Justin Bonsignore led the most laps and finished second in the Fall Final 150 at Stafford, his best run ever at a track that he has struggled at over the years.
Problem was, it hardly made a dent in the points deficit Bonsignore now has only one race to climb out of. He only picked up two points on series leader Doug Coby, cutting the gap from 21 to 19 heading into the season finale at Thompson in two weeks.
“We just gotta go there and do what we do best,” Bonsignore said. “Obviously, we’re going to our best track, so that puts a little bit of pressure on him, but he does have some breathing room. He’s done this plenty of times. I’ve been the trail car, pretty much through all his championship years… We’ll just go try and go and win the race and whatever happens, happens.”
Thompson is certainly the best track on the Tour for Bonsignore. He’s won seven of the last eight races held at the 5/8-mile oval. 11 of his 25 total victories have come there. Quite simply, there’s no better spot for Bonsignore to rally for a second straight title.
Meanwhile, Coby is on cruise control. Should he win his sixth title, 2019 might go down as Coby’s finest. His average finish of 4.47 would rank as the best of any season he’s raced on the Whelen Modified Tour.
But Coby has seen his share of crazy events at the World Series 150. With a title on the line, it’s all about staying out of catastrophic trouble.
“You’ve got to figure that he’s going to lead the most laps and win like he usually does, so I’ll work backwards from there to figure out where we have to finish,” Coby said. “The World Series, sometimes it’s tame and most of the time it’s crazy. I’m hoping that the last 70 laps go green… Just see how the race unfolds. The two of us kind of have different agendas. He’s going to be really aggressive and I’m gonna be pretty conservative, but I also gotta make sure I put myself in a spot to not be in trouble.”
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