Justin Bonsignore Looking to Continue Good Fortunes at Stafford in 23rd Annual TSI Harley-Davidson presented by G-Oil
Stafford Springs, CT – For NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour driver Justin Bonsignore, Stafford Motor Speedway has been a bit of a Jekyll and Hyde track. Bonsignore has two of his three career NWMT pole positions at Stafford, but in three seasons, he had yet to record a top-5 finish. That all changed at this year’s CARQUEST Tech-Net Spring Sizzler, where Bonsignore drove through the field from 14th to 2nd at the checkered flag, and he is hoping to continue that good fortune when the NWMT returns to Stafford on May 24th for the 23rd Annual TSI Harley-Davidson 125 Presented by G-Oil.
“We’re always excited to come to Stafford,” said Bonsignore. “I love racing there, it’s a fun track, and especially coming off the run we had at the Sizzler. I wish we could have qualified a little better, it would have made things a bit easier, but we’re excited to get back there. It seems like we’ve always had a lot speed at the bigger tracks like Stafford and Thompson, but we haven’t been able to get the finishes. Lately we’ve been able to keep the car good for the whole race and we’re getting better and better so that makes it more fun to come back to those tracks.”
While the Sizzler was the longest race of the 2013 NWMT schedule at 200-laps, the TSI Harley-Davidson 125 will be a relative sprint race when compared to the Sizzler. Bonsignore is confident that he and his #51 M3 Technology team will be able to find a setup that will suit their car in the shorter race.
“We’re on a little bit different setup with the car and the race is a bit shorter, so there’s different things you can do with strategy,” said Bonsignore. “You can pit or not pit, and there’s some little details that we change up on the car from the Sizzler. I would think that most of the top runners aren’t going to pit, so we’re going to need to start the race with the car tight enough. There might be a couple of guys mid pack or if someone spins they’ll come in for new tires, but track position is so huge at Stafford, that’s going to be the biggest thing. We’ll have to have the car right like we had it at the Sizzler, and we’ll have to get a good qualifying effort because the race is a lot shorter than usual. It’s a toss up with new tires. You saw Teddy [Christopher] was able to come back through the field at the Sizzler, but everyone is so close in speed now. At the Sizzler we qualified 14th, but we were only 1 tenth of a second behind the pole time, so it’s just not as easy to drive by people anymore.”
While Bonsignore has yet to win at Stafford, he has a good idea of what he needs from his car. And he knows he will have to beat Doug Coby and Bobby Santos, III, who between them have won 8 of the past 13 races at Stafford, dating back to the 2010 CARQUEST Tech-Net Spring Sizzler.
“After coming out of the Sizzler with a 2nd place, we need to qualify well, and if we can do that, I think we can win,” said Bonsignore. “But our main goal is to get the season off on the right foot and take some good finishes. If a win is in the cards for us, we’ll definitely be going for it. But Doug and Bobby are unreal at Stafford, they seem to have Stafford figured out. Between the two of them, I think they’ve won just about every race we’ve run at Stafford the last three years.”
Tickets for the 23rd Annual TSI Harley-Davidson 125 Presented by G-Oil are available and on sale now at the Speedway Box Office. Tickets are priced at $33.00 for adult general admission tickets, $5.00 for children ages 6-14, and children ages 5 and under are admitted free of charge when accompanied by an adult. Reserved seating will be priced at $35.00 for all ages. All ticket prices include 10% CT Admission Tax. May is Youth Organization Month at Stafford and all kids 14 & under wearing a team shirt are granted FREE admission when accompanied by an adult.
For more information on the 23rd Annual TSI Harley-Davidson 125 Presented by G-Oil, or to order tickets, contact the Stafford Motor Speedway track office at 860-684-2783 or visit us on the web at www.staffordspeedway.com.