WINCHESTER, N.H. — That didn’t take long.
After a pair of races out of Victory Lane, Justin Bonsignore found himself right back on familiar ground as he executed a late pass on Ron Silk to capture the Advanced Gas Distributors Inc. 200 Wade Cole Memorial Sunday afternoon at Monadnock Speedway. It was Bonsignore’s third win in five races on the season and his sixth in the last 10 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour events dating back to last Aug. 31. To cap his 29th career win, he wheeled the No. 51 Phoenix Communications Inc. Chevrolet in a slide across the finish line — 1.085 seconds ahead of Silk. Jon McKennedy won the Mayhew Tools Dominator Pole Award in qualifying and led the first 61 laps before Silk, who was fastest in practice and qualified third, got past him. Bonsignore tracked him down and the two swapped the top spot before Bonsignore took it for good with 25 laps remaining. Bonsignore’s 29th career tour win moved him back into a tie with six-time champion Doug Coby, who finished third, for sixth on the all-time wins list. More importantly, it bumped Bonsignore’s championship points lead back up to 16 over Coby. After winning the first two races of the season, back-to-back fifth-place runs had chipped away at the Long Island driver’s lead. Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, which significantly altered the 2020 Whelen Modified schedule, Monadnock was a late addition. But the return to the quarter-mile for the first time since 2016 was a welcome addition for Bonsignore, who won there in 2013 and ’14. RELATED: Complete Results | Justin Bonsignore Career Wins The Advanced Gas Distributors Inc. 200 Wade Cole Memorial, which streamed live on TrackPass on NBC Gold, was postponed from Saturday to Sunday by weather. Anthony Nocella finished fourth and Ronnie Williams fifth. Matt Hirschman, Woody Pitkat, Sam Rameau, McKennedy and Craig Lutz completed the top 10. Lutz and McKennedy are tied for third in points, 30 points back of Bonsignore. The Whelen Modified Tour will have a quick turnaround, racing at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park in Connecticut on Wednesday, Sept. 2.
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STORY BY NASCAR.COM
JENNERSTOWN, Pa. — Justin Bonsignore started on the pole and led every lap in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour opener at Jennerstown Speedway back in June. He’ll get the chance to try to do it again Saturday night. Bonsignore piloted the No. 51 Phoenix Communications Inc. Chevrolet to the Mayhew Tools Dominator Pole Award in qualifying Saturday at Jennerstown. He posted a lap of 18.238 seconds (103.038 mph) as the last car to take time for the Laurel Highlands 150 (7 p.m. ET, TrackPass on NBC Gold). It is Bonsignore’s 14th career pole. RELATED: Complete Qualifying Results | Justin Bonsignore Career Poles He knocked Dave Sapienza off the top spot with his run. Sapienza, who was fastest in practice, qualified second at 18.292 (102.733). Doug Coby qualified third at 18.294 (102.722). Coby trails Bonsignore by nine points heading into the fourth race of the season. Anthony Nocella and Craig Lutz qualified fourth and fifth, respectively. Matt Swanson, Patrick Emerling, Jon McKennedy, Woody Pitkat and Timmy Catalano completed the top 10. STORY BY NASCAR.COM
The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour’s first trip to Jennerstown Speedway in more than a decade could not have gone better for Justin Bonsignore. The tour will return to the Pennsylvania track Saturday for the Laurel Highlands 150 after just two months away, and the Holtsville, New York, driver will look for a repeat performance to pad his tour championship points lead. It’s six-time champion Doug Coby, however, who won the most recent NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour drivers and there are a host of new names that have started 2020 with strong runs as they look to break into the title picture. Unlike the opener, which was held with empty grandstands, fans will be allowed for Saturday’s Laurel Highlands 150. WHAT TO WATCH FOR Bonsignore won the Mayhew Tools Pole Award and led every lap in the No. 51 Phoenix Communications Inc. Chevrolet in the first race at Jennerstown. He’ll look to keep that perfect streak alive Saturday, as the race distance goes from 133 to 150, and will feature live pit stops instead of a halfway break. It wasn’t necessarily as easy as the box score indicated, though. Craig Lutz and Jon McKennedy both put together strong runs to finish second and third, respectively. Kyle Bonsignore, Calvin Carroll, Dave Sapienza and Chris Pasteryak are among a host of drivers who have put together several strong runs over the tour’s first three races. Lutz, McKennedy and Bonsignore each have one career win apiece, while the others are looking for that first victory. And then there’s Coby. The defending tour champion scored his first win as a driver/owner when the tour made its second stop of the season to New Hampshire’s White Mountain Motorsports Park. He’ll look to make similar gains after an uncharacteristic seventh-place run in the opener. RACE FACTS: RACE: LAUREL HIGHLANDS 150 PLACE: Jennerstown Speedway, Jennerstown, Pa. DATE: Saturday, Aug. 22, 2020 TIME: 7 p.m. ET LIVE TV/RADIO: Trackpass on NBC Gold 7 p.m. ET TAPE DELAY TV: NBCSN — Monday, Aug. 31, 3 p.m. ET TRACK LAYOUT: .522-mile paved oval EVENT SCHEDULE: Saturday, Aug. 22 — Garage opens: 1:15 p.m. ET; Practice: 3:45-4:30 p.m.; Qualifying: 5:45 p.m.; Laurel Highlands 150: 7 p.m. TWITTER: @jtownspeedway, @NASCARRoots HASHTAG: #NWMT RACE CENTER | ENTRY LIST | RACE SCHEDULE CREW CHIEF HANDOUT: The starting field for the Laurel Highlands 150 is limited to 30, including provisional positions. The field will be set by qualifying (1-24) and provisional process per the entry blank (25-30) for the Laurel Highlands 150. In the event that qualifying as stated on this entry blank does not take place for any unforeseen circumstance, the field will be set in accordance with the 2020 NASCAR Touring Series Rule Book. QUALIFYING: Two consecutive qualifying laps. Faster lap determines qualifying position. Adjustments or repairs may not be made on the vehicle after the vehicle has taken the green flag at the start/finish line. Vehicles will be impounded after qualifying. Vehicle must qualify on race set up. The Laurel Highlands 150 will be 150 laps (78.3 miles) and is to be run in one (1) segments. The tire change rule is three (3) tires, any position. To utilize the third change tire, teams will designate a practice tire purchased at Jennerstown Speedway to be the third change tire. The maximum tire allotment available for this event is as follows: Four (4) tires for practice and four (4) for qualifying and to start the race, plus an additional two (2) for a total of 10 (10) tires. |
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