Story By: JEFF BROWN / JDV PRODUCTIONS – WINCHESTER, NH – Saturday was a blue-ribbon evening for Justin Bonsignore at the Winchester Fair.
Bonsignore rebounded from a disastrous weekend in upstate New York to dominate the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Winchester 150 at Monadnock Speedway, leading every lap en route to his fourth win of 2023.
“We’re back in it,” the Holtsville, N.Y., native said after his 39th career Tour victory. “It looks like [Ron Silk] might have had a bad night tonight.”
A grinding crash at Oswego Speedway one week ago left Bonsignore with a broken thumb and significant ground lost in the championship battle with only five races remaining on the NWMT schedule. Unfazed, Bonsignore and his Kenneth Massa Motorsports team put their car on the pole at Monadnock.
Bonsignore’s fortunes took an even bigger swing one lap into the race. After making contact with Silk, rookie Jacob Perry vaulted over Silk’s left-front tire, stacking up the field on the frontstretch and bringing out the first caution of the night. Silk dashed to the pits for a new left front tire, but on the restart, his left-rear went flat, forcing him back to the pits and burying him deep in the pack.
Out front, Bonsignore left Sam Rameau in the dust as he set a torrid pace around the high-banked New Hampshire quarter-mile. After 50 laps, Silk was fighting for 12th half a lap back behind Bonsignore, while the three-time NWMT champion’s lead over Rameau was only growing.
Lightning in the distance created an ominous backdrop with the laps ticking down, but respect and patience on the track kept the green flag flying. Bonsignore was half a lap ahead of Rameau with only 25 laps to go, while Austin Beers began carving his way through the top-five.
Beers slipped by Rameau in traffic and cleaved Bonsignore’s advantage some in the closing laps, but he ran out of time to catch Bonsignore, who picked up his fifth career win at “Mad Dog.”
Beers was second across the line with Rameau holding on for third. Kyle Bonsignore raced his way to fourth.
Six-time NWMT champion Doug Coby finished fifth, clinching the second-ever Whelen Granite State Short Track Cup and a $5,000 bonus for his Tommy Baldwin Racing team. Coby won May’s Duel At The Dog 200 at Monadnock and finished sixth at Lee USA Speedway to lead the points heading into the final event of the three-race mini-championship.
With his closest rivals sidelined earlier in the season, Coby had to worry about Beers, who finished the night a few points short of claiming the honor for himself.
“To be here as the Whelen Granite State Short Track Cup champions just means a lot,” said Coby, whose Tommy Baldwin Racing team went on hiatus for team owner Baldwin to focus on his battle with cancer. “We missed two races and kind of threw our season up in the air, but we’ve got a great group of guys and Tommy really wanted to be here to do this.”
Bonsignore’s victory capped off a busy evening at Monadnock, with the persistent threat of weather forcing a few on-the-fly adjustments to the day’s schedule. Rob Richardi, Jr. kicked off the parade of Winchester Fair champions, fending off Doug Meservey to win the New England Pro 4 Modifieds’ feature race. Tyler Leary charged to the front late to claim the checkers in the main event for the NHSTRA Modifieds. Reigning Evolve Pro Truck Challenge champ Gerard Giordano, Jr. missed the series’ appearance in May’s Duel At The Dog 200, but dominated Saturday’s 55-lap feature.
Monadnock’s NHSTRA-backed weekly classes rounded out the evening’s program. Cameron Sontag was victorious in the Mini Stock feature, with Andrea St. Amour taking the win in the Pure Stocks. JD Stockwell closed out the Winchester Fair festivities with a commanding performance in the NHSTRA Late Models.
The Winchester Fair is the final scheduled event of 2023 for JDV Productions. Founder Josh Vanada and the entire JDV Productions team extend their sincere thanks to their sponsors, partner tracks, and all the racers for a successful 2023, and look forward to releasing details for the 2024 season soon.