BRISTOL, Tenn. – Justin Bonsignore moved one step closer to winning his first NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championship on Thursday afternoon by winning the pole for the Bush’s Beans 150 at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Bonsignore, who was second-fastest in practice earlier in the day, was the penultimate car to take time during two-lap qualifications and posted a time of 14.876 seconds (128.986 mph) around the .533-mile, high-banked concrete oval.
That was enough to give the Holtsville, N.Y., native his ninth-career Tour pole, his fourth of the season and his third on Bristol’s historic grounds.
Bonsignore said afterwards that he “never lifted” during his qualifying attempt.
“I was committed, man,” he noted. “I just used a little bit of brake. I could see other guys going out before me and what their cars looked like, so when I went out I tried to do the Daytona strategy … make the track as long as possible on my warmup lap and get as much momentum as I could with this tapered spacer that we’re running. I went down into (turn) one and it stuck and I stuck with it for both laps.
“It’s huge to start up front here, because with the PJ1 (traction compound) our race is pretty much one groove, but it is a long race and a lot can happen. This is a great start, but we want to finish strong as well.”
Bonsignore comes in with a 58-point lead in the championship standings, but he’s seeking his first victory at ‘The Last Great Coliseum’.
“It’s awesome to come here on the big stage and be successful,” said Bonsignore. “I have a couple of poles here, but we still need a win … and we were close last year. I think we have a good long run car, but if we don’t, we’ll tune on it during the break and try to keep ourselves up front.
“It would mean so much to win here at Bristol,” he added. “This is a special place to come here and race in any series, but especially for us in the modifieds.”
Defending race winner Patrick Emerling, who was fastest in practice earlier in the day, qualified second-fastest with a lap of 14.942 seconds (128.417 mph) in the No. 07 Buffalo Auto Auctions Chevrolet.
Timmy Solomito was third-quick (15.027/127.690), followed by Chase Dowling and five-time series champion Doug Coby.
Eric Goodale, Rob Summers, Ronnie Williams, Burt Myers and Rowan Pennink completed the top 10.
The Bush’s Beans 150 is scheduled to take the green flag at 6 p.m.
QUALIFYING RESULTS: NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour; Bristol Motor Speedway; Aug. 16, 2018
- Justin Bonsingore, 14.876
- Patrick Emerling, 14.942
- Timmy Solomito, 15.027
- Chase Dowling, 15.066
- Doug Coby, 15.100
- Eric Goodale, 15.155
- Rob Summers, 15.168
- Ronnie Williams, 15.228
- Burt Myers, 15.238
- Rowan Pennink, 15.344
- Dave Sapienza, 15.381
- Craig Lutz, 15.438
- Woody Pitkat, 15.456
- Tommy Catalano, 15.549
- Andy Seuss, 15.814
- Ken Heagy, 15.835
- Gary Putnam, 15.904
- Austin Pickens, 15.939
- Gary McDonald, 16.236
- Wade Cole, 16.755
- Melissa Fifield, 18.119
