By: Kyle Souza/Cover Photo: Tom Morris/My Race News
RIVERHEAD, N.Y. —
For the first time since 1987, NASCAR’s Whelen Modified Tour will visit Riverhead Raceway three times this season. And if past results are any indication, drivers with Riverhead weekly background are going to be major threats to get to Victory Lane.
Justin Bonsignore, who cut his teeth racing at Riverhead before his rise to become a two-time Whelen Modified Tour champion, has won four straight tour races at the quarter-mile, the most consecutive in history. He is also only three wins away from Mike Ewanitsko (11) with hopes to tie the record for most all-time wins this season.
Outside of Bonsignore, in the last 10 Riverhead races — only one other driver has been to Victory Lane — Timmy Solomito. He also grew up racing at Riverhead, and still competes in weekly racing series shows on occasion. Solomito, who competed in his family-owned ride in the last tour event at Stafford Motor Speedway on April 30 and finished third, was planning on running his family ride again. However, he is now teaming with KLM Motorsports and car owner Mike Murphy to compete in the No. 64 in Saturday’s Miller Lite 200.
“Got a phone call from Mike Murphy asking if I would be interested in driving their car at Riverhead, and they seem like great people,” Solomito said. “We’ve been close every time at Riverhead — I feel like it has come down to myself and Justin. It’s great to race in front of the hometown crowd again — Ed Partridge and his team at Riverhead have put a ton of work into the track — it’s good to see — and good to see they are getting the response they deserve from both the racers, and the fans.”
The last few years have been tough for the Islip, New York, native. On top of opening and maintaining a strong business, Natural Designs Concepts and Apparel, Solomito has been involved in multiple hard wrecks — one while racing in the Indoor Racing Series — and another in competition in Whelen Modified Tour action at Thompson Speedway in 2020. After multiple concussions, he feels ready to get back to work at the front of the pack. He also lost a ride after Flamingo Motorsports shut down their operation, sending him for a spin into running for his family team.
“Obviously it’s been tough right from the start of Flamingo Motorsports shutting down — I was able to buy a car, things started out well for us, but then at Thompson last year, destroyed the car and had to start from scratch again,” Solomito said. “It hasn’t been easy. But every day you wake up and fight the fight. The only way it’s going to get better is to keep digging. My health is pretty much back in check — just have to keep working, and look forward to Riverhead. Always love going back home.”
ENTRY LIST: Miller Lite 200 at Riverhead Raceway
Kyle Soper is also no stranger to Riverhead Raceway. Soper already has two second-place finishes in the weekly NASCAR division this year, and is a two-time champion of the division (2019 & 2018). Soper had three wins in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, picked up seven in 2019, and three in 2018. Soper was also the 2018 and 2019 NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Racing Series New York State champion, has a Late Model crown at Riverhead, and is a former Legends Cars champion.
He will drive in the Whelen Modified Tour race for Wayne Anderson in the No. 15 Eastport Feeds, Dr. Martha C. Baker machine. Anderson is a former Whelen Modified Tour champion himself in 1994.
“Patience, a lot of times the race will come to you,” Soper said of why he has so much success at Riverhead. “You have to be aggressive, but if you just show some patience, it usually works out.”
In Soper’s nine career Whelen Modified Tour starts, four have come at Riverhead, with a best finish of third in 2017. Soper opened the tour season at Martinsville Speedway on April 8, finishing 25th after an oil leak.
“To win the race for Wayne and the team would be incredible, as a past champion of the tour, Wayne’s mindset is whatever it takes to win,” Soper said. “Justin knows the track, Preece has raced there weekly and knows it well… There are a lot of local guys that have just moved on. To win against them would be a major accomplishment.”
Although local Modified races are 50 laps, Soper does have experience in extra-distance events at Riverhead. He won the prestigious Islip 300 lap race in 2019.
“It’s a long race, but the Islip 300 is longer and I won that one,” Soper said. “It’s going to be a track position race. I believe we will definitely finish top-five, if everything goes right. A lot of it is luck. It turns into a Modified race at the end, where anything that can happen, will happen.”
Saturday’s schedule includes a practice session from 3-4 p.m., followed by qualifying and feature racing. Along with the Whelen Modified Tour, the Crate Modifieds, INEX Legends Cars, Street Stocks and Mini Stocks will also be in action.
For more information on the Riverhead Raceway, visit RiverheadRaceway.com. My Race News will have full coverage from the track on race day.