By ohnson 
Justin Bonsignore had an outstanding performance on Friday night at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. He delivered an overall fast time in the time-trials and followed it up with a victory in his 20-lap qualifier. It was truly remarkable, especially considering that the top seven cars in each race are inverted based on time. Bonsignore managed to overcome this challenge and secure the impressive win.
“I was a bit concerned when starting seventh after the inversion, but those are the rules and the format,” Bonsignore remarked. “We had an excellent car. It has been performing extremely well throughout the weekend. We have been able to keep pace with the race track. We quickly reached third place behind Jimmy (Blewett). I knew I was in a favorable position to hold that spot, but at the same time, you always aim to outperform another driver and make him compete in the races tomorrow. I’m very satisfied with how things turned out.”
His team was capable of keeping up with the track throughout the night, which made a significant difference in the final outcome.
“The track was somewhat looser for our race because we were the first ones back out after the karts and the Slingshots,” he said. “It seems they tend to peel the rubber up. We managed to keep up with it and stay on top. I’ve felt quite good since we unloaded. The car has a lot of speed.”
The only remaining factor for Bonsignore is a dash inversion that could place him starting anywhere from the pole position or as far back as ninth. From this point, the focus shifts to winning the Gambler’s Classic.
“I see more eights than zeros, but I think a zero or a three would be ideal,” Bonsignore jested. “My odds don’t look too promising. I’ve spun that wheel numerous times from the pole in the karts and it has never worked out for me. We’ve been having a great time at the race track and the casino, so hopefully our luck holds for at least 24 more hours.”
Christopher from Last to First
Ted Christopher qualified for the feature with an impressive drive from the rear to the front. The driver from Plainville, Conn., was sent to the rear for spinning another driver. Christopher admitted later that his throttle got stuck, causing him to collide with the other car. Like Bonsignore, his fate might now depend on the inversion for the dash.
“Happy to be in any of them, really, but it’s very nice to know that you’re in that deal,” Christopher stated about being locked into the Gambler’s classic. “Now the only downside is that you get penalized for achieving a good time. You start seventh in the heat. Now you run the other event (dash) and you have to wait for someone to make the foolish wheel draw. You get inverted. I should be second and with my luck, they’ll invert nine or whatever it is.”
For the 2017 indoor series, Christopher teamed up with Trey Hoddick and the company. On Friday night, it was their best performance together, and Christopher believes they have even more in store for Saturday.
“This is a great team,” Christopher noted. “There is no pressure. It’s a truly outstanding race car. They are very easy to get along with. Trey (Hoddick) and I have a wonderful partnership going on with this. We’ve been fast wherever we’ve been. Hopefully, we can put everything together here. That was a great race to come from dead last. Hopefully, I won’t have to pass as many cars tomorrow.”
Christopher was clocking his fastest laps of the race near the end, which will be crucial if he hopes to succeed in the Gambler’s Classic.
“I feel quite optimistic about our chances,” he said. “I reviewed a bunch of the lap times and my fastest time was lap 20 when I got out into the open. That indicates I have a really excellent car, so tomorrow should be enjoyable.”
Zeiner Zigs and Zags Way to Win
Zane Zeiner began his qualifying event from the seventh position after timing among the top four. The team faced issues earlier in the day, but fortunately, they managed to sort everything out just before their time trial attempts.
“We struggled earlier; we had no power,” Zeiner mentioned. “Right before the time trials, we got it back, but the chassis wasn’t right. We made a significant adjustment for that race and it went the way we desired. I’m quite excited for tomorrow night.”
Although he’s happy to have qualified, the team isn’t done making modifications. He’ll make a few more tweaks during practice on Saturday to see if they can extract even more speed from his No. 23.
“This run eases a lot of pressure,” Zeiner stated. “Tomorrow morning in practice, we’ll try something for the feature. We did learn a lot tonight. I think we are headed in the right direction, so as long as we stay in sync with the track, I believe we’ll be fine.”