Tommy Baldwin Jr. continues family love affair with NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour

Tommy Baldwin Jr. remembers exactly when he fell in love with Modified racing.

A teenager at the time, the younger Baldwin was traveling with his father Tom Baldwin Sr. to a race at North Carolina‘s Hickory Motor Speedway.

Age restrictions sometimes prevented young teenagers from entering the pit area. That wasn‘t the case this time at Hickory, which meant the younger Baldwin was able to get a first-hand look at what Modified racing was all about.

“Back then you weren‘t allowed in the pits until you were 16 or 18 in certain states,” Baldwin said. “We went down to, believe it or not, Hickory, North Carolina, to run a NASCAR race. It wasn‘t a Tour race; back then it was 100 races a year for points. I was allowed in the pits, and that‘s really when I got the bug.

“I still remember it to this day. That was kind of the turning point on me getting hooked.”

Fast-forward to 2022, and Baldwin remains infatuated with Modified racing.

His No. 7NY Modified has quickly become a fixture in Victory Lane with the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour this year, with Doug Coby and Mike Christopher Jr. both earning victories in Baldwin‘s equipment.

It‘s just a continuation of the success Baldwin enjoyed on the Tour before he eventually moved on to the NASCAR Cup Series.

“People forget that the year I left (the Tour), Steve Park and I won seven out the last 13 races and just missed the championship by three points over Tony Hirschman Sr.,” Baldwin recalled, referencing the 1995 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season. “I keep telling everybody I‘ve got over 20 Tour wins in my career, but I was gone for 20-something years, so it‘s kind of hard for everybody to remember.

“It‘s a great, great series. It‘s so competitive. It‘s no different than the Cup level as far as the competition goes.”

After making a name for himself on the Tour as a crew chief, Baldwin eventually made it to the NASCAR Cup Series. He spent more than 20 years at NASCAR‘s top level, where he won five races as a crew chief with drivers Ward Burton and Kasey Kahne.

Included in those victories were triumphs in the 2001 Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway and the 2002 Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway, both with Burton.

He eventually entered the ownership ranks in the NASCAR Cup Series, fielding his own entries for a variety of drivers including Michael McDowell, Geoffrey Bodine, Dave Blaney, Danica Patrick, David Reutimann, Michael Annett and J.J. Yeley, among others.

Success in the NASCAR Cup Series was limited for Baldwin, whose operation managed a best finish of third on two occasions.

Once Baldwin decided to walk away from the NASCAR Cup Series, he felt it was natural that he return to his family roots in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour.