pit box: can Bonsignore repeat at jennerstown?

Justin Bonsignore & team are heading back to Jennerstown Speedway following a win at the New York oval in June. (Nate Smallwood/NASCAR)

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.