these cars? Absolutely, right? If we could see that, but man, there's a lot of good race car drivers now, too. It's just a different era. Moonshine or margaritas, tequila margaritas, baby. Toby Keith or Luke Bryant? Luke Bryan. Why? I just I like I like his his music, you know. He's got a little little rapping to it, you know, a little smoothness to it, you know. I don't I'm not a big country style guy, you know, and Luke's a little bit diversed.
SPEAKER_06And finally, and this is like Solomon esque in many, many ways. Your son Luke or your son Jack? Oh, that you can't you can't ask me that. It is an unfair question, isn't it?
SPEAKER_05It is, that's unfair. I mean, it's just like uh, you know, I'm I'm I'm I'm hoping pretty soon I get in different divisions, so I don't have to I don't have to worry about that anymore. Um then I can go for both of them, you know. But uh, you know, right now Jack's driving my car, so uh he you know he's third points in uh in the smart tour right now, and uh yeah, I'm gonna save Jack right now in the smart tour.
SPEAKER_06Tommy, we appreciate your visiting with us and uh playing this game called Either Or. Thanks, man. I appreciate it. Is that a jam-packed show or what? Many thanks to this week's guests, Tyler Ripkama, JP Jonathan Puglio, and of course Tommy Baldwin Jr. I'm Jack Aroot, hoping that you will join us next week for yet another episode of the Modified Minute.
SPEAKER_08This has been the Modified Minute. Modified Minute has been brought to you by Wadell Communications, the official track side radio supplier for the Mod Squad, by Mid-State Site Development, safety, knowledge, and innovation. By Wheelers Auto Services, the finest and top-level service of premier automobile makes and models. By Hummel Brothers Quality Means. 100% quality since 1933. By Hooger Tire East, tires designed for champions. By Riverhead Building Supply. Build Smarter. Build better. By New England Racing Fuels, New England's authorized distributor of tococo fuels and products. And by Ferguson Contractors. Building excellence since 1925. Want to get in touch with us? It's easy. Email us with your comments and suggestions. Our email address is modifiedminute at gmail.com. Or you can instant message us at modified minute. Video versions of the modified minute are available on YouTube and Facebook. Be sure to subscribe to both and grow the show. We will see you next week for another episode of the Modified Minute.