Justin Bonsignore wasn’t going to be denied his fourth NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championship, as he dominated the season finale Virginia is for Racing Lovers 300 at Martinsville Speedway to take home the Grandfather Clock and the year-end title.
The championship marks Bonsignore’s fourth title (2018, 2020, 2021, 2024), and the win – his first at Martinsville Speedway – gave him sole possession of second on the all-time Whelen Modified Tour wins list with 45.
A late-season surge in which he won the final three races of the season gave Bonsignore the edge over two-time Tour champion Ron Silk, as they carried their season-long contentious championship battle into the final race of season for the second year in a row.
“A year of hard work, a lot of ups and downs, the middle of September wasn’t looking good, all of a sudden we got hot,” Bonsignore said in Victory Lane. “Three in a row is something I’ve never done in my career, and to cap it off with a Grandfather Clock is just really awesome.”
A year ago, Silk led Bonsignore by 13 points heading into the Martinsville season finale and held on to win the championship, but the tables were turned this year.
The pair of wins in the last two races leading into Martinsville gained Bonsignore a 10-point advantage over his rival as the title race loomed. The No. 51 Ken Massa Motorsports team brought the same car – the one with which Bonsignore won those races at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park and North Wilkesboro Speedway — to Martinsville. They unloaded fast again, as he led practice and then won the pole for the championship race.
Silk, however, struggled in qualifying and started 13th in the race. And while Silk showed moments of speed, his championship hopes ultimately dissolved when mechanical issues took him out of the race with 60 laps remaining. He was relegated to a 17th-place finish.
The championship moment was especially meaningful for Bonsignore after he went home empty-handed following the season finale at Martinsville the last two seasons.
“We watched other people celebrate two years in a row here and we lost, and that’s tough to watch back,” said Bonsignore. “Just a lot of hard work by Ryan Stone and Ken Massa to keep things going in the direction we want to go.
“It’s really had to put into words just how special this stuff is.”
Matt Hirschman finished second, while Jacob Lutz was third. Austin Beers and Ryan Newman rounded out the top five.
Jared Thomas Wins the Debut Mazda MX-5 Cup Race at Martinsville Speedway
Jared Thomas, driver of the No. 96 JTR Motorsports Engineering Mazda MX-5, drove to Victory Lane in the first race of the Virginia is for Racing Lovers 300 double feature, making him the winner of the debut Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup event here at Martinsville Speedway.
Thomas started on pole for tonight’s race, but the win didn’t come without its challenges. Thomas battled against Westin Workman, driver of the No. 13 BSI Racing Mazda MX-5, throughout the entire evening, fighting him off up until the very last lap.
It was smooth sailing for the open-top cars for most of stage 1, until Selin Rollan brought out the red flag after a mechanical failure on lap 40. The cars had their first restart of the evening and drivers participated in their first “choose,” adopting NASCAR restart rules in this exhibition race at the famed short track.
The first stage ended with Thomas in first, Workman right behind him in second and Gresham Wagner in third.
A caution on lap 65 shook up the order, bringing Jeremy Fletcher to third place while the battle for first place between Thomas and Workman continued. Workman held the lead when an incident involving cars at Turn 2 brought out another caution and restart, heating up the battle with just 15 laps left.
On lap 95, Thomas retook the lead, with the two-running side by side for three laps until another caution flag was thrown. With two laps to go, Workman edged out Thomas on the restart, but not for long as Thomas regained the lead and secured the win, earning his first Martinsville clock.
The clock for this event was unique compared to other race-winning trophies at Martinsville Speedway, to match the uniqueness of this debut event. This was the first time open-top cars have raced at Martinsville Speedway since the 1950s, and the first time the Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup has raced on an oval.
While the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour concluded their season at Martinsville Speedway, the half-mile track in Virginia still has one more race weekend remaining on the calendar for 2024.
Next weekend the NASCAR Playoff races at Martinsville will set the Championship 4 for all three NASCAR national series. The weekend opens by featuring the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Zip Buy Now, Pay Later 200 on Friday, Nov. 1.
On Saturday, Nov. 2, fans can witness the action of the NASCAR Xfinity Series National Debt Relief 250 as drivers take to the track for an intense battle. Then, on Sunday, Nov. 3, drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series will compete for those final spots in the Championship 4 in the Xfinity 500, the penultimate race of the season.
Limited tickets remain for Sunday’s showdown, and fans can purchase tickets to the 2024 NASCAR Playoffs Race Weekend via phone at 877-RACE-TIX or online at martinsvillespeedway.com.
