Bonsignore Finds Success At Magic Mile

Justin Bonsignore celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the FW Webb 100 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, his first NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour win at the "Magic Mile." NASCAR via Getty Images

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

LOUDON, N.H. -- Justin Bonsignore knows if he's going to catch Doug Coby in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championship race, he's going to need to all the points he can get in the final three races.
And that means finding success at a place that's long plagued him: New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Mission accomplished for the Holtsville, New York, driver Saturday afternoon. Bonsignore dominated the FW Webb 100, lead 77 laps and holding off the field in a green-white-checkered finish to score his first win at the "Magic Mile."
"It doesn't get any bigger than this," said Bonsignore. "To do it here at New Hampshire, on the big stage, hasn't sunk in yet. I don't know if it ever will. It's a huge honor to be here at honor and to be called a winner now it unbelievable."
Ron Silk finished second, followed by Coby, Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate Matt Swanson and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Ryan Newman.
Rowan Pennink led five laps and was in contention for the win when engine issues on Lap 98 ended his day. It also brought out the race's final caution and pushed the event to 106 laps. On the final restart, Bonsignore was able to get a push from Silk to pull away from him and Coby en route to the checkered flag.
Bonsignore entered the event with an average finish of 17.4 in 14 previous starts at New Hampshire. He had only led two laps on the 1.058-mile oval.
It was Bonsignore's 11th career win. His previous NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour victories came at his home track, Long Island's Riverhead Raceway (four wins), Connecticut's Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park (four wins) and New Hampshire's Monadnock Speedway (two wins).
It was also Bonsignore's third win of the season. More importantly, it allowed him to slice seven more points off Coby's lead. Coby, the three-time tour champion, holds a 13-point advantage on Bonsignore with two races remaining.
The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour will race in the NAPA Fall Final 150 at Connecticut's Stafford Motor Speedway on Sunday, Oct. 2, before concluding the season in Thompson's Sunoco World Series 150 on Sunday, Oct. 16.
Patrick Emerling finished sixth at New Hampshire, while Jimmy Blewett, Max Zachem, Timmy Solomito and Donny Lia rounded out the top 10.

1	9	51	Justin Bonsignore	Phoenix Communications Inc. Chevrolet	106	48	5	Running
2	6	82	Ron Silk	Horton Avenue Materials Chevrolet	106	43	1	Running
3	4	2	Doug Coby	Dunleavy Repair/A&J Romano Const Chevrolet	106	41		Running
4	18	89	Matt Swanson *	Spafco Race Chassis/FMR Racing Chevrolet	106	40		Running
5	5	7	Ryan Newman	Menards/Aggressive Hydraulics Chevrolet	106	39		Running
6	13	7	Patrick Emerling	Buffalo Auto Auction Chevrolet	106	38		Running
7	8	4	Jimmy Blewett	Starrett Tools/Mayhew Tools Dodge	106	37		Running
8	19	20	Max Zachem	Lu-Mac's Package Store/VWS Chevrolet	106	36		Running
9	12	16	Timmy Solomito	Diversified Metals Ford	106	35		Running
10	7	8	Donny Lia	Sypher Construction/Bardahl Chevrolet	106	34		Running
11	15	9	Chase Dowling	S&S Asphalt Paving/Dunleavy's Repair Chevrolet	106	33		Running
12	16	46	Jeff Goodale	Riverhead Building Supply Chevrolet	106	32		Running
13	20	75	Shawn Solomito	Eastport Feeds Chevrolet	106	31		Running
14	21	71	Jimmy Zacharias	Horton Avenue Materials Chevrolet	106	30		Running
15	10	64	Rob Summers	HTE/Dell Electric/Complete Const. Chevrolet	106	29		Running
16	11	58	Eric Goodale	GAF Roofing Chevrolet	106	28		Running
17	22	99	Jamie Tomaino	Dunleavy's Repair/Atlantic Sprinkler Chevrolet	106	27		Running
18	26	26	Gary McDonald	Lakeland Landscape /TRC Electric Chevrolet	106	26		Running
19	23	33	Wade Cole	Perf Engines/Kendall Oil/Johnson Chassis Chevrolet	106	25		Running
20	3	3	Rowan Pennink	Cape Cod Copper/Canto Paving Chevrolet	98	25	1	Engine
21	25	38	Gary Byington *	Perf Engines/Kendall Oil/Johnson Chassis Chevrolet	91	23		Handling
22	17	56	Craig Lutz *	Lutz Motorsports Chevrolet	67	22		Accident
23	14	36	Dave Sapienza	SAP Enterprise/Wine Country Chevrolet	52	21		Accident
24	1	85	Woody Pitkat	Stuart's Automotive Chevrolet	27	21	1	Accident
25	24	1	Melissa Fifield	Eastern Propane & Oil Chevrolet	19	19		Clutch
26	2	44	Bobby Santos	Tinio Corp./Dan Kelley/Curb Records Chevrolet	14	18