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TOMAINO TO
HIT HISTORIC 600TH NWMT START AT
NEW-LONDON WATERFORD SPEEDBOWL
by Polly
Reid |
 When
Jamie Tomaino unloads his Dunleavy’s Repair/Atlantic
Sprinkler sponsored number 99 modified on Saturday
May 14th at the New-London Waterford Speedbowl for
the NWMT New England Cycle 161, the Howell, NJ
driver will carve a new high mark in the history
books with an unprecedented 600th career NASCAR
Whelen Modified Tour start.
“Of course, that’s just counting the Tour,” smiles
Tomaino. “I was racing before that.”
A lifetime career in the sport of modified racing
that began with the first NWMT race in 1985 at the
age of 29, Tomaino has pulled away from the
competition, with no one even a close threat to
making that number. Jason Cunningham, NASCAR
Communications for the NWMT, did a little digging
and came up with the top five- Mike Stefanik is
credited with 452 NWMT starts, Ed Flemke Jr. at 439,
Rick Fuller at 438 and Reggie Ruggiero at 419.
Tomaino at 600 ranks off the charts.
Think about that number again, 600 starts- compare
that to two sports that have a similar number of
events each year. In golf, Tiger Woods has 327 PGA
Tour appearances in 23 years. Jack Nicklaus is
closer with 595 starts however his career spanned 48
years. How about this one? If you combine the NFL
career starts of Brett Favre, 302 and Peyton
Manning, 266, that adds up to 568 games. The 600
marker for Tomaino makes that number even more
impressive.
Talking with Tomaino at the Thompson Icebreaker in
April, yes it will be 600, but he was at all 604
NWMT events dating back to the inception of the
series in 1985, missing the field only four times.
 “Out
of 598 races, I guarantee you we were rained out 100
times. That means I had to go back, it’s a lot more
than that. I remember we were at New Hampshire, we
got snowed out, twice. We never got to race so look
at that trip how many times.”
“I was very fortunate when the Tour began, the
gentleman that was backing me wanted to travel. If
it wasn’t for him, I don’t know if I’d still be
going but he gave me the drive and back then, we had
35, 36 races on the schedule the first three years.
On top of that, we still had all the other tracks
still racing Saturday night, even though they had a
Tour show, the modifieds would actually run races
also. My hometrack was Wall Stadium so if there was
nothing going on Saturday, I’d be at Wall Stadium
racing.”
His 32nd season with the Tour, the energy
surrounding Tomaino is infectious, still one has to
ask, what keeps the 1990 NWMT Champion going? “I
just know that I’m so lucky, to be able to do what I
wanted to do. Of course, I always wanted to be a Cup
type style driver like Brett Bodine ended up being.
At the same time, I look at it and he did make it,
he did win a Winston Cup race and stuff, but now
he’s a pace car driver. And I’m still racing. I may
not be on top of my game as I was when I was younger
but I’m still half way competitive, I have a good
time, my family has a good time and I still like
going.”
The support from his family has been key in his
career. “My wife Cheryl, she’s been with me since
the beginning. When she was a stay at home mom, she
didn’t get to go a lot. Then as the kids got older,
little by little, they were coming to help me. As a
matter of fact, my older son Jamie, at Tommy Baldwin
Racing, he’s the boss in the shop. And my other son
Trey also works there as the head interior
specialist. My daughter Brittany, she’s still with
me, she jacks the car. When the Tour started, Cheryl
was there, she handles a lot.”
Cheryl Tomaino has been through it all – 600 and
counting. “I’m real proud of him. Jamie has been
present for everyone of the races since the
beginning of the Tour. He might be getting his 600th
race at Waterford but he’s been to all 604. That’s
something I’m very proud of.” Cheryl’s support
continues to be the fuel for Jamie’s passion. “I
can’t wait for that 600th race. I think it’s
something that Jamie’s so proud of. And I know
nobody else is going to get that because racing
today, you only run what, 18 races? Back in the day,
we raced tons. I like getting out, going racing,
having fun, I know a lot of these people- we’re
getting older and I like the thought of keeping
young by keep doing things. The fact that we can
still do it, I want to do it. I love racing, racing
is what I know.”
Jamie paused from checking over his car at the
Icebreaker to talk about something else he’s proud
to be a part of. “I was lucky enough last year to
get hooked up with the Dowling family. I didn’t know
them that good, then the son helped me pit my car
for a couple of races. I’m usually short help
because nowadays, everyone gets paid – he helped me
pit my car and during the off season, Dunleavy came
to me, I always have two race cars- he came to me
and asked what are the chances you let the Dowling’s
have your other car so the kid can race because
nobody is giving him a chance. He told me the kid
had won a race at Stafford at 16 years old. I
thought about it and I said, let’s do that. Let’s
give this kid a chance. Everything went excellent
last year and he ended up being Rookie of the Year,
and guess what? Everybody knows who Chase Dowling is
now. I hope he excels, I think he will.”
Things have changed over the years, no question
about that. But what hasn’t changed is the drive
that Tomaino has to still compete. “I feel my car is
as good as anybody’s but because I don’t have the
man power to help me, pay a crew chief and all that
kind of stuff, it hurts me and I know that. Today,
I’m content if I finish 15th and my car is in one
piece, I’ve had a good day. Of course, thirty years
ago, I wasn’t – but most of the time I was either
crashing or I was out in the front.
 Now
I know what I’m up against. It’d be easy to quit. A
lot of people say I’m too old or why are you still
doing this or whatever, I understand that, but I’m
content with it. When this race is over tonight,
we’ll load the car up and I’ll get in the truck and
drive the truck home just like we did in the old
days. But actually, in the old days, you used to
leave here and go somewhere else to race.”
Approaching 60 in July, doing something else is not
on Tomaino’s radar however he is aware that down the
road, that could change. “I’ve got two grandchildren
now with my son Jamie, they are six and seven years
old now. As soon as one of them gets in my car and
says ‘Grandpa I can reach the pedals, can I drive
it?’ Then I would say OK and I’m going with him.”
For now, this Saturday at the New London Waterford
Speedbowl, it’s hats off to Tomaino and the whole
family as they celebrate the historic milestone.
Here’s one last look at just how big 600 is with
this: Based on a 17 event a year race schedule, if
eighteen-year old Chase Dowling races every single
Tour race for the next 34.4 years, IF he does not
stop or miss any races - Dowling has an outside shot
of tying Jamie’s record of 600 starts. Whoever is
around in year 2050, please congratulate 52 year old
Dowling on catching this milestone. Then please,
write about it. These things only come along once in
a lifetime.
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Source:
Polly Reid / TheChromeHorn.com
Posted:
May 9, 2016 |
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