(Press release from Joe Gibbs Racing)
Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) announced Thursday that three-time NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Champion (NWMT) Justin Bonsignore will drive the team’s No. 19 Toyota GR Supra in the NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (NHMS) on Saturday, June 22.
The June 22 race at NHMS will mark Bonsignore’s first career NXS start, but he is no stranger to the Magic Mile. The 36-year-old driver has made 25 NWMT starts there over the past 14 years. In those 25 races, he has two wins in points-paying events and one in a non-points race, along with 10 top-five finishes. His most recent New Hampshire win came last September.
“We’re thrilled to have Justin in our car at New Hampshire,” said Steve DeSouza, EVP NASCAR Xfinity Series/Development at JGR. “He’s a driver with a rich short-track racing resume and represents the heart of modified racing in the northeast. To put him in one of our cars at a track that he’s built a legacy at is going to be a lot of fun for us, and even more so for the fans.”
Bonsignore is a familiar face in the modified world with three tour championships and 41 NWMT wins since 2007. The Holtsville, New York native picked up his first NWMT championship in 2018 and followed it up with back-to-back championships in 2020 and 2021. Those 41 wins put him fourth on the all-time NWMT win list – just one win behind third. Bonsignore has 31 career tour pole awards, which also ranks fourth on the all-time list. The NWMT is four races into their 2024 campaign and Bonsignore has one victory, which came at Richmond Raceway in March. He is currently second in the tour standings, six points back from the lead.
“Having the opportunity to drive for Joe Gibbs Racing at New Hampshire is truly the chance of a lifetime,” Bonsignore said. “I love driving modifieds and that will always be my home, where we hope to win many more races and championships. But, having the opportunity to compete in the NASCAR Xfinity Series with such an established, winning organization like Joe Gibbs Racing is such an exciting chance on this national stage.”
Bonsignore will be running double duty at New Hampshire as he makes his NXS debut and then jumps into his modified to run the seventh race of the NWMT season. The NXS race at NHMS is scheduled for Saturday, June 22, at 3:30 PM ET. Coverage of the race will be on USA Network, PRN Radio, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
I Think He Will Do Real Well. Go Get’em Justin! At Least One Of Our Boys Will Have A GOOD Under His Ass!
Excellent News for Modified Fans everywhere, Maybe Ryan Preece can share some things to know with Justin …. Seeing it will be a similar path that they now share… Maybe Justin can springboard like Ryan did into a Cup ride…? He has more wins and Championships than Ryan does .. So hey why not Justin moving up the Ladder.. First ARCA now Xfinity ….?? Well we will all be rooting for you Justin to run strong like Ryan did for Gibbs and show the BIG BOYS what talents you have with FENDERS ON ….!!!! Good luck ….Definitely adds INTEREST FOR MOD FANS to watch this race at NHIS …..Local HOT SHOE takes on the Xfinity guys & gals….
First career start in an Xfinity car. Great equipment. To be real, finishing all the laps would be ok. Top 20 good, top 10 great, top 5 over achieving, and a win, over the top let’s not forget Preece had a season under his belt in sub par equipment, which helped him get used to the heavier cars, before his stint with Gibbs. This may or may not lead to opportunities for Justin. Maybe some ARCA starts, or more Xfinity starts. All we can do is sit back and watch. Really hoping he has a good day, and it opens some eyes, maybe other opportunities. Best of luck to him
I’m somewhat of a Justin fan to a point. I know it hasn’t been that long ago but it seems like a hundred years ago now that Preece missed a Whelen tour race kinda late in the season to run an infinity race. Fact check me please but I believe he was leading Whelen points at the time but missing the Whelen race cost him a legitimate shot at the championship that year. I thought it was selfish of JGR or whichever organization offered the ride to Preece that they couldn’t have waited and put him in the car when scheduling conflict was not; even if it meant next year.
I typed all the above to set up my idea on Justin and the ARCA ride at Daytona and his coming up infinity ride at New Hampshire. I don’t know the name of his Whelen Tour #51 car owner (Phoenix Communication) but I suspect some entity be it NU$CAR, JGR, Roush or whoever are trying to turn Phoenix Communication into a ARCA, Truck, or infinity sponsor or possibly franchisee or co-franchisee. Logic tells me that since Silk won the Championship last year he should have been offered a ride first for ARCA Daytona. I wonder if he just quietly turned it down for whatever reasons or if it was decided that he did not bring as much “potential marketability” as Bogsinore.
Enduro59 , think I read where Silk turned down ARCA race, before it was offered to Justin