Silly season for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour didn’t wait for the racing season to come to an end. It’s already well underway as evident by a couple of driver and team changes announced over the last two weeks.

The big shock came when reigning champion Jon McKennedy announced on Facebook that his race team would be shutting down less than half a year removed from their championship victory last season.

Now the Goodie Motorsports No. 46 team has announced that they are moving on from driver Justin Brown and will be partnering with Massachusetts native Anthony Nocella for the rest of the 2023 racing season.

The Woburn, Mass. driver has never run a full NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour campaign. The closest he came was in 2021 when he ran 13 of 14 races that year and scored two top five finishes, five top 10 finishes, and one pole position at Stafford Motor Speedway.

Since that season ended, Nocella has made nine starts, all with his family-owned team. In those nine races, Nocella scored a victory at New Hampshire Motor Speedway last July, as well as three top five finishes and a total of five top 10 runs.

“I’m definitely excited to get back out there,” Nocella told FloRacing on Wednesday afternoon. “I wasn’t going to run them. I was just going to pick and choose a couple, but now with somebody else I am able to do them all.”

Watch: Anthony Nocella Scores First NWMT Win In Thriller At NHMS

Nocella said his plans changed when team owner Russell Goodale called him a few days ago and asked if he might be interested in driving for them. Nocella didn’t hesitate, and now their first race together will be on the high-banked bullring at Wall Stadium Speedway in Belmar, New Jersey this Saturday night.

When asked what his goals were for this new partnership, Nocella said the main goal is just for everyone to get to know each other and run up front. Then from there, he said, they could start thinking about race wins.

“Obviously, we’ve never worked together, so we have to get to know each other a little bit,” explained Nocella. “Our first race is Wall, and I’ve only run there once or twice. The last time was probably six years ago, so that’s a little bit of a curveball there. Then we go to Loudon, which will help. I just want to give them solids runs through the end of the year. I want to get some top fives and top threes for them. It would be nice to grab a win, but you’ve got to get the tops fives and top threes first to know you have a shot.”

Saturday’s race at Wall Stadium will be Nocella’s NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour debut at the track, but he’s made two starts in the track’s season-ending “Turkey Derby” event in the past. He finished 23rd in his first start there nine years ago, but he finished eighth in the 2017 edition of the race.

But one week after that, Nocella and the rest of the Tour head back to Loudon, New Hampshire for a 100-lap showdown at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway, where Nocella is the defending race winner.

Nocella was in the right place at the right time as the leaders crashed right in front of him. He weaved his way through the mayhem to pick up his first NWMT victory at the biggest race the Modifieds run each year. Going back to Loudon so soon has Nocella confident that he and his new team can get this partnership started off the right way.

“I’ve always loved going to Loudon. It’s close to home for me, and I know they have great equipment. So I’m excited for it, just knowing how we went last year, and how they’re going to bring the car. You never know how the race is going to play out there, but I think if we’re capable of having a top-five car and staying up front you have a shot. Just like last year. If you stay up front you have a shot at it.”

The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour hits the high-banks of Wall Stadium Speedway this Saturday, July 8. Saturday’s race, plus the entirety of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season, will be broadcast live on FloRacing. Fans can subscribe to FloRacing by clicking here.