Key Decision Nets Bonsignore Riverhead Title
Team Expands 2011 Schedule, Wins First Track Championship
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Justin Bonsignore and his team owner Kenneth Massa made a key decision early in Riverhead (N.Y.) Raceway’s 2011 season.
They decided to add full-time Saturday night NASCAR Whelen All-American Series racing at Riverhead to their schedule. They had already committed to the full NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour schedule and a partial Riverhead weekly schedule.
They were rewarded with Riverhead’s 2011 Modified Division track championship and a seventh-place finish in tour points.
“We didn’t plan to run Riverhead every week,” Bonsignore said. “We were just going to get the car tuned up for the tour by running the first couple of races there. But we were a top-five car every Saturday. Once we made it through the first schedule conflict we decided to stick it out at Riverhead.”
The key date came when the tour’s Saturday, June 25 race at Monadnock Speedway in Winchester, N.H., was delayed until Sunday due to weather. That allowed Bonsignore to compete at Riverhead on Saturday. He placed second to Wayne Anderson and, more importantly, didn’t miss a track point race. Bonsignore then hustled to Monadnock for Sunday’s rescheduled tour race and finished second to Todd Szegedy.
The other schedule challenges came with the prestigious Saturday afternoon tour races at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, N.H., on July 16 and August 13. Bonsignore posted finishes of 31st and fourth respectively in those 100-lap events. He made it back to Long Island in time for Riverhead’s feature races courtesy of a 90 minute flight in a friend’s single-engine plane. He placed fourth in both of those 35-lap features.
Driving on a roomy high speed 1.058-mile track in the afternoon then a .tight 250-mile oval less than two hours later wasn’t a huge hurdle for Bonsignore.
“The first time we did the double I tried to over-drive the car at Riverhead, but I adjusted quickly,” Bonsignore said. “It’s like riding a bike. You don’t forget how to do it.”
Bonsignore also enjoyed his breakthrough first NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour win in 2011, and it came at Riverhead in a 175-lap event on July 30.
“That win was a big deal, too” Bonsignore said. “The team and I had families, friends, sponsors and their friends all there. It was the first time that a Riverhead regular won a tour race at Riverhead in 16 years. The last to do it was Ed Brunnhoelzl Jr. in 1995.”
His 2011 NASCAR Whelen All-American Series record at Riverhead was two wins, 13 top-fives and 14 top-10s in 16 starts. He won the track title by 18 points over John Fortin, a three-time track champion. He also placed second to Amy Catalano in the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series New York standings.
“We went from being competitive at Riverhead in 2010 to having a chance to win or be a top-five car every week in 2011,” Bonsignore said.
“Riverhead is one of the better tracks for a driver to learn on. You have to stay disciplined and not get too aggressive. You don’t attack it. You try to be easy in and hard off the turns. The track is all about being smooth and having finesse, and it’s tough to be smooth at Riverhead.”
Bonsignore began his racing career in go-karts at age eight. He was Riverhead’s rookie of the year in the Charger division in 2005 and the Modified division in 2006. He was also the top rookie in his first season on tour in 2010.
In addition to owner Massa, M3 Technology racing team members include crew chief Aaron Clifton, John Sanford, Douglas Ogiejko, Jonathan Steiger, the driver’s brother Matt and father Tom, James Hughes, Dave Walters, Joe Capri and Joe Skippon. Their race cars are based on Troyer chassis and powered by Tony’s Competition engines. Associate sponsors include Hoosier Racing Tires, Bilstein Racing Shocks and Tucknut.net. Janine and Ken Massa operate M3 Technology, an electronic component provider for the U.S. aerospace, defense and automotive industries.
Sources: Paul Schaefer/NASCAR WMT PR