JUSTIN BONSIGNORE COMES UP A FEW FEET SHORT AT LANCASTER SPEEDWAY

(Photo: Bryan Bennett/NASCAR)

By Souza Media/Kyle Souza

LANCASTER, N.Y. -- Justin Bonsignore came up just a few feet short of his second NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour win of the season on Saturday, July 31, in the tour’s inaugural stop at New York International (Lancaster) Speedway in New York.

Bonsignore was fastest in qualifying driving the Kenneth Massa Motorsports No. 51, qualified in third, and led some laps in the middle of the Nu-Way Auto Parts 150. On a caution with just 27 laps to go, Bonsignore and the team went to work on pit road, with fresh Hoosier rubber, but lost a few spots in the pits. Bonsignore rallied back to second spot, chasing down leader and hometown favorite Patrick Emerling -- hounding the back bumper of his closest championship contender right down to the final lap.

Heading into turn three on the final lap, Bonsignore pulled alongside Emerling and the two had a drag-race to the stripe -- with Emerling edging out for the win. Bonsignore settled for second, his seventh top-five in the first eight races of the season.

“Congrats to Patrick, it sucks to lose, especially to the guy you're battling for points,” Bonsignore said. “But the car was amazing on the long run. We picked a bad time to have our worst pit stop in five years. But the guys are always balanced out. Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. We win and we lose as a team. Happy to get back to second. It was a really good night.”

With the runner-up finish, Bonsignore lost a few points to Emerling, but still leads the Whelen Modified Tour championship point standings heading to the final six races of the season.

Justin Bonsignore will return to the track on Friday, August 6, with the next NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour event at Stafford Motor Speedway. For more information on Justin Bonsignore, visit JustinBonsignore.com and follow his athlete page on Facebook.