RIVERHEAD, N.Y. — Anytime a neighborhood competitor upsets the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, it’s a second value celebrating.
Mark Stewart added his identify to that short-but-prestigious record in Saturday‘s Miller Lite Salutes Don Howe 200. In his ninth profession NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour begin, Stewart confronted the herculean activity off heading off four-time champion Justin Bonsignore, winner of 12 earlier Riverhead occasions.
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Regardless of dropping the result in Bonsignore twice, Stewart was not going to be denied Saturday. He fended off among the best in Riverhead and sequence historical past for his first profession victory.
Nothing concerning the journey towards Saturday‘s milestone got here simple for Stewart, which made the Victory Lane celebration so particular.
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“It simply means the whole lot,” Stewart stated. “[We were] capable of run with these guys and be nearly as good as them. I even assume Justin [Bonsignore] was somewhat higher than I used to be; we simply received higher restarts. It means the whole lot for a small group like this. There may be nothing higher than this. Out right here at my dwelling monitor, profitable on the Tour, it‘s simply unbelievable.”
Stewart‘s solely different Modified Tour high 5 got here in 2023, fittingly at his dwelling monitor of Riverhead.
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That 2023 race marked his second Tour begin. Stewart that evening was a witness to an unbelievable battle for the win between Bonsignore and fellow Modified Tour champion Ron Silk. whereas Stewart stole second from Silk within the closing moments.
These early Modified Tour occasions at Riverhead taught Stewart a useful lesson: Nobody within the sequence was going to drag any punches. If he wished to win a Modified Tour race himself at some point, Stewart would want to remain dedicated to his craft and study from the veterans each probability he received.
Momentum appeared to favor Stewart from the second work started at Riverhead on Saturday morning. Not solely did Stewart prevail in Riverhead‘s Tremendous Professional Truck characteristic, however he additionally posted the fourth quickest time of 25 Modified Tour rivals, the next re-draw enhancing his beginning place to 3rd.
After an early incident collected the entrance row of Stephen Kopcik and his uncle Roger Turbush, Stewart abruptly discovered himself pacing the sector. The euphoria was solely momentarily for Stewart, as he had Bonsignore in his rearview mirror.
The quite a few cautions all through the night ensured Stewart and Bonsignore by no means left one another‘s sight strains. Bonsignore tried the whole lot to seek out his approach round Stewart, from utilizing the excessive line on an extended inexperienced flag run to just about spinning Stewart.
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Even when Bonsignore did take the lead, Stewart had a solution for each punch thrown his approach.
The ultimate restart of the evening proved to be the deciding issue. With Stewart on the underside line, a large entry from Bonsignore in Flip 1 prompted him to lose important floor. Bonsignore did discover his strategy to Stewart‘s again bumper once more however couldn’t discover his approach across the native Riverhead hero earlier than the checkered flag.
Mark Stewart, No. 36, celebrates after profitable the Miller Lite Salutes Don Howe 200 for the Whelen Modified Tour at Riverhead Raceway on Might 30, 2026 in Riverhead, New York. (Anna Griffin/NASCAR)
As Bonsignore watched Stewart rejoice in Victory Lane, he couldn’t assist however mirror on his personal journey from the native races Riverhead to changing into a Modified Tour champion. Bonsignore recommended Stewart‘s efficiency Saturday however felt he wanted extra inexperienced flag laps to mount extra of a problem.
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“It‘s powerful dropping to those locals,” Bonsignore stated. “I used to be the native for a very long time. I‘ve recognized [the Stewart family] since Marky was a really, very younger child racing go-karts. That is now the second time I‘ve misplaced to the native man right here. We had an awesome automotive on the long term, however we had been actually struggling on the brief runs.
“[Stewart] ran a very excellent race, so congrats to him and his household.”
to usurp Bonsignore and the opposite Modified Tour full-timers in 2022. That was a supply of inspiration for Stewart and the opposite Riverhead locals who enterprise into the sequence, however pulling off such a activity was all the time going to be arduous.
Numerous hours have been exerted by Stewart and his household, together with Turbush, to construct their small program into one thing able to incomes a Modified Tour victory. There have been loads of highs and lows alongside the way in which, however Stewart by no means misplaced his dedication to see that effort get rewarded.
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Now Stewart is eternally etched into the Modified Tour file books as a winner. With the ability to defeat a sequence legend like Bonsignore on the monitor that outlined him is one thing Stewart intends to cherish for the remainder of his life.
Mark Stewart, No. 36, and crew pose after profitable the Miller Lite Salutes Don Howe 200 for the Whelen Modified Tour at Riverhead Raceway on Might 30, 2026 in Riverhead, New York. (Anna Griffin/NASCAR)
“Each time Justin comes right here or wherever, he‘s simply one of the best in all places he goes,” Stewart stated. “When he received by me on the surface, I gave him the room. He was higher than me. I simply had actually good restarts tonight; that‘s the one cause I received again by him. This factor was so good the entire race.
“This win is for everybody right here. It‘s not even for me. I simply drove the rattling automotive.”
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Owen Grennan, one other Riverhead common, completed third in his Modified Tour debut. Grennan was adopted within the high 5 by Tommy Catalano and Patrick Emerling.
The remainder of the highest 10 consisted of Ron Silk, Austin Beers, Jon McKennedy, Kopcik and Eric Goodale.
There won’t be a lot time for the Modified Tour rivals to regroup from Riverhead, as they are going to be again in motion Saturday for his or her rescheduled date at Oxford Plains Raceway. The inexperienced flag for the All State Supplies Group 150 will wave at 6:15 p.m. ET with FloRacing offering stay flag-to-flag protection.
