MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – A miscalculation on tire strategy cost reigning NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion Justin Bonsignore a shot at opening his title defense with a victory Saturday at Myrtle Beach Speedway.
Bonsignore took only a right-rear tire during the race’s final round of pit stops with 48 laps left, banking on a caution coming out midway through the final third so that he could come back down pit road.
The No. 51 Phoenix Communications team had two fresh tires waiting in the wings and hoped to be able to carve through the field late and steal the victory out from under the rest of the frontrunners.
Unfortunately, the caution that Bonsignore and company was looking for never occurred, with the Holtsville, N.Y., native relegated back through the pack as his worn tires gave up even further.
Bonsignore was ultimately lapped by rival and eventual winner Doug Coby with 10 laps left and had to settle for a 12th-place finish in the season-opening Performance Plus 150 at the abrasive half-mile oval.
“We just got greedy. We always seem to end up in those positions where the opposite seems to happen of what we need when it’s a strategy race,” Bonsignore told SPEED SPORT. “We wanted a win, we had two tires left in the pits that we were going to come back for and just didn’t get the yellow that we needed to be able to take advantage of it.
“We put right rears on all day, so I was on 150-lap tires otherwise,” he added. “We bounced off the fence – got ran into the fence, actually – in the beginning, and it was just a long day after that.”
One year ago, Bonsignore stayed quiet for much of the day at Myrtle Beach, starting sixth and finishing fifth in the 2018 season opener. This time, however, he wanted to make some noise and did just that.
Despite the final result, Bonsignore led four times for 18 laps and had a pitched battle with Jon McKennedy during the middle stages of Saturday’s race, leaving no doubt he’s still in the conversation for a second Tour title this season.
“We played conservative last year and this year, figured that it’s the first race and we might as well go for broke, you know?” said Bonsignore. “I think everyone knows we’re still here. This is a one-of-a-kind race track and I am not worried about a 12th-place finish one little bit. I was mad for about 10 minutes after the race, but now I’m just ready for South Boston because I know that Ryan (Stone, crew chief) still brings fast cars to the track each week. We’re not going to let any of what happened today affect us.
“We win and lose as a team, but we sure would have looked like heroes if we’d gotten the yellow.”
Bonsignore wasn’t even rattled by the fact that Coby put a lap on him in the final laps on Saturday.
“I don’t care that it happened. I don’t let Doug dictate my life or how I feel,” Bonsignore stated. “We have fun with one another, but I don’t worry about what he’s doing out there. If anyone else is worried about what I’m doing, well then that’s a good thing for us.
“We’re just going to keep doing our thing and go on to the next one.”