Gary Putnam has poured everything he has into NASCAR.
A native of Vernon, Connecticut, he’s spent 30 years grinding away in garage areas across the country working with a who’s who of drivers and team owners including Richard Petty, John Andretti, Bill Elliott and Jamie McMurray, among others.
However, Putnam has always maintained one true love: Modified racing.
He grew up attending events at Stafford Speedway, Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park and the New-London Waterford Speedbowl, where he watched Modified drivers like Richie Evans, Fred DeSarro and Rod Spalding compete for supremacy on a weekly basis.
Even while he worked at the top levels of NASCAR, Putnam’s heart stayed with the Modifieds. That’s why he dabbled on the side as a driver on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, making 34 starts between 2014 and 2025.
Now Putnam, who resides in Concord, North Carolina, will be able to focus all his attention on the division he loves as the new Modified Tour series director.
“Growing up in Connecticut, (Modifieds) were the premier division in the Northeast. So I was a huge fan,” said the 55-year-old Putnam, who becomes the fifth series director in the history of the modern Tour. “I grew up at Stafford, Thompson and Waterford spending every race night there. I remember getting my first autograph at 6 years old at Thompson when I walked up to Fred DeSarro. I thought that was the coolest thing in the world.”
Putnam is a first-generation member of the motorsports industry. He had to convince his father to bring him to races, and as he grew, he found creative ways to get into garage areas at tracks in the Northeast with the goal of eventually landing on a crew.
That determination paid off when he landed a job working on the Modified Tour for Charlie and Carl Pasteryak.
“I started sneaking into the pit area when I looked old enough,” Putnam admitted. “I helped out wiping down the car of Corky Cookman after races, and then I started working for Ed Spires, who was a local Danbury guy who raced at Stafford and Waterford weekly.
“I helped Rod Spaulding on the Modified Tour in ‘87 and ‘88; then I got to know Charlie (Pasteryak) a little bit at Riverside Park. I helped Charlie at the races as volunteer help, and eventually the opportunity arose to actually go work for him and Carl in 1993.”
Putnam spent the next few years working for and learning from the Pasteryak family. He relocated to North Carolina in 1996, and with the help of Tommy Baldwin Jr. and Kevin “Bono” Manion, he landed his first job in NASCAR at Larry Hedrick Motorsports working with Ricky Craven.
In the years that followed, Putnam worked for and with a variety of teams and drivers, including Bahari Racing, Bill Elliott Racing, PPI Motorsports, NEMCO Motorsports, Petty Enterprises, Dale Earnhardt Inc. and Earnhardt Ganassi Racing.
By the time Putnam landed at Petty Enterprises in 2002, he had worked his way to crew chief. In that position at Petty Enterprises, he worked with a strong list of drivers that included John Andretti, Christian Fittipaldi, Jerry Nadeau and Jeff Green.
Putnam departed Petty Enterprises for PPI Motorsports in 2006 to serve as crew chief on the No. 32 Tide Chevrolet driven by Travis Kvapil. However, his greatest success came during the 2010 season while working as car chief on the No. 1 Chevrolet driven by Jamie McMurray.
The team began that year by winning the biggest race of all, the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. To this day, Putnam considers it his favorite moment from his more than two decades in NASCAR.
“That’s probably my highlight,” Putnam said. “2010 was quite the year. We won three Cup races, and Bono (Manion) and I won three Modified races, both Loudon races and Bristol, with Ryan Newman driving.”
The success at NASCAR’s top levels did not scratch the itch, however, that was his desire to involve himself in Modified racing. In his early 40s, he finally tried his hand behind the wheel.
“It was my lifelong dream to drive a Modified after growing up idolizing them,” said Putnam, who becomes the first Modified Tour director who has also competed in the series as a driver. “The opportunity arose to buy one of Bob Garbarino’s old cars. I did that, put it together, put my seat in it and went and tried it to make sure I could do it.”
In 2010, Putnam made his debut on the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour. He went on to make 63 starts in the southern series, earning a best finish of fifth.
Four years later, he made his debut on the NASCAR Whelen Whelen Modified Tour. In 34 starts spread across 11 seasons, Putnam scored a pair of top-10 finishes.
Now, decades after his infatuation with Modified racing began, Putnam will be able to focus all his attention on growing the division he’s loved since his youth.
It’s nothing short of a dream job for Putnam, who is suspending operations of his own Modified team to put 100 percent of his effort behind growing the Modified Tour.
“This opportunity came at the right time in my life and career,” Putnam said. “I’m super excited. This division has always been a passion of mine, from infancy probably. I’m looking forward to this a lot.”
