Sports

Auto Racing: After rain delays, rescheduling, Bonsignore triumphs

RIVERHEAD RACEWAY ROUNDUP

It took two days to get the Hoosier Tire 200 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour race in the books this past weekend at Riverhead Raceway. After numerous rain delays that forced the race to be moved from Saturday evening to Sunday afternoon, and then after fighting off three rain delays on Sunday, the race was finally completed, with Justin Bonsignore of West Islip standing in victory lane.

Just as the cars rolled to the track Saturday for the 200-lapper, the rains moved in. Attempts to dry the track were in vain and the race was moved to Sunday afternoon.

Despite all that was thrown at him by weather delays and thick lapped traffic, Bonsignore stayed focused and calm out front.

“We’ve had a rough stretch so far in 2015 but nobody on this team gave up,” Bonsignore said. “It was a weird weekend with the light rain, delays and all and then during the race some of the lapped cars would go double file in front of me, but we got through it all for a much needed win.”

Todd Szegedy of Ridgefield, Conn., was second. The division’s defending champion, Doug Coby of Milford, Conn., took third, Eric Goodale of Riverhead was fourth and Woody Pitkat of Stafford, Conn., fifth.

Also on Sunday:

The defending Charger champion, Eric Zeh of Centereach, posted his first win of 2015 as did Jimmy White Jr. of Southampton in the Blunderbust main event. Legend Race Car standout Dylan Slepian of Dix Hills scored his third win of the season.

Following Zeh at the finish line were second-place John Baker of Brookhaven and third-place David Roys of Coram.

After sitting out the first five Blunderbust events of the year because of off-season shoulder surgery, White picked a good race to make his first start of the year in, winning a 30-lap feature. It was his seventh career Blunderbust triumph while Scott Maliszewski of Deer Park had to be content with second. The defending champion, Tom Pickerell of Huntington, was third.

Slepian won his third Legend Race Car feature in seven races this season. Kevin Nowak of Medford was second and Kyle Ellwood of Riverhead placed third.