Bonsignore Earns Modified Rookie Award
Second Year in a Row Honor Goes to a Riverhead Alum
Daytona Beach, FL — NASCAR announced today that Justin Bonsignore has earned 2010 Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour.
Bonsignore, who hails from Holtsville on New York’s Long Island, registered four top 10s and was the Sunoco Rookie of the Race in eight of the season’s 14 events. His rookie campaign was highlighted by a runner-up finish in the Made In America Whelen 200 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway and laps led at his home track, Riverhead (N.Y.) Raceway, in the Riverhead 200.
Bonsignore finished 13th in the season standings behind the wheel of the No. 51 M3 Technology Chevrolet, a team owned by Kenneth Massa that competed on the Whelen Modified Tour for the first time. He earned Coors Light Pole Awards in the UNOH Perfect Storm 150 at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway and in the CARQUEST Fall Final at Stafford (Conn.) Motor Speedway and became the first rookie to capture more than one pole since Chuck Hossfeld recorded a pair in 2002.
A regular in the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Modified division at Riverhead prior to this season, Bonsignore became the second driver in a row with a background from the Long Island quarter-mile track to claim Whelen Modified Tour rookie honors. Riverhead resident Eric Goodale was the 2009 honoree.
Bonsignore finished two points ahead of Richie Pallai Jr. in the final Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings. Pallai was 12th in the overall season points with a pair of top 10s and a best finish of ninth at Martinsville.
Bonsignore will be recognized for his accomplishments as part of the festivities surrounding the NASCAR Night of Champions Touring Awards Gala on Dec. 11 at the Charlotte Convention Center’s Crown Ballroom in the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
Sources: Jason Cunningham/NASCAR WMT PR