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STAFFORD, Conn. -- Justin Bonsignore finished 13th in the rain-shortened NAPA Spring Sizzler at Stafford Motor Speedway on Friday, April 30. The race was deemed official after just 130 of the 150 lap distance due to persistent rain in the area. It was the second of 14 races on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour calendar and first of three at the Connecticut oval in 2021. Bonsignore started 15th, and quickly worked his way into the top-10, where he ran for much of the first half of the race. During a pit stop, the Kenneth Massa Motorsports team went to work -- gaining Bonsignore multiple spots, pushing him into the top three. He would run inside and around the top-five until the eventual final caution of the race, where the leaders tangled in front of him and Bonsignore had no where to go. Contact to the rear of Bonsignore's No. 51 Phoenix Communications Inc. Modified sent him spinning in turn three. With rain falling, officials called the race complete and Bonsignore had to settle for 13th. Unfortunately, the finish ended a streak of 21 consecutive top-10 finishes in Whelen Modified Tour competition for Bonsignore. Bonsignore returns to the track on Saturday, May 1 at Monadnock Speedway, driving the No. 00 for Jimmy Paige in the opener of the Tri Track Open Modified Series season. The next NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour race on the calendar is Saturday, May 15, at Riverhead Raceway in New York. For more information on Justin Bonsignore, visit JustinBonsignore.com and follow his athlete page on Facebook.
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HOLTSVILLE, N.Y. -- Justin Bonsignore will spend two days, in two different states, driving two different cars, in two different divisions this week. Bonsignore will continue his quest for a third NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championship at Stafford Motor Speedway in the 49th annual NAPA Spring Sizzler on Friday, April 30. The race was rescheduled from April 25 due to weather, and will take place under the Connecticut lights, where Bonsignore is looking for his first win at the half-mile. In 38 previous starts at Stafford, Bonsignore is winless -- but he is hoping to change that this week. "We have been getting closer and closer every time we go there," Bonsignore said. "I was really happy with the way 2019 went, and optimistic going into 2020, but then COVID hit and by the time we went back there, we were mostly points racing, but were still a top three car. If we could pull it off in the Spring Sizzler, it would make all of the pains there go away." After competition on Friday, Bonsignore will travel to Winchester, New Hampshire, to compete in the opener of the Tri Track Open Modified Series season at Monadnock Speedway. Driving the No. 00 James R. Paige Plumbing and Heating machine, Bonsignore looks to begin his quest for a Tri Track title at a track where he is a former winner. Bonsignore won the most recent Whelen Modified Tour race at the track in August of 2020 -- one of three tour wins at the bullring. "I'm excited to head back to the high-banks of Monadnock, we've always run well there, in the past with the Modified Racing Series and Whelen Modified Tour with those wins," Bonsignore said. "I feel comfortable going there. I know Jimmy Paige and Chase Dowling won there together in 2019, and I know they will have a good package. I'm looking forward to continuing to build the friendship and relationship with those guys this year." Friday's event at Stafford includes practice from 3:30-4:30 p.m., Mayhew Tools pole qualifying at 6:30 p.m., and the estimated drop of the green flag in the NAPA Spring Sizzler at 8:30 p.m. The race will air to a live audience on NBC Sports Gold and their TrackPass platform. Saturday's event at Monadnock begins with practice from 2-3 p.m., followed by qualifying heat races at 5 p.m. and the estimated drop of the green flag at 9 p.m. The race can be viewed live on Speed51.TV. Follow Justin Bonsignore's athlete Facebook page for the latest updates from the track. For more information on Justin Bonsignore, visit JustinBonsignore.com. For more information on Souza Media, follow on Facebook, Twitter @SouzaMedia or visit kylesouza.com.  Photo: (Tom Morris Racing Photography) BY SOUZA MEDIA/KYLE SOUZA
HOLTSVILLE, N.Y. -- Round two of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season, set for Sunday, April 25, brings Justin Bonsignore back to Stafford Motor Speedway with high hopes of earning his first career win at the half-mile. In 38 previous starts at Stafford, Bonsignore has a best finish of second, but is hoping the beginning of the 2021 season will be the time to end the winless streak. Bonsignore and his Kenneth Massa Motorsports team are coming off a solid third-place finish to open the Whelen Modified Tour season at Martinsville Speedway, and hoping to carry momentum to Stafford. "We have been getting closer and closer every time we go there," Bonsignore said. "I was really happy with the way 2019 went, and optimistic going into 2020, but then COVID hit and by the time we went back there, we were mostly points racing, but were still a top three car. If we could pull it off in the Spring Sizzler, it would make all of the pains there go away." Bonsignore, who is in search of his third Whelen Modified Tour championship this season (2018 & 2020), knows Stafford will play a major role in the title battle, with three of the remaining 13 races set to be contested there. He is looking to continue a streak of 16 consecutive top-five finishes in Whelen Modified Tour competition dating back to the end of the 2019 season. "It has been proven the last bunch of years that you have to finish in the top-five in all of the races in order to have a shot at the championship," Bonsignore said. Different from previous years, the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour portion of NAPA Spring Sizzler weekend is just one day. The one and only practice session of Spring Sizzler Sunday lasts from 11:35-12:35 p.m., while Mayhew Tools qualifying begins at 3 p.m. The NAPA Auto Parts Spring Sizzler is scheduled to take the green flag at 5 p.m. The race will air live via NBC Sports Gold and their TrackPass platform, where fans can watch the remaining 13 Whelen Modified Tour races for just $2.99 per month. The race is also scheduled to air via tape-delay on NBCSN on Thursday, April 29 at 5:30 p.m. For more information on Justin Bonsignore, visit JustinBonsignore.com and follow him on Facebook. For more information on Souza Media, follow on Facebook and visit kylesouza.com. JUSTIN BONSIGNORE OPENS WHELEN MODIFIED TOUR SEASON WITH THIRD-PLACE FINISH AT MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY4/8/2021  BY SOUZA MEDIA/KYLE SOUZA
MARTINSVILLE, Va. -- Justin Bonsignore opened the 2021 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season and his quest for a third series championship with a third-place finish at Martinsville Speedway on Thursday night, April 8. The driver of the No. 51 Coastal-Fiber, Kenneth Massa Motorsports machine was forced to start at the tail of the 35-car field after originally qualifying seventh, as the team found a potential leak and were forced to take a deeper look prior to the green. While the car was sitting on the grid, Bonsignore’s team noticed a slow drip of water, and elected to bring the car back to the garage. Luckily, there were no major problems. He would enter the car and buckle the belts just moments before the green flag, and would begin to chase towards the front through a stacked field of cars in front of him. “Just had to take the safe route and make sure everything was good. You don’t want to take any chances,” Bonsignore said of having to start at the rear. If anything, all it did was give Bonsignore fans a chance to watch him dice through the field at one of NASCAR's most historic tracks. Bonsignore took the lead for the first time just after halfway, and was the top contender for the start of the second half of the race. During a caution period with 52 laps to go, the Ken Massa Motorsports team went to work with fresh tires and some adjustments, and Bonsignore quickly took back control of the lead after restarting third. However, it just wasn’t meant to be in Virginia. Eventual race winner Eric Goodale and second-place finisher Tyler Rypkema passed Bonsignore in the final laps and Bonsignore would settle for third. The third-place finish was the 16th consecutive top-five finish for Bonsignore in Whelen Modified Tour action. The run at Martinsville came behind the wheel of a brand new car prepared by Ryan Stone. “We did a longer run early in practice and we knew we had good speed, with not a lot of fall-off, the car was great to drive,” Bonsignore said. “There were no new-car jitters today. We raced our way up through the field, and had some really good strategy again by Ryan Stone. We just missed it on adjustments during the final stop. To continue the top-five streak is cool. Starting at the tail and working our way into the top-three is a really good day. If you can’t win, you have to go out and run in the top three. We were able to get the season off on the right foot.” Bonsignore returns to the track on Sunday, April 25, when the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour will visit Stafford Motor Speedway in Connecticut. Following the tour race, Bonsignore will compete in the Tri Track Open Modified Series event at Monadnock Speedway on May 1. For more information on Justin Bonsignore, visit JustinBonsignore.com and follow on Facebook. For more information on Souza Media, visit KyleSouza.com and follow Souza Media on Facebook.  Photo: (NASCAR) STORY BY SOUZA MEDIA/KYLE SOUZA HOLTSVILLE, N.Y. -- With the offseason finally in the rear-view mirror, Justin Bonsignore begins the quest for his third NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championship on April 8 at Martinsville Speedway. The Holtsville, New York, native leads a list of over 35 of his closest Modified competitors back to the Virginia oval for the first time since 2010 -- as Bonsignore and the Kenneth Massa Motorsports team look to get the season started off on the right foot. For the opener, Bonsignore will carry sponsorship from Coastal Fiber, LLC, a local Virginia company that is a full service fiber optic construction and splicing company. Already an established part of the team, Coastal Fiber founder Mark Langevin also is the owner of Phoenix Communications, Inc., Bonsignore's primary sponsor on the Tour. "I am very excited to partner with Coastal Fiber and return to the track with my entire KMM team at Martinsville," Bonsignore said. "After a long winter, I can't wait to begin chasing our third championship together." In one previous start at Martinsville, Bonsignore drove the Kenneth Massa Motorsports machine to a second-place finish in 2010. With some experience in his pocket, Bonsignore hopes to better that by one spot this time around. With 29 career Whelen Modified Tour wins, currently tied for sixth all-time with six-time series champion Doug Coby, Bonsignore has become the top contender on the tour. In the last three years of tour competition, the 33-year-old has 17 wins in 41 starts -- ending up in Victory Lane an astounding 41% of the time. He looks to become just the fifth driver in the history of the series to win back-to-back titles. To start the season at Martinsville, one of NASCAR's most historic tracks, has Bonsignore more than excited. "To open the season down at Martinsville just makes everything even more special and adds to the prestige of the Whelen Modified Tour and this event," Bonsignore said. "To win at Martinsville would be huge for all of us. I'd love to take the grandfather clock home back to New York." The only practice sessions runs from 2:30-4 p.m., while single-car qualifying will take place at 6 p.m. The feature is scheduled to take the green flag at 8 p.m. The Whelen Modified Tour opener is just the start of a full weekend of NASCAR racing at Martinsville that will include both the NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Cup Series. The Virginia Is For Racing Lovers 200 will have a tape-delayed broadcast on NBCSN on Wednesday, April 14 at 5 p.m. For more information on Justin Bonsignore, visit JustinBonsignore.com and follow him on Facebook. For more information on Souza Media, visit KyleSouza.com and follow on Facebook.    |
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