RIVERHEAD, N.Y. - 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 brother Timmy and Shawn Solomito to score the victory in the Riverhead 200 at New York’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.
NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour
Riverhead Raceway – Riverhead, NY
Riverhead 200 – Aug. 27, 2016
| Fin | Str | Car | Driver | Team | Laps | Points | B/Points | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | 51 | Justin Bonsignore | Phoenix Communications Inc. Chevrolet | 200 | 48 | 5 | Running |
| 2 | 2 | 16 | Timmy Solomito | Diversified Metals Ford | 200 | 43 | 1 | Running |
| 3 | 1 | 75 | Shawn Solomito | Eastport Feeds Chevrolet | 200 | 42 | 1 | Running |
| 4 | 3 | 0 | Tom Rogers, Jr. | Stakey’s Pumpkin Farm/S.J.S. Stoneworks Chevrolet | 200 | 40 | Running | |
| 5 | 11 | 9 | Chase Dowling | S&S Asphalt Paving/Dunleavy’s Repair Chevrolet | 200 | 39 | Running | |
| 6 | 12 | 4 | Jimmy Blewett | Starrett Tools/Mayhew Tools Dodge | 200 | 38 | Running | |
| 7 | 21 | 56 | Craig Lutz * | TBA Chevrolet | 200 | 37 | Running | |
| 8 | 16 | 20 | Max Zachem | Lu-Mac’s Package Store/East End Statuary Chevrolet | 200 | 36 | Running | |
| 9 | 13 | 5 | Frank Vigliarolo, Jr. | Frankie’s Towing Chevrolet | 200 | 35 | Running | |
| 10 | 4 | 58 | Eric Goodale | GAF Roofing Chevrolet | 200 | 34 | Running | |
| 11 | 9 | 3 | Rowan Pennink | Cape Cod Copper/Canto Paving Chevrolet | 200 | 33 | Running | |
| 12 | 25 | 99 | Jamie Tomaino | Dunleavy’s Repair/Atlantic Sprinkler Chevrolet | 200 | 32 | Running | |
| 13 | 26 | 26 | Gary McDonald | Lakeland Landscape /TRC Electric Chevrolet | 200 | 31 | Running | |
| 14 | 8 | 82 | Ron Silk | Horton Avenue Materials Chevrolet | 199 | 30 | Running | |
| 15 | 6 | 2 | Doug Coby | Dunleavy Repair/A&J Romano Const Chevrolet | 198 | 29 | Running | |
| 16 | 5 | 8 | Donny Lia | Sypher Construction/Bardahl Chevrolet | 197 | 28 | Running | |
| 17 | 23 | 69 | Jason Agugliaro * | NEBR/Bob Bruneau/Chuck’s Auto Repair Chevrolet | 196 | 27 | Running | |
| 18 | 22 | 89 | Matt Swanson * | Spafco Race Chassis/FMR Racing Chevrolet | 185 | 26 | Accident | |
| 19 | 24 | 46 | Jeff Goodale | Riverhead Building Supply Chevrolet | 185 | 25 | Accident | |
| 20 | 17 | 84 | John Fortin | John’s Tree Removal Chevrolet | 185 | 24 | Accident | |
| 21 | 14 | 6 | Vincent Biondolillo * | Kennedy L.I. Realty Chevrolet | 184 | 23 | Flat Tire | |
| 22 | 28 | 68 | Johnny Bush | JB Stone Chevrolet | 128 | 22 | Suspension | |
| 23 | 10 | 36 | Dave Sapienza | Frankie’s Towing/Wine Country Chevrolet | 127 | 21 | Accident | |
| 24 | 29 | 10 | Jerry Solomito * | AJ Painting Chevrolet | 109 | 20 | Handling | |
| 25 | 18 | 18 | Ken Heagy | Buoy One Seafood Chevrolet | 87 | 19 | Accident | |
| 26 | 20 | 64 | Rob Summers | HTE/Dell Electric/Complete Const. Chevrolet | 47 | 18 | Accident | |
| 27 | 19 | 33 | Wade Cole | Perf. Engines/Kendall Oil Chevrolet | 32 | 17 | Overheating | |
| 28 | 15 | 44 | Bobby Santos | Tinio Corp./Dan Kelley/Curb Records Chevrolet | 25 | 16 | Brakes | |
| 29 | 27 | 1 | Melissa Fifield | Eastern Propane & Oil Chevrolet | 4 | 15 | Electrical |
RACE STATISTICS
Fastest Qualifier: Shawn Solomito, Time: 12.055 Seconds, Speed: 74.658 mph
Time of Race: 1 hrs., 14 mins, 45 secs Average Speed: 40.134 mph Margin of Victory: 0.499 Seconds
Caution Flags: Laps 18-25; 27-39; 48-60; 78-82; 118-125; 127-134; 155-161; 164-174; 177-182; 186-192. 10 for 86 laps.
Lap Leaders: Timmy Solomito 1-2, Shawn Solomito 3-15, Timmy Solomito 16-83, Justin Bonsignore 84-200.
Total Laps Led: Justin Bonsignore 117, Timmy Solomito 70, Shawn Solomito 13. 3 changes involving 3 drivers.
Top 10 Driver Points: Doug Coby 465, Justin Bonsignore 452, Timmy Solomito 430, Donny Lia 424, Jimmy Blewett 417, Max Zachem 417, Eric Goodale 416, Ron Silk 399, Chase Dowling 378, Matt Swanson * 377
* Denotes Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender
