Justin Bonsignore had the best possible start to his busy weekend on Saturday morning, dominating the Mohegan Sun 100 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour (NWMT) race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (NHMS).
Driving the No. 51 for Kenneth Massa Motorsports, Justin Bonsignore held off his cousin Kyle Bonsignore on the race’s final restart and led 78 laps overall to win his second consecutive NWMT event at “The Magic Mile” and the 42nd of his career, tying him for third with Ted Christopher on the all-time victory list.
“We have 16 awesome races a year, but this is our Daytona 500,” Justin Bonsignore said. “There’s so much that goes into putting your car in this position to lead laps and win.”
Later Saturday, Bonsignore is set to make his NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) debut, driving the No. 19 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing in the SciAps 200.
“It’s nice to run this this morning and get the race in, take a little break, eat some lunch, refresh and get ready for this afternoon,” Justin Bonsignore said. “We have a lot of people here ready to enjoy the rest of the day.”
Kyle Bonsignore was 0.322 of a second behind his cousin in the runner up spot, with Chase Dowling finishing third, Patrick Emerling in fourth and Sam Rameau in fifth.
“I love racing my cousin – he’s like my brother,” Kyle Bonsignore said. “I really wish that last caution didn’t come out. I felt I had a good gap behind us and could make a more aggressive move. We would have been in a better spot with more room behind us. Overall it’s a good day.”
“The Magic Mile” lived up to its challenging reputation throughout the event, as several hard wrecks occurred in both turns, with two incidents involving Jonathan McKennedy and Craig Lutz ending with right-side tires over the wall for a short time. Later, a collision between Andy Seuss’ car and the wall led to a short red-flag period as track officials repaired a section of the SAFER barrier.
Overall, eight caution periods consumed 42 laps, with five leaders exchanging the top spot 21 times. Eric Goodale led 14 laps before finishing seventh and NWMT points leader Ron Silk led six circuits before placing 10th. Nineteen drivers completed all 100 laps (105.8 miles) on the 1.058-mile asphalt oval.
NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) regular Ryan Preece, from Berlin, Conn., made his way up to seventh after starting 21st before mechanical issues ended his run after 43 laps. Preece, who will drive the No. 41 Ford for Stewart-Haas Racing in Sunday’s USA TODAY 301 NCS race, finished 26th in the 30-car field.
Everyone was chasing the Bonsignore family at the end, with Justin emerging on top.
“[Kyle and I] have raced together since we were eight years old,” Justin Bonsignore said. “My dad joked this may be the first time we didn’t crash each other. It was a lot of fun.”
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