EPISODE 7

In Episode 7, The “Modified Minute” visits with a 15 year old Whelen Modified Tour driver, Paulie Hartwig III and learn about his passion for the open wheel modified world.

We also check in with “The Pride Of Italy”, SK ace, Marcello Rufrano. Marcello explains how he grew up around racing and is living his dream driving for his father.

And, speaking of fathers, you will meet Paul Hartwig, Jr. who shelved his own 22 year career behind the wheel of his low budget, family owned modified.

Transcript

SPEAKER_14 0:03

This week on the modified minute.

SPEAKER_02 0:05

Like I would make him go out there in a little pick cart, and I wouldn't even clean off the track. I'd make him slide around like on the leaves and all these bundles just to get to the car control. And right when we started coding racing, he won his first race out of Sniper's Day.

SPEAKER_12 0:20

I had to beg my mother to let me go to the road proteck every week to even speak up for one person to go work on the car when I was younger. Um but yeah, I mean like just being there every Friday night um really just like put a spark in me and I I I loved every bit of it.

SPEAKER_09 0:36

I mean, I ran a lot more cars than he did, and then we uh started racing modified together, and um, you know, we ended up here. So I think we're doing pretty good so far, and you know it's been pretty cool running with everybody.

SPEAKER_14 0:48

All that plus hot dog of the week, radio replay, and either 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_03 1:09

Here they come to the strike, down to the minute, they're flying in the air, you're up to hell.

SPEAKER_06 1:15

Here comes Tom Pino to the inside! Here comes Tom Pitty Jr.

SPEAKER_14 1:20

And off the corner to the mode! This is the Modified Minute. Go inside the world of modified racing with Jackaroot. Modified Minute is brought to you by Quadell Communications, the official track side radio supplier for the mod squad, by mid-state type development, safety, knowledge, and innovation. By Wheelers Auto Services, the finest and top-level service of premier automobile makes and models. By Humble Brothers Quality Means, 100% quality since 1933. By Riverhead Buildings to Fly. Build smarter, build better, by New England Racing Fuels, New England's authorized distributor of Tonoko Fuels and products. And by Ferguson contractors, building excellence since 1925. Here's Jack.

SPEAKER_13 2:20

It's good to see you all again. You know, this week you're going to meet a pair of young racers in the modified world, as well as a retired, low-budget racer who shelved his very own 22-year racing career to concentrate on his 15-year-old son's career. But before we get to that, it was really a wild week leading up to the much anticipated return of the Wheel of Modified Tour to the Oxford Plains Speedway after a 37-year absence. First, we learned that Justin Bonsignor and his Ken Massa number 51 team had withdrawn their entry for the race. Then, the next day, the Ken Massa racing team issued the following statement. We would like to let our Kenneth Massa Motorsports fans know that we have decided to miss the next two NASCAR Wheel of Modified Tour races at Oxford, May 2nd, and Seacon, May 16th. We will take this time to continue to invest in our program and come back stronger. The decision to not compete in these two events is not related to health. We look forward to returning to the NASCAR Modified Tour racing at our home track, Riverhead Raceway, on Saturday, May 30th. Then, on Friday, NASCAR officially postponed the race at Oxford due to a forecast of rain and cold weather. That having been said, there were modified races over the weekend. Riverhead and Waterford opened their 26 campaigns, and we have results from those two tracks. So what do you think? Let's get you up to speed. Morning rains delayed things at the Waterfront Speedbowl for their season opening last drop. But eventually the skies cleared at the SK Light took the track for their early laptop. Kevin Davis brought the field to the green, and he was the early leader. Once the track was cleared, Quick Kanye and Davis brought the field down for the restart. David's took the lead and went on to win the feature.

SPEAKER_06 5:14

Yeah, really stop expecting the point up.

SPEAKER_13 5:25

Then it went flat off time for the modified. Mikey Flynn took the lead early and stretched it until he was challenged by Tim Gordon in the number 47. Gordon went windless last week in the SK modified today. Turned out to be Jordan's 18th point for a lineup. Like he's playing the Hell's 52.

SPEAKER_10 6:06

Oh my god.

SPEAKER_13 6:08

Just lost one islands. Now we're going to get raceplate. First up, they're quite modified.

SPEAKER_04 6:23

It's all over the back of that nine of Michael Furner. We're gonna try to take over the race lead. Here it comes eighty distance, put the 27th to the top of the fourth! I'm gonna eat the three and four! It's gonna be eighty the staffes! Winning on the 90s rate modified!

SPEAKER_11 6:43

I got that lead, it's been like the card sponsored on the go. Uh I totally got the white flag and came to the checkers, but uh thankfully this thing is done. I've got so much better of my restarts and uh we're able to uh hold it down.

SPEAKER_13 6:57

Then it was time for the tour type modified. Attack with the bull rate for 50 laps.

SPEAKER_04 7:03

These are the NAS cards for type modified! Turning Stewart lead us down into the new state goes down. Mark Stewart takes off in the race lead. Solomito already looking to take advantage of that. Now looking to get inside of Stewart for the race lead.

SPEAKER_03 7:27

Don't know if we miss the happy optimized in Solomon, that's the right side, side, side, down the fight, starting like smart stewards.

SPEAKER_04 7:41

Wheels the wheels in the stolenos, what we start to eat out the damage, the lead that last open stewards for the first time, optimized, the natural, stiff solomido, and favorites, side, five, side, down the fight, right, we're gonna do it!

SPEAKER_03 8:00

The natural and the wheel deals!

SPEAKER_04 8:02

Wheels the wheel! Salomino! Leaders are going down into turn one! New leaders didn't solve me though, it is reinforced on the final time, and now it's turn four! The natural gets it done by the opening night!

SPEAKER_10 8:16

Yeah, I mean I didn't really race uh towards the end of last year here, so uh just wanted to come back here tonight and uh make sure we still have it. So uh we had a good car. You know, we got a lot of helping hands on this car last year, and uh tonight is joked.

SPEAKER_13 8:32

And now you're totally up. With the Oxford postponement, all of the regional modified series sat idle. So, all the standings remain the same as last week.

SPEAKER_14 8:47

Let's take a look at the chases for the championships. With the Oxford postponement, all of the regional modified series sat idle. So all the standings remain the same as last week. That leaves Steven Kopstick leading defending champ. Austin Beers by just seven points. Next up for the Modified of NASCAR is the Seacock Speedway on May 16th. The race of champions series is at the Shangri-La Speedway this weekend. Matt Hirschman is at the top of the standings with Polly Hartwig, the third, just 10 points behind. In the Monaco Tri-Track series, John McKennedy holds a five-point margin over Michael Christopher Jr. Their next race is at the new London Waterford Speed Bowl at the end of the month on May 23rd. With his third consecutive win of the season, Danny Bone retains the top spot in the smart modified standings. The Smart Tour has a break now until May 29th, when they raced at the Franklin County Speedway. The MRS series heads to the Lee USA Speedway on June 12th.

SPEAKER_13 10:02

And now with his son named Marcello Rafano, the pride of Italy, as he's called, is our focus of this week's SK Soundings. This is SK Soundings.

SPEAKER_14 10:14

News from the SK, SK Lite, and 602 Modified World. Brought to you by Wheelers Auto Services, the finest in top-level service of premier automobile makes and models, specializing in European, Japanese, and domestic vehicles.

SPEAKER_13 10:31

Well, he's considered one of the young guns at the Stafford Motor Speedway, in fact, in all of modified racing. And he joins me here for the SK Soundings in the Modified Minute. It's Marcello Rafano. Marcello, welcome to the Modified Minute. How you been?

SPEAKER_12 10:47

Ah, those waiting for this moment. Waiting for this moment. Yeah, I bet.

SPEAKER_13 10:52

Look, I I want to go back in time a little bit because you were knocking around the Stafford Speedway while your dad was fielding cars for Keith Rocco, and then you became his teammate. You started, I believe, out in the dare stocks. Was it your goal to always move up to modified?

SPEAKER_12 11:11

Well, as a kid, I always wanted to be involved with racing. Uh I was kind of a pest growing up, growing my dad being around race cars and no, that's not what your dad told me. He didn't call you a pest. I listen, I was a real pest and I I I had to beg my mother to let me go to the racetrack every week and even sneak off the wall for sometimes to go work on the car when I was younger. Um but yeah, I mean like just being there every Friday night um really just like put a spark in me and I I I loved every bit of it, the sights, the smells, and even the competition. And that that that's that's what I really wanted to get into. And um when I eventually got that shot on Monday nights to go out and do it, I I got bit by the bug, as they say, and that was the end of it. And uh yeah, I mean ultimately I wanted to start racing a Friday night division and then uh eventually, yeah, get into a modified butt I know I gotta walk before I crawl, even though I didn't want to at times.

SPEAKER_13 12:07

Well, as I say, you eventually after after being in the in the uh the Monday night carding series and then moving up to uh the Dare Stocks and then of course to the SK lights, you got your shot. But what was interesting is you were also competing in some of the the tour open races, the open modified tour races. And believe it or not, your first win came there instead of in the SKs.

SPEAKER_12 12:34

Yeah. I mean I just uh SK racing as you know is cutthroat and uh open modified racing kind of was at a slower pace to me. I I slowed the race down a lot with it being more lapsed and uh you had a softer tire, so you actually had to manage your race, and uh to me I don't know why it just seemed like that clicked a lot easier for me. And uh when I was first started out SK racing, I mean it I started racing against like Ted and Rowan and all them guys, and you know, that was a real culture shock, even priests at the time. Um we did well at Thompson, we started out at Thompson, actually got my first one over there, and then uh when we transitioned over to Stafford, there were just a lot of things I had to you know drink in before I could really understand just how you know how difficult it is to race against everybody that can win on a Friday night, and um more or less it was just we we had a really good grasp on the car too. There was a lot we needed to learn that what I liked. You know, we knew what Keith liked, but you know, as far as what I liked in a race car, um that took a little while. But yeah, open modified, we got that figured out pretty quick, I guess. We got that win. Um that was really something special just to be able to do that. And again, recently it's like the toughest guys in Northeaster, and that was pretty cool.

SPEAKER_13 13:48

Let me ask you though, you said that you wanted different things than Keith when you were his teammate. How long did it take you to be able to articulate that enough to where the crew led by your pops could actually make the difference in adjustments between the two of you?

SPEAKER_12 14:08

Yeah, so uh it kinda it really did uh bother me that it uh took so long to get it figured out, but once it did, I mean, uh anything, any type of experience you can get, any any type of sea time you can get is beneficial to you. And thankfully throughout the entirety of my racing career, I've been just about through every type of setup shock, spring, you name it, um, I felt it all. And I and throughout the I I just heard this chat yesterday, the eight years I've been running SK, you learn a lot you learn a lot what you like and what you don't like. Um so yeah, between that and uh just general, like what keeping up with the racetrack and what the tire gives you every year, because that changes too. As much as people don't say it does, it does. I mean you can feel it in the seat, and you can I always like to test it too between last year's tires and this year's tires, and that that kind of gives you a good mindset of which direction to go. Um but again, that took time, that took years. Um that's just working with a bunch of different minds within uh you know Ryan Stone and Jimmy Fowler, Keith, um Jeff. Um even recently with uh Bear, unfortunately, he passed away a couple years ago, and then uh Josh Matovo. I worked with a lot of Greek minds in the store. Um spent a lot of time picking their brains and learning how they attack a race car, and I I just kind of put that into my own now. I kind of feel like between me and my dad we got a pretty good grasp on everything that we can do. And uh that's kind of propellers of what we are now.

SPEAKER_13 15:38

So in 2026, you get ready to open your campaign. What is it that Marcello Rivrano wants from his race car?

SPEAKER_12 15:48

Oh, we just We need to be consistent and we need to have speed every week. That's the most important thing. Um showing up to the racetrack, having a consistent speed is one, and then two is just repeating that every week. Um might seem a little bit easier than done, but when you've got you know multiple different factors going into every week with the track temperatures changing, and throughout the year you're gonna dip you're gonna get more rubber on a racetrack, so that's another change too. So having really good notes staying on top of my notes and just being on top of your shit every week. Because if you're not, the other guy is. There's 10, 15 other guys in the line that are doing the same thing, hopefully. And uh yeah, you just you you have to do it better than the next guy. So that's what we're gonna do. We're gonna stay on top of our equipment for one, two, we're gonna stay on top of our notes, and we're just gonna be prepared. Um I feel like that's really the best thing that I I've I've heard that consistently with anybody that ever worked with, is your notebook and the track conditions are key. And your tires. You know, tires will tell you anything you need to know.

SPEAKER_13 16:52

For you, when you look at it, you you've had some wins, but the big the consistent victories have not been forthcoming. I don't think it's because of a lack of effort on your part. I think it really goes to the depth of the field and the fact that if you are running with those guys, most often more than not, you're gonna be starting what, 10th, 12th, 14th, 15th, and people don't realize that the reverse handicap system puts the fast guys in the back.

SPEAKER_12 17:23

Yeah, I mean, that plays a part into it, don't get me wrong. Um the way that the tires are now, it's kinda harder to kind of work your way through the field like you used to. But even me and my father were just talking about this. We if you have a car that you could start 10th with and drive to the front and have speed with, that's what we want. And it's it's it's accomplishable. There's definitely been times last year we had a car that could do that. Um but that's just another thing like I was saying before. We we just we we'd have a smashing car one week, we could kill the field with it, and then the next week we show up and we're missing something. So I feel like that's more or less just us not staying on top of stuff as far as what the track has given us that weekend. Um that's what we want to be better with, and that's what I explained to him, and just like we need to stay on top of this, because that's the most important thing. Um because uh trust me, it bothers me. You're gonna have a win one week and then you show up the next week, you gotta start tenth, twelve, thirteen, fourteenth, whatever the fact is, and you got the same tire as everybody else, and every doting across every team, I mean, you're gonna have you're gonna have yourself a fight because the difference between the first and fifteenth is sometimes a tenth to a tenth and a half, and a tenth and a half. That's nothing.

SPEAKER_13 18:38

So who's the keeper of the notebook on your team?

SPEAKER_12 18:44

Me. Me and my dad. I I I like to uh mess around, but it's it's a joint effort between me and my father. Um we uh we really decide. I mean we we do butt heads a lot. When he's doing one thing, I'm supposed to be doing another. So like if he's the one making the notes, I'm the one that's making the measurements. Like, hey, you gotta give me a hard pre H tier or give me uh give me a soft after. That's like chassis stuff for like for at the track when I'm doing tires. He's doing all the notes for me while I'm out uh while I'm inside the car, and then when I'm outside the car, I'm measuring all the tires and doing all that. So we work together. Um I got a great crew too, they help me out a lot. Um, especially when we run both cars. I got Earl Paltier that comes over and helps us out on tires. So it definitely makes a big help. But um for the most part, it's just me and him. I mean, creative racing makes it a lot easier on me and my dad now, so we're just we're working off the tablet most of the time now, so you know not we're not crawling in and out from underneath the car a lot, they make our job a lot easier, but yeah, it's uh it's definitely a game changer.

SPEAKER_13 19:45

What are your goals for 2026?

SPEAKER_12 19:49

Win winning anything. Um we want to be we want to be up front every week. That's the ultimate goal. Um I want to be a contender every week, I want to be talked about, like that's that's the most important thing, it's just running good every week. Um I know we have the car to do it, I know we've got all the tools we need to do it. Um there's kind of no excuses. We kind of just have to put our heads together and work together, and you know, we we could be a strong force every week. Um we have the luck and no mechanical issues against our uh against our will. Uh we we should be pretty good. Um I can't see why if we don't do our job in the shop every week and prepare we feel the best car we can every week, then we can't compete. Um it all starts this week, right?

SPEAKER_13 20:36

I I must ask you, you know, Ben Dodge, who is probably a Hall of Famer, we all know him, and he's a great announcer, he tagged you as a little guy. And I'm and I'm quoting the pride of Italy. Okay, and it's because of the Italian heritage in the Refrano family. But I tried to campaign on your behalf to call you the Italian stallion. Now I'm gonna put you on the spot. If you have to pick between Ben's nickname and my nickname, which are you going for?

SPEAKER_12 21:11

That's a hat toss because we're both well known now, that's the problem. Uh I'll be honest. The Pride of Italy took a little bit for me to get used to, and a lot of people do jab at me about it. Um but it's on the t-shirts now. I really can't go back on it. Plus, Ben's a good friend of mine, so I will say he's uh that's a good one to stick around with. But I guess that's something if you ever got in the booth with him again, that's something you guys are gonna have to fight about.

SPEAKER_13 21:39

So well, hey, if it's on the merch, you gotta go with that one.

SPEAKER_12 21:45

Gotta go with it. Exactly. It's a hot item.

SPEAKER_13 21:50

Listen, we wish you the best of luck in your 2026 campaign and appreciate you uh subjecting yourself to uh sitting down with me here on the modified. Minute. You know, with the Napa Spring Sizzler in our rearview mirror, I thought you might enjoy some moments from the race from inside the cockpit of David Arut and his Monaco Ford number 75.

SPEAKER_14 22:16

It's time for radio replay. Radio replay is brought to you by Waddell Communications, your Northeast Track Sky dealer for radios and repairs.

SPEAKER_13 25:26

You know, there's a youngster on the modified scene who is taking the racing world by storm. At the ripe old age of 15, he is already a proven winner, and there's no reason to think that this will do anything but increase. His name is Paulie Hartwig III, and he is in this week's Driver Spotlight.

SPEAKER_14 25:48

It's Racer Spotlight time on the Modified Minute. Racer Spotlight is brought to you by Riverhead Building Supply. Build better. Build smarter.

SPEAKER_13 25:59

Here's Jack. We're talking about a guy that's joining us here on the Modified Minute. Veterans shake their head talking about just what this young man has been able to accomplish at the ripe old age of 14. Welcome, Paulie Hartwig III, into the modified minute.

SPEAKER_09 26:18

Thank you, man. I appreciate it. It's well it's uh pretty cool to be on the show.

SPEAKER_13 26:22

Let me start with the fact that you're a track brat. You were born into racing. Your dad had had a terrific career driving modified. So, right from the get-go, when did you decide you were gonna follow in his footsteps?

SPEAKER_09 26:37

Um, I followed um I just started working my ranks up from running uh uh go-karts, and I worked over the quarter midges and then just you know just followed him in his footsteps, and I mean I ran a lot more cars than he did, and then we uh started racing modified together, and um, you know, we ended up here. So I say we're doing pretty good so far, and you know it's it's been pretty cool running with everybody.

SPEAKER_13 26:59

I thought it had to be pretty cool running against your pops too.

SPEAKER_09 27:03

Uh yeah, I uh ever since I uh raced with him, I beat him. Only one race that uh he beat me when I wrecked. So that's the only time he's got me beat. I lapped at him at Wokesboro four years ago, and then he he had to pull off the next night at New uh North Wokesboro and and he wanted to watch the last couple laps, so that was pretty cool racing with him. I won. I wish he was um you know a lot more better so we can run side by side, but do you rub it in now and again?

SPEAKER_13 27:29

Do you remind him that you were faster and better?

SPEAKER_09 27:32

Yeah, he always I yeah, I always do it all the time, and he he just gets mad at me all the time.

SPEAKER_13 27:39

It was one year ago on the Smart Modified tour, you became their youngest driver in history to score a victory. It came at Hickory uh in the uh the Hickory hundred.

SPEAKER_06 27:51

With one lap to go. Can Paulie Hartwick do it? He's got one shot, one shot, like Eminem says, down in the corner. He wraps Baldwin to the inside. He goes, Paulie Hartwick, Paulie Hartwig, the eighth grader wins of the smart modified tour! Holy moly!

SPEAKER_13 28:07

And all of a sudden, you were a phenom that everybody was talking about. Were you aware of what that did for your cred?

SPEAKER_09 28:16

No, um, you know, just going in the uh the smart modified tour, just run for rookie of the year in the championship, and the goal was to just finish top ten of your race, and we came to Hickory, and you know, we practiced really did not well, and we qualified six, I think, and then you know, we were a whole straight away back, and then we, you know, it was go time from 30 to go, and and then uh we made that move on the last slap, and man, it was it was wild, and you know, it was pretty it was amazing winning that smart modified tour race.

SPEAKER_13 28:46

And that's and then and then you reinforce that by going down to the World Series of asphalt racing with all the top names in modified racing, and on the first night out of a tour type modified event, you end up being victorious.

SPEAKER_15 29:02

Final time down the back stretch. Hartwig stretching the advantage even more. He's clean into turns three and four. Paulie Hartwig about to make some history of his own. Hartwig wings it here at New Smyrna.

SPEAKER_13 29:15

And you couldn't race in the Wheel of Modified tour because you weren't old enough. But what was that victory like in those a little bit higher powered race cars?

SPEAKER_09 29:25

Yeah, um, I started on Sunday with practice, and I was like, man, we're flying down these straightaways and we're drafting everybody crazy, and I don't really know how to draft yet, which is I have to start learning that, and just pulling out a line at the last second, which I that's what you had to learn about, was all learned about Mr. Myrna. And winding up on the front row with Ron Silk with 10 to go was you know, I was nervous, nervous, and my dad was just trying to, you know, cheer me up. And I knew I was like, man, this guy's gonna smoke us, and we let him up on the restart and and we won. That was pretty cool for the first night, and then we didn't have the you know the rest of the best results that we needed for the rest of the week, but it is what it is. You're not always gonna have uh perfect race every time.

SPEAKER_13 30:10

Well, you're full time on the Wheel and Modified tour, which means you're going to be visiting a lot of racetracks that you have no knowledge about. So what's the game plan? How are you gonna go about building your black book for places that like Stafford or Oxford or some of the places that you're you're going to compete at this year?

SPEAKER_09 30:31

Yeah, I'm just um you know, missing the first race was really, really tough, and you know, we have to work twice as hard now, so and with that mishap on Pert Road at Martinsville, and then with the stuff happening at uh Thompson, and I think we're s I don't know if we're behind eight ball, but you know, we're just gonna keep working hard and keep going at it, and then next year we'll get after it. And this year is just all learning curve, and you know what the card needs to be better for next year. At least at least we have three uh Thompson races, so I mean uh we have a couple tracks that we raced twice twice, and that's the goal for this year. Just you know, just try to finish every race.

SPEAKER_13 31:06

So give me your takeaway from running in the icebreaker, Thompson.

SPEAKER_09 31:09

Yeah, because it was uh two um two series he's running there, like a Monaco Tri track on Friday. We practiced on Friday, we raced on Saturday, and we practiced really well because with the different tires with the Hoosers with the Monaco Tri Track, and then we have a different tire compound with American racers and stuff. So I thought we came there with the same setup compound and um with the distant different tires, I thought it was gonna change the car a lot. And you know, run it. I can't believe we were running that high. And then in the race on Sunday, we started like literally running on the pavement, right? And we started off on the top of the pavement and ended on the bottom of the like right all four wheels on the pavement. And it was crazy how much the line work and everything, but it just sucks how uh how much bad luck we had there, so so we didn't have the best results.

SPEAKER_13 31:51

And then you went up just uh a couple of weeks ago to the Spring Zing at Mahoney Valley Speedway for the opener for the race of champions. You're no stranger to that that tight quarter mile, and in the end, you didn't you didn't win, but you were right there in the hunt. How important is it for you to go to places that you're familiar with to be able to remind yourself of what you need for a skill set?

SPEAKER_09 32:17

Yeah, I started there at nine years old with a four-cylinder, and then we I got my first ever 602 modified at 10, and I ran second to Donnie Wagner, and it's being there, I don't really like that place, but I really go around that place really well. And you know, finishing second from Hershman is pretty cool. Just me and an Austin Beers, I think, um, just went hard too early and I just burned my right front up and I was so tight the whole race. And and then when Hershman got me, he just blew around me like I was standing still. So I mean his car was really set up for that track, and he's been a lair there for a lot of years. And you know, running second him, and we we have two wins with a tour, um, I think one win with a tour mode and we have one win with a tour barrel there. So it's it's pretty cool winning there and you know, being close. At least we didn't finish. Last time we ran there, I started I was leading and I dropped all the way back to 10th. So at least that didn't happen. And with the year we hadn't, thank God we um you know run up with that runner up finished second.

SPEAKER_13 33:14

There was the moment after the race and I thought it belied just how well brought up you've been into what's racing etiquette and appreciating the hard work of others. When you went to Victory Lane and you congratulated the guy that just whipped you, and that of course is Matt Hirschman. W I would assume though that value system came from your dad.

SPEAKER_09 33:38

Yeah, when yeah, when he beat him at Evergreen Raceway and he raced him a lot, and you know, Matt, he's really good, and you know, just from doing that, he's like just treat him like you're racing everybody else, and that's how I treat it, like we're racing everybody else. So I mean he's definitely a lot more hard than everybody else, but um you know it's pretty cool just running second him, and I wish we had a little bit a little bit looser setup that we can maybe we could have been there.

SPEAKER_13 34:05

I want to go back to New Smyrna in 2025. Um it was your dad, he finished second in his last race, and he announced formally his retirement.

SPEAKER_16 34:16

I've been racing for 22 years, and this is my last week.

SPEAKER_10 34:20

Is this an official retirement announcement from you?

SPEAKER_16 34:23

Yes. I gotta focus on my kid.

SPEAKER_13 34:26

How did you feel when you made that announcement?

SPEAKER_09 34:29

I couldn't yeah, after finishing second after spotting him, and when he uh when I came down from Victory Lane, he started crying. I was like, What's wrong? He's like, I'm done. He said, I'm gonna focus on you, and I said, Don't do it. He's like, I got to. And he's like, you know, he's you know, like he said, he's he thinks I'm a really good kid, and you know, he's not wait, he's he's not wasting any time, right? And if he wants to race, he can race. I don't mind. And um, you know, it was pretty cool for him doing that.

SPEAKER_13 34:55

Well, it's good to have you pretty cool chasing all these modified tour type races, and wish we wish you and your dad the very best as you pursue rookie of the year in the Wheel of Modified Tour. Thanks so much for joining us, Paul.

SPEAKER_14 35:13

It'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_13 35:32

Joey Coulter readily admits he stuck to time drought. That was the case last weekend at the Mod Squad National.

SPEAKER_05 35:41

Not a noted qualifier by his own doing. He's got to stand on the gas to get a little bit quicker and lock himself into the top eight tier.

SPEAKER_13 35:50

And he's not gonna do it. A disappointing time drought ended up putting Joey Coulter in the inside of the last row. By lap 10, though, Joey is already raced in the eighth place. With just a handful of laps left, Coulter found himself running second and challenging Damien Bone for the victory. But it was a spin by Will Ambrose that created the green-white checkered scenario. At final lap coming to the line, Ryan Newman etched him out for second.

SPEAKER_01 36:24

Third's disappointing when you're that close, but I mean, we're here. We started all the way behind the back and then uh drove up there and uh had fun, had fun running around the top here. This is uh this place hasn't changed a bit.

SPEAKER_13 36:38

But that podium finish has earned Joey Coulter this week's hot dog of the week.

SPEAKER_16 36:48

I've been racing for 22 years, and this is my last week. I gotta focus on my kid. He's just too good for me to waste any time.

SPEAKER_13 36:57

That's the way a father one year ago decided to hang up his own helmet to devote his time to his young son's racing career. Let's meet Paul Hartwig Jr. in this week's Crew Call.

SPEAKER_14 37:10

Time 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_13 37:23

We went from turning left to turning wrenches for his son, Paulie Hartwig III. We're talking about Paul Hartwig Jr., who joins us now on the Modified Minute. Paul, you had a pretty good career in uh in modified racing. When did you know that Paulie had the it factor?

SPEAKER_02 37:43

Um, right away in the backyard, honestly. Like I I would make him go out there in a little kick cart and I wouldn't even clean off the track. I'd make him slide around like on the leaves and all, you know what I mean? Just to get the car control. And Ray when we started quarter measure racing, he won his first race out of Snersville. And it just clicked right away, you know what I mean? Like he won over 150 quarter measure races in less than four years, and like three national titles and a bunch of regional titles and a bunch of home track titles within the first four years.

SPEAKER_13 38:14

And then as he began to climb the ladder, he kept setting records. He became the youngest driver ever to win a tour type modified event. When at 11, he won a North Wilkesboro. He ran to the interview, he becomes the youngest driver ever to win a smart event. When he captured the Hickory Hundred one year ago. How'd that make you feel?

SPEAKER_02 38:59

I parked the car and got out and watched him, honestly.

SPEAKER_13 39:06

What do you think makes him so good? What do you think makes him so good, dog?

SPEAKER_02 39:11

So I honestly I messed up enough myself to be very, very hard on him through his career. And I groomed him right, and I didn't let him do any dumb stuff, or he wouldn't be driving. You know what I mean? Like I was very, very hard on him that I'm surprised he made it this far, honestly. Like I never let him get out. Like I I always told him from the first day, if you wreck this, we're taking weeks off because I can't afford to fix it because we're low budget. I have a lot of race cars, yes, but I have no social security, I have no 401k, I'm a self-employer. Like every dollar we have is sitting in the garage. That's it. There's no extra money. I got maybe $5,000 in my bank account. That's it.

SPEAKER_13 39:56

And yet you're going up against some well-heeled teams, especially now that you've decided to expand beyond the smart modified tour and tackle the wheel-in-modified tour. Is it a true David and Goliath story?

SPEAKER_02 40:11

As a small team, I thought it was the right thing to do because of the purse now. The purse structure wasn't so good. Yeah, you gotta buy a couple NASCAR licenses at the beginning of the year. But after that, it's way cheaper to run a wheel-in tour than it is to try to run like the smart tour of the ROC that only pays $400 to take the green. And you still need nine tires at every race because you need four practice tires no matter where you go.

SPEAKER_13 40:35

And I wonder what your feelings were when he took that checkered flag in that tour race.

SPEAKER_15 40:40

Paulie Hartwig about to make some history of his own. Hartwig wings it here at New Smyrna.

SPEAKER_13 40:47

14-year-old Paulie Hartwig III and his first World Series star. What does that make you feel as a father?

SPEAKER_02 40:57

And they made me a proud dad to show that the statement was there. That there was no reason why he shouldn't have been able to go 1414.

SPEAKER_13 41:05

What's next for you? Are you just gonna follow his career?

SPEAKER_02 41:09

Well, I guess I'll have the cat in the back now. I'm coming out of retirement. I'm going to Wall Street.

SPEAKER_13 41:15

Oh man, you couldn't resist, could you?

SPEAKER_02 41:18

Well, the previous management at our local short track has had me banned for 13 years. So I've never got to race a modified at home. And it's time.

SPEAKER_13 41:31

Well, we wish you the very best of luck when it comes to that, my friend. I mean, that's that's that's a tough little racetrack, worn out as it is.

SPEAKER_02 41:40

Yeah, the only like I said, the only reason why I'm doing it is because I haven't been on the racer in 13 years. And I myself have never got the race a modified there yet. So now that we have new management, I think uh Pete and Freddie Archer are gonna do the right things this year. And just like Stafford, you know, Stafford's very upbeat, you know, it's like you you feel welcome when you go to like there, Thompson and stuff like that. And I think that's gonna be the new wall stadium now. I think everyone's gonna feel welcome. So we're gonna run there. I'm only gonna run about four or five times this year just to get my feedback wet and just to say I raised this at home.

SPEAKER_16 42:19

I can't.

SPEAKER_02 42:21

The main focus is that we all want a modified tour for Polly. And he's only he can only run 602s at home, is what kind of stinks. The state New Jersey is a little tougher than most places. But if there's a touring series that comes to New Jersey, then we can run modified. It's kind of like a gray area, you know. It's gotta be like a touring series and then you can run modified to New Jersey at 15.

SPEAKER_13 42:43

So when you're atop the pit box and you know you're watching him out there in the wheel and modified tour, what's the conversation like? Uh does he give you good feedback? Are you able to make make solid decisions based upon what he's telling you?

SPEAKER_02 42:59

So Bobby Geiger makes the decisions, honestly. Um chief for the last four years, and uh my job is to get the car ready and get the car to the track and mount all the tires, and he does the rest of it.

SPEAKER_13 43:12

Yeah, but your job is also to uh to keep the kid under control, and uh as you said, you followed him since he was a little tyke out in the backyard. So I've gotta think every now and again you interrupt that radio.

SPEAKER_02 43:25

Yeah, yeah, like when he starts to use the bumper, I'll get on a radio be like, no bumper, because I know you're better than that. Like, once in a while I just gotta remind him, you know, no bumper. Set him up and pass him. You don't need to be like that, you know what I mean? But he never really the kid's been through ten bumpers in five years, that's a lot.

SPEAKER_13 43:41

Wow. Hey, Paul, it's a real treat to get to know you. Can't wait for you to come up north here again and uh we'll see you at Stafford and some of the Monaco modified two uh tri track races. And uh I I I tell you what, I'm a big fan of Pauly's. I think he's got a bright future ahead of him.

SPEAKER_02 43:58

I wish we could run more Staffords up like. The tri track and all button for us to travel up there. It's a long time.

SPEAKER_13 44:06

We gotta find a sugar daddy.

SPEAKER_02 44:09

Yeah, we need to find that one primary sponsor. Maybe one day they'll come around. But we got a lot of good friends that have been helping us. That's how we've been making all the races we have. You know what I mean? Literally the money I make with my little landscape business, which just really pays the house bills and the truck payment. You know what I'm saying? So it's not easy. Thank God we got great friends that kind of help out when they can. And we're fortunate enough to have great friends, you know. Hopefully we can find a corporate sponsor one day.

SPEAKER_13 44:32

Well, that's the great part about modified racing, is it is a brotherhood. It is a family, and everybody chips in. Appreciate you taking a little time.

SPEAKER_02 44:41

We had a guy actually walked over at Thompson. He lived across the street, he drove over to the side-by-side, and he said, I like what you guys are doing. He bought us two tires. I can't remember his name, but he used to race there.

SPEAKER_13 44:50

How about that?

SPEAKER_02 44:52

People like that are the people that keep our small team going.

SPEAKER_13 44:55

Well, root for the underdog, I'm rooting for you. Thanks so much for joining me tonight.

SPEAKER_02 45:00

Thank you, sir.

SPEAKER_13 45:00

In our lighthearted either or segment, we tap Pauly Hartwig III to offer up his opinions and choices.

SPEAKER_14 45:08

It's either or, where our guest must choose one or the other. Brought to you by New England Racing Fuels, New England's authorized distributor of Sunoko fuels and products. Sunoko, the official fuel of NASCAR.

SPEAKER_13 45:26

Alright, joining us for either or right now is Pauly Hartwig III. Pauly, it's so good of you to subject yourself to this. Shall we get started? Yeah. Alright. Either McDonald's or Chick-fil-A.

SPEAKER_09 45:41

Chick-fil-A.

SPEAKER_13 45:44

Either a Bassett Hound or a Golden Retriever.

SPEAKER_09 45:50

Golden Retriever.

SPEAKER_13 45:52

I I knew you were gonna be that guy that was gonna pick that. Alright, in the in the realm of video games, either Fortnite or Call of Duty.

SPEAKER_09 46:02

Fortnite, definitely.

SPEAKER_13 46:03

Are you good at it?

SPEAKER_09 46:04

Yeah, I'm really good, yeah.

SPEAKER_13 46:06

Okay.

SPEAKER_09 46:06

I just haven't been on in a while.

SPEAKER_13 46:08

Alright, being a Pennsylvania kid in that New Jersey area in Pennsylvania, either the Eagles or the Steelers.

SPEAKER_09 46:18

Eagles.

SPEAKER_13 46:19

Fly Eagle Fly, right? Yep. Yep. And and finally, rap or country? Country. What's your favorite artist?

SPEAKER_09 46:29

Uh Morgan Wallen.

SPEAKER_13 46:31

Alright, my friend. You've made it through. Congratulations.

SPEAKER_09 46:35

Thank you, man.

SPEAKER_13 46:36

By the way, before we get done, I should tell you, your performance early in the season uh earned you in our very first show, Hot Dog of the Week. So you're uh you're all you're already known up here in the Northeast before you even came up here for the icebreaker.

SPEAKER_09 46:54

Yep, that's pretty cool, man. I wish uh hopefully we'll see you guys at Stafford in a little bit.

SPEAKER_13 46:59

Indeed. Alright, thank you. Well, that's a wrap for this week. I want to give you a quick footnote though, with Oxford's postponement. Paul Hartwig got to return to his home track, the Wall Stadium, after almost 20 years. He finished 14th in the modified main. Oh yeah. His son Pauly, he finished second. Looks like the kid beat the old man yet again. My thanks goes out to Paulie Hartwig III, his dad Paul Hartwig, as well as Marcello Rifrano. Make sure you return next week when we will shine the spotlight on the modified world right here on the modified minute.

SPEAKER_14 47:42

This 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 Wheeler's Auto Services, the finest in top-level service of premier automobile makes and models. By Humble Brothers Quality Means. 100% quality since 1933. By Riverhead Building Supply. Build smarter. Build better. By New England Rasting Fuel. New England's authorized distributor of Tonoco Fuels and products. And by First Time Cractors. Building excellent since 1925. Provided by NASCAR, Monaco Timecraft, NESTN, and Flow Racing. Want to get in touch with us? It's easy. Email us with your comments and suggestions. Our email address is modifiedminute at email.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 post and blow the show. I'm Guy Abraham. We will see you again next week for another episode of the Modified Minute.