Long island’s  Timmy Solomito gets the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Rookie of the Year Award. (Credit: NASCAR Home Track photo. )

By Lou Modestino

Not many rookie race car drivers already have a nickname, let alone two, but Timmy Solomito has done his best to live up to both. The moniker applied depends on which side of Long Island Sound you’re on. On the south side at New York’s Riverhead Raceway, you’ll hear Timmy “The Natural” Solomito, a tag that was coined by former street stock driver Frankie Cole and carried on by track publicist and announcer Bob Finan. On the north side at the three Connecticut short tracks, longtime announcer and wordsmith Matt Buckler refers to the 22-year-old driver as Timmy “The Torpedo” Solomito. Continue reading →