The first win was a dominating performance. The second was a late pass with a little help from the front bumper.
In the end, Justin Bonsignore is 2-for-2 on the 2020 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season.
The Holtsville, New York, driver used a bump-and-run to wrestle the lead away from Matt Hirschman with seven laps to go and then withstood a challenge from Hirschman and Doug Coby on a green-white-checkered finish to win the Independence Day 200 in the tour’s inaugural visit to White Mountain Motorsports Park.
Bump.
And run."And Bonsignore to the lead!"
And we have a GWC coming up on @_Trackpass
It's not over yet!!!#NWMT | #IndependenceDay200 pic.twitter.com/B170c2XXPp— NASCAR Roots (@NASCARRoots) July 5, 2020
Bonsignore led every lap in winning the season opener at Pennsylvania’s Jennerstown Speedway. Saturday night, he dogged Hirschman in the closing laps before pushing him out of the way and claiming the lead. A late caution pushed the race to 205 laps and Bonsignore edged Hirschman by .127 seconds at the line.
It was Bonsignore’s 28th career win, moving him into a tie with Mike Ewanitsko and defending tour champion Doug Coby for sixth all-time in tour history.
Hirschman, who won the Mayhew Tools Pole Award earlier in the day, crossed the finish side-by-side with Coby.
That's ✌ for @JBonsignore
He did this one the hard way. Wow.#NWMT | #IndependenceDay200 pic.twitter.com/6GmYOSpEyK
— NASCAR Roots (@NASCARRoots) July 5, 2020
Tommy Catalano finished fourth and Woody Pitkat made a late run to finish fifth.
Dave Sapienza was sixth, followed by Chris Pasteryak, Craig Lutz, Jon McKennedy and Chase Dowling.
Bonsignore opened up an 11-point lead on Hirschman and a 17 point advantage on Lutz and Coby in the championship standings.
Victory Lane:
Crazy scene at WMMP. “You can’t race like that at other tracks,” one fan says.
“He’s a nobody,” another one says.
Modifieds. pic.twitter.com/qV9FzJuTZc
— Kyle Souza (@ksouza261) July 5, 2020
The complete results can be found below.
- Justin Bonsignore
- Matt Hirschman
- Doug Coby
- Tommy Catalano
- Woody Pitkat
- Dave Sapienza
- Chris Pasteryak
- Craig Lutz
- Jon McKennedy
- Chase Dowling
- Kyle Bonsignore
- Sam Rameau
- Calvin Carroll
- Anthony Nocella
- Patrick Emerling
- Eric Goodale
- J B Fortin
- Jeff Gallup
- Timmy Catalano
- Jeremy Gerstner
- J R Bertuccio
- Tyler Rypkema
- Amy Catalano
- Andrew Krause
- Walter Sutcliffe Jr
- Rob Summers
- Ron Silk
- Matt Swanson
- Timmy Solomito
- Gary Byington
- Melissa Fifield
If you like what you read here, become a Short Track Scene Patreon and support short track journalism!
Read more Short Track Scene:
Got a new release you want to send? Are you a touring series or track and want your weekly releases added to Short Track Scene? Send them to [email protected].