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04/27/2012 |
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JUSTIN
BONSIGNORE LOOKING TO TURN LUCK AROUND IN
STAFFORD SPEEDWAY’S CARQUEST TECH-NET SPRING SIZZLER |
As
the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour hits Stafford
Speedway this weekend for the 41st Annual CARQUEST
Tech-Net Spring Sizzler, Justin Bonsignore will be
hoping to turn his luck at Stafford around. In 8
previous races at Stafford, Bonsignore’s best finish
has been 10th on two occasions and he has an average
finish of 17.6 in those eight races. But one of
Bonsignore’s top-10 finishes at Stafford came in
last year’s CARQUEST Fall Final, where Bonsignore
put his #51 M3 Technology car on pole and led 79
laps and he hopes to repeat that performance in
order to take home a career best Stafford finish in
the Sizzler.
“We sure hope we can have a good finish,” said
Bonsignore. “We had some motor issues in the first
couple Stafford races last year and we ended up
getting caught up in a wreck at the Fall Final, so
we’d love to be able to win the Sizzler, that would
be a big deal. We’re bringing back the same car we
had at the Fall Final last year, so I think we’ll
have a good chance.
Aaron Clifford, my crew chief, always does a good
job preparing our cars and we’re usually fast right
off of the truck, so that makes my job a lot easier.
I love coming to Stafford, it’s one of my favorite
tracks although we haven’t always had the best
finishes at Stafford.”
The first step for Bonsignore and his fellow Whelen
Modified Tour competitors will be to lay down a good
qualifying lap on Saturday in preparation for the
200-lap CARQUEST Tech-Net Spring Sizzler on Sunday.
A good qualifying lap can often be the start of a
good weekend at Stafford. “I think that Stafford is
one of the tougher places we go to pass, so it’s
important to get a good lap in qualifying,” said
Bonsignore. “We usually get about an hour and a half
of practice, which isn’t a lot of time, so if your
car is off a bit, you’re going to be chasing it for
a while. The closer you can start to the front
allows you to be easier on the car at the beginning
of the race and you can save something for the end
of the race.”
With a race distance of 200 laps, the CARQUEST
Spring Sizzler is the longest race on the Whelen
Modified Tour schedule and can be difficult to plan
a strategy for says Bonsignore.
“Our game plan is usually to try to save the tires
for as long as we can before we pit,” said
Bonsignore. “It seems like whenever we do put a game
plan together before the race, the way the race
plays out and how the cautions fall usually throws
our game plan right out the window. For the Sizzler,
there’s so many different options you can take. If
you’re in the top-3, most of the leaders will
probably do what you do. If you’re in the top-10,
you’re probably going to do what the leader does,
and then if you’re outside of the top-10, you might
try to get off strategy from everyone else and
either short pit or stay out and pit later. Most of
the time, it comes down to circumstances. It’s a
tough call to make, that’s why I would never want to
be a crew chief.”
Although the strategy game can be a bit tricky
during the CARQUEST Tech-Net Spring Sizzler,
Bonsignore has a good idea in mind in what it will
take to hold up the winner’s trophy on Sunday.
“It’s going to be tough to win the Sizzler, there’s
a lot of good cars on the Tour this year,” said
Bonsignore. “I think the most important thing to win
the Sizzler will be to have a car that can go a long
way on the first set of tires. Being a 200-lap race,
there’s usually a long green flag run, so you need
to have a car that is good on tires, have a good,
smooth pit stop, and then be near the top-3 for the
end of the race and make moves as you have to at the
end.”
The 2012 CARQUEST TECH-NET Spring Sizzler gets
underway Friday, April 27 with a practice session
for Stafford’s weekly divisions. The practice
session will be open to the public at no charge.
Action continues on Saturday, April 28 with Coors
Light Pole Qualifying for the Whelen Modified Tour
cars, along with heat and consolation races for
Stafford’s weekly divisions. Saturday will wrap up
with feature events for the SK Light, Limited Late
Model, and DARE Stock divisions. The Sizzler
continues on Sunday, April 29 with the CARQUEST
Belts & Hose Pit Party followed by Stafford’s SK
Modifieds® and Late Models joining the Whelen
Modified Tour in feature action.
Tickets for the “Greatest Race in the History of
Spring” are on sale now at the Speedway Box Office.
Tickets are priced at $38.50 for adult general
admission tickets, $5.00 for children ages 6-14, and
children ages 5 and under are admitted free of
charge when accompanied by an adult. Reserved
seating will be priced at $42.00 for all ages. All
ticket prices include 10% CT Admission Tax. As
always, Stafford Motor Speedway offers free parking
with overnight parking available.
For more information on the 41st Annual CARQUEST
TECH-NET Spring Sizzler®,
or to order tickets, contact the Stafford Motor
Speedway track office at
860-684-2783 or visit us on the web at
www.staffordspeedway.com. |
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Source: Scott Running / Stafford Motor Speedway
Posted: April
27, 2012 |
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