Justin Bonsignore scores record-breaking 12th Riverhead victory on Whelen Modified Tour
RIVERHEAD, N.Y. — Growing up a race fan on Long Island, Justin Bonsignore was drawn to fellow Long Islander Mike Ewanitsko.
Ewanitsko was a dominant force at Riverhead Raceway, now the only race track on Long Island, winning 11 times with the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour at the quarter-mile bullring.
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For years, no one could claim to be on the same level as Ewanitsko in Modified Tour competition at Riverhead. Now Bonsignore can say he's surpassed him.
RELATED: Full results from the Miller Lite Salutes Steve Park 200
The driver from Holtsville, New York scored his 46th Modified Tour win Sunday in the Miller Lite Salutes Steve Park 200. The win doubled as his 12th series victory at his home track, breaking a tie with Ewanitsko at the top of the all-time win list at the Long Island oval.
'I've been wanting to break this record for a long time,' Bonsignore said from Victory Lane. 'Mike was a childhood hero of mine.'
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To secure his 12th victory at Riverhead, Bonsignore had to outlast a variety of challengers on Father's Day afternoon.
Justin Bonsignore and Ron Silk
He qualified on the Hoosier Tire Pole, but the post-qualifying redraw saw Bonsignore draw the third starting position while Patrick Emerling secured the pole. It didn't take Bonsignore long to get to the lead; he overtook Emerling within the first 25 laps.
However, he quickly found himself being challenged by Ron Silk, who entered Sunday's race as winner of three of the last four Modified Tour events at Riverhead.
Silk quickly took the lead from Bonsignore and drove to more than a three second advantage, but the race was far from over. A serious of caution flags, the first coming with 90 laps left, led to a round of pit stops that saw Bonsignore beat Silk off pit road to regain the race lead.
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'Pit crew did a great job,' Bonsignore said. 'We had two really great pit stops.'
The final stage of the race featured multiple caution flags, forcing Bonsignore to go on the defensive as he tried to hold the lead through repeated restarts. As the laps clicked off, Silk faded to fourth, and Bonsignore found himself trying to hold off Seekonk Speedway winner Matt Hirschman.
A multi-car crash within the final five laps gave Hirschman one final opportunity to dethrone Bonsignore, but the driver of the No. 51 Ken Massa Motorsports Modified held his ground and delivered his first Modified Tour victory of the 2025 campaign.
'It was nice to beat Ron. We ran each other really hard but really clean,' Bonsignore said. 'He's been so good here the last couple years. We snuck a few in, but it was nice to outrun him today.
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'I got myself in trouble at Seekonk and caused a big wreck and tore up a lot of cars. It was mainly because I wanted to show Matt Hirschman the respect he deserves, and, you know what, I didn't have a good run there. He definitely ran me really clean on the last lap there, so things run in a full circle, and I appreciate that.'
Hirschman acknowledged he could have forced Bonsignore's hand during the final restart but chose instead to race clean and settled for second.
'If you want to steal a win that's different than actually earning a win,' Hirschman said. 'We earned a good second-place finish today. Obviously they had a great car. They were up front most of the race and early they were out of sight.'
With his first win of the 2025 season now behind him, Bonsignore can shift his focus to pursing his fifth Modified Tour championship. But first he wanted to spend a bit of time soaking in his 12th Riverhead win with his family by his side on Father's Day.
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'To have my family here, it's the first race that all of them have been to this year,' Bonsignore said. 'For it to be on Father's Day at home and everything we did, it's just really cool.'
Emerling finished third after leading the opening laps Sunday afternoon. Silk was fourth, followed by Craig Lutz in fifth. The remainder of the top 10 included Kyle Bonsignore, Tommy Catalano, Austin Beers, Tyler Rypkema and Luke Baldwin.
The Modified Tour roars back to action in two weeks when the series returns to White Mountain Motorsports Park in Winchester, New Hampshire for the running of the Thunder in the Mountains 200 on Saturday, June 28. The event will air live on FloRacing at 8 p.m. ET.
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