Bonsignore Nabs Pole For NASCAR Modified Tour Finale

Justin Bonsignore with the Mayhew Tools Pole Award at Martinsville Speedway. (Jacob Seelman photo)

MARTINSVILLE, Va. – Justin Bonsignore took his first step toward locking up a fourth NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championship with a pole qualifying effort Saturday afternoon at Martinsville Speedway.

As the last car to take time at the .526-mile paper clip, Bonsignore turned a lap of 18.872 seconds (100.339 mph) to earn his third Mayhew Tools Pole Award of the season and the 33rd of his long Tour career.

The 36-year-old from Holtsville, N.Y., earned a bonus point for the pole and needs a finish of sixth or better in the Virginia is for Racing Lovers 200 to officially clinch the season title.

“Honestly, we were a little too snug on the first (qualifying lap) and just didn’t have a lot of speed, but we freed up just enough there on the second lap to put down a good time … I just didn’t know if it was going to be enough until it was over,” Bonsignore noted. “It’s a good start to the day. We’ve got track position now, a good pit box, so we just have to execute and have a good smooth night from here.

“It’s nice to start up front, and it lets us control the pace of the race if our car is good enough to do that,” he added. “It’s tough to pass here in general, so if we can keep it up front all night through the pit stops … that would make the overall job a lot easier.”

After leading the time sheets for the majority of the qualifying session, Luke Baldwin – the 18-year-old son of longtime NASCAR team owner Tommy Baldwin – landed as the runner-up on speed in just his third career Tour start and second in his family’s famous No. 7NY.

Jacob Lutz, Austin Beers, and Trevor Catalano were third through fifth, respectively, as rookies claimed three of the top five starting spots. Baldwin, Lutz, and Catalano are all first-year Tour competitors.

Craig Lutz starts sixth, followed by Carson Loftin, longtime veteran Matt Hirschman, Kyle Bonsignore, and Patrick Emerling, who is another of the three drivers still mathematically in title contention and rolls off 10th.

Ron Silk, the defending and two-time series champion seeking a third crown, qualified 13th.

Broadcast coverage of Saturday night’s Virginia is for Racing Lovers 200 at Martinsville is slated for 8 p.m. ET, with every lap airing live via FloRacing, the official streaming partner of NASCAR Regional.