Long Island NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Riverhead Raceway 

Bonsignore Drives Home The Win At Riverhead

rgeepro Comments

Justin Bonsignore came up short at home in June. He wasn’t going to let it happen again Saturday night.

The 28-year-old from Holtsville, New York, held off the charge of brothers Timmy and Shawn Solomito to score the victory in the Riverhead 200 at Long Island’s Riverhead Raceway. It was a night of milestones for Bonsignore, who earned his 10th career NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour win in his 100th career start.

Bonsignore kept the No. 51 Phoenix Communications Inc. Chevrolet out front for a race-high 117 laps. He kept the Solomitos behind him on a final restart with nine laps remaining to secure the win.

In June, Bosignore finished second to Timmy Solomito on a green-white-checkered finish at Riverhead. Bosignore, both Solomitos and fourth-place Tom Rogers Jr. are all Long Island natives. It was Bonsignore’s fourth win at his home track, where he was the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Division I champion in 2011.

Timmy Solomito led 70 laps on the quarter-mile but had to settle for a runner-up finish this time. Shawn Solomito won his first career Coors Light Pole Award earlier in the day — knocking Timmy off the provisional pole as the second-to-last driver to make a qualifying lap — and led the other 13 laps.

In addition to the win, Bonsignore cut Doug Coby’s championship points lead to 13 with five races remaining. Timmy Solomito remains 35 points back of Coby, who finished 15th.

Jimmy Blewett, Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate Craig Lutz, Max Zachem, Frank Vigliarolo Jr. and Eric Goodale rounded out the top 10.

The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour heads to upstate New York next Saturday for the Toyota Mod Classic 150 presented by McDonald’s at Oswego Speedway.

The Riverhead 200 will air on NBCSN on Thursday, Sept. 1, at 7 p.m.

 

 

NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour-Riverhead 200 Results

Saturday

At Riverhead Raceway

Riverhead, N.Y.

Lap length: 0.25 miles

(Start position in parentheses)

  1. (7) Justin Bonsignore, Holtsville, NY, Chevrolet, 200 laps, 40.134 mph.
  2. (2) Timmy Solomito, Islip, N.Y., Ford, 200.
  3. (1) Shawn Solomito, Islip, N.Y., Chevrolet, 200.
  4. (3) Tom Rogers, Jr., Patchogue, N.Y., Chevrolet, 200.
  5. (11) Chase Dowling, Roxbury, Conn., Chevrolet, 200.
  6. (12) Jimmy Blewett, Howell, N.J., Dodge, 200.
  7. (21) Craig Lutz, Miller Place, N.Y., Chevrolet, 200.
  8. (16) Max Zachem, Preston, Conn., Chevrolet, 200.
  9. (13) Frank Vigliarolo, Jr., Mt. Sinai, NY, Chevrolet, 200.
  10. (4) Eric Goodale, Riverhead, N.Y., Chevrolet, 200.
  11. (9) Rowan Pennink, Huntingdon Valley, Pa., Chevrolet, 200.
  12. (25) Jamie Tomaino, Howell, N.J., Chevrolet, 200.
  13. (26) Gary McDonald, Ronkonkoma, N.Y., Chevrolet, 200.
  14. (8) Ron Silk, Norwalk, CT, Chevrolet, 199.
  15. (6) Doug Coby, Milford, Conn., Chevrolet, 198.
  16. (5) Donny Lia, Jericho, NY, Chevrolet, 197.
  17. (23) Jason Agugliaro, Islip, N.Y., Chevrolet, 196.
  18. (22) Matt Swanson, Acton, Mass., Chevrolet, 185, accident.
  19. (24) Jeff Goodale, Riverhead, N.Y., Chevrolet, 185, accident.
  20. (17) John Fortin, Holtsville, N.Y., Chevrolet, 185, accident.
  21. (14) Vincent Biondolillo, Farmingville, N.Y., Chevrolet, 184, flat tire.
  22. (28) Johnny Bush, Huntington Station, N.Y., Chevrolet, 128, suspension.
  23. (10) Dave Sapienza, Riverhead, N.Y., Chevrolet, 127, accident.
  24. (29) Jerry Solomito, Islip, N.Y., Chevrolet, 109, handling.
  25. (18) Ken Heagy, Calverton, N.Y., Chevrolet, 87, accident.
  26. (20) Rob Summers, Manchester, CT, Chevrolet, 47, accident.
  27. (19) Wade Cole, Hartland, Conn., Chevrolet, 32, overheating.
  28. (15) Bobby Santos, Franklin, Mass., Chevrolet, 25, brakes.
  29. (27) Melissa Fifield, Wakefield, N.H., Chevrolet, 4, electrical.

Race Statistics

Time of Race: 1 hour 14 minutes 45 seconds

Margin of Victory: 0.499 seconds

Fastest Qualifier: S.Solomito (74.658 mph, 12.055 seconds)

Caution Flags: 10 for 86 laps.

Lead Changes: 3 among 3 drivers.

Lap Leaders: T. Solomito 1-2; S. Solomito 3-15; T. Solomito 16-83; J. Bonsignore 84-200.

Standings: 1. D. Coby, 465; 2. J. Bonsignore, 452; 3. T. Solomito, 430; 4. D. Lia, 424;

  1. J. Blewett, 417; 6. M. Zachem, 417; 7. E. Goodale, 416; 8. R. Silk, 399; 9. C.

Dowling, 378; 10. M. Swanson, 377.

 

Source: Jason Christley/NASCAR Integrated Marketing Communications