|
September 24th, 2011
Justin
Bonsignore Continues Making A Home At The Front Of
Whelen Modified Tour Events Saturday At NHMS
By Shawn Courchesne on September 24, 2011
- http://blogs.courant.com/autoracing/
LOUDON,
N.H. - Second year NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour
regular Justin Bonsignore continued a torrid
second half of the season pace with a third place
finish in Saturday's New Hampshire 100 at New
Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Since
winning his first career Whelen Modified Tour
event on July 30 at Riverhead (N.Y.) Raceway,
Bonsignore has gone eight consecutive events with
finishes of 11th or better, with five top-four
finishes during that span.
Bonsignore,
of Holtsville, N.Y., also finished third in the
most previous event before Saturday on Sept. 17 at
Lime Rock Park in Salisbury.
The
23-year old finished 13th in the series standings
in his first full year in the division in 2010
with then first year team owner Ken Massa. He sits
sixth in the standings with two events left this
year.
"It's
just a shame, the beginning of the season we got
so far behind with the motors," said
Bonsignore, who had four finishes of 17th or worse
in the first six events of the year. "We're
building for next year. We've still got an outside
chance of finishing top-five in points, which is
still going to be a huge accomplishment
considering we were 27th in the beginning of the
season. We're just building for next year, trying
to get our team built around us. A lot of people
tend to forget, we're only a second year team with
a second year driver and we're running really good
now. I think people kind of overlook that and
think this team has been around for a while. I'm
really proud of what we built."
"My
owner just got into the sport last year and he
didn't know this sport at all. To be competitive
for wins at New Hampshire, Lime Rock, Bristol
[Motor Speedway], all these tracks, it's really
cool to do and I'm really proud of that."
September 18th, 2011
NASCAR
WHELEN Modified Tour - Whelen
Modified 66/99 pres. by Town Fair Tire
Justin
Finishes third on the road course @ Lime Rock Park
Justin
on the podium with race winner Todd Szegedy and
2nd place Mike Stefanik - Debbie Horn Photo
Saturday
marked the fifth-consecutive top-10 finish for
Justin Bonsignore, who has vaulted from 19th to
seventh in the season standings since his first
career win at Riverhead (N.Y.) Raceway in late
July.
“We’re
still learning [road course racing] and every year
we’re going to get better and better,”
Bonsignore said from the podium at Lime Rock.
“These guys [Szegedy and Stefanik] have done it
a lot, but this is just my second time doing it,
so I’m pretty proud.
“We’ve
turned this season around since we got our first
win and hopefully we can just build towards next
year.”
Next up for Justin and the M3 Technology #51 Team
is the New Hampshire 100 at New Hampshire Motor
Speedway on Saturday, Sept. 24
July 30th, 2011
Bonsignore
Brings First WHELEN Modified Tour Win Home
Image
Courtesy of Jim Isaac/Getty Images for NASCAR
Scores
Whelen Modified victory at Riverhead
By
Jason Christley, NASCAR
July 30, 2011 - 10:36pm
RIVERHEAD,
N.Y. -- Justin Bonsignore converted his
home-track advantage into his first NASCAR Whelen
Modified Tour victory. The 23-year-old from
Holtsville, N.Y., led 158 laps and drove away with
the Lighthouse Mission 200 Saturday at Riverhead
Raceway.
Bonsignore,
the 2010 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Sunoco Rookie
of the Year, also runs regularly in Riverhead's
weekly NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Modified
Division. He is second in the track's point
standings.
Todd
Szegedy was second, followed by Ron Silk, Ryan
Preece and Doug Coby. Rowan Pennink rebounded from
an early wreck to finish sixth. The finish allowed
Silk to take the points lead by five over Pennink.
Jamie
Tomaino, Patrick Emerling, Bobby Santos and Richie
Pallai rounded out the top 10,
Earlier
in the day, Riverside veteran Howie Brode earned
his first career Coors Light Pole Award on the
tour. His night ended early, though, when he
was caught up in a multi-car accident in the first
half of the race.
Brode
led the first 17 laps before Bonsignore made the
decisive move to the front on Lap 18.
With
his sixth-straight top-five finish, Silk passed
Pennink for the season points lead. Silk now leads
by five tallies with nine races remaining.
The
NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour will be back on track
Friday, Aug. 5 for the Town Fair Tire 150 at
Stafford (Conn.) Motor Speedway.
|
