BOBBY SANTOS, III COMFORTABLE IN POINTS LEAD AS WHELEN MODIFIED TOUR HEADS
TO STAFFORD SPEEDWAY FOR CARQUEST FALL FINAL
(Stafford Springs, CT)—After leading the Whelen Modified Tour points
standings for most of the 2010 season, Bobby Santos, III heads to Stafford
with a 7-point advantage over 7-time series champion Mike Stefanik.
Stefanik has cut almost 80 points off of Santos’ point lead over the past
several tour events, but Santos says he and his team feel confident at the
top of the standings heading into Stafford’s 38th Annual CARQUEST Fall Final
Weekend.
“We feel really confident heading to Stafford,” said Santos. “With the
exception of a spin, I think we could have won the Spring Sizzler and we won
at Stafford in May. There’s no reason why we can’t run like we did in the
Spring at the Fall Final. I think it’s better to be ahead rather than
behind, so we’d much rather be where we are leading the points instead of
having to make up points. The way we look at the year, we’ve had 12 races
so far and we’ve thrown away three of them, so hopefully we have all our bad
luck for the season behind us and we can get back to where we were earlier
in the season.”
Santos and the Mystic Missile team have compiled an impressive record at
Stafford this season, winning two pole positions to go along with a victory
and a second place finish. A blown engine in the August race at Stafford
kept Santos and his team from contending for another victory and relegated
them to a 23rd place finish. Stafford has also been a good track for Santos
’s two main championship rivals, Mike Stefanik and Ted Christopher, who
between them, have won over 140 times at Stafford.
“Stafford is everyone’s home track, it’s the track that we race the most at
and the track that everyone knows best,” said Santos. “The bottom line is
that we’re coming to Stafford to win the race. Since I was four years old,
I go to the racetrack to win and that’s what we’re going to do again. I’ve
never really run for or won a championship before except for quarter midget
racing, but I think a lot of times people tend to overanalyze that.
Stafford is a lot of fun to race at, and I’m sure it’s as much fun for Teddy
and Mike as it is for me, but we’re going to go for the win because that is
what gives the most points.”
While Santos has won at Stafford earlier this season, he thinks that
Saturday’s qualifying session will play a big part in how the race will play
out on Sunday.
“I think that qualifying on Saturday is going to be very important for us,”
said Santos. “Earlier in the season, we were qualifying well, winning
poles, and we won some races. I think that we need to get back to that
qualifying performance, and if we can do that, I think we’ll be in good
position to be there on Sunday going for the win. The Sizzler was 200 laps
and the race in May was 125 laps, so I think our strategy will be a little
different as to when we pit, but we have a good car and we just need to be
there at the end so we can go race for the win. The car has been awesome
all year long and I’m confident that we can do what we need to do and try to
win the race.”
With his past performance at Stafford, Santos and his team certainly aren’t
lacking for confidence, but Santos is cautious when asked about winning the
championship this season.
“If we were able to win the championship, it would be a great accomplishment
to put on my resume, but I’ll have a better answer to that question after we
run the last two races of the year,” said Santos.
Race fans can meet and greet with Bobby Santos and the rest of the Whelen
Modified Tour competitors and Stafford’s NASCAR Whelen All-American Series
drivers at the CARQUEST Belts and Hose Pit Party on Sunday, starting at
11am.
The Whelen Modified Tour cars hit the track for the first time during
CARQUEST Fall Final weekend on Saturday October 2nd with a practice session
from 11:00am-12:30pm. Time trials to set the field will begin at 2:15pm on
Saturday and the 150-lap race will take the green flag at approximately
3:15pm on Sunday.
Tickets for the 38th Annual CARQUEST Fall Final Weekend are now on sale at
the Stafford Motor Speedway Box Office. Tickets are priced at $35.00 for
adult general admission tickets, $5.00 for children ages 6-14, $38.00 for
reserved seats, and free for children ages 5 & under. Tickets are good for
admission to the Saturday, October 2nd, and Sunday, October 3rd portions of
the Fall Final. As always, Stafford Motor Speedway offers plenty of free
parking with overnight weekend parking available.
For more information, contact the Stafford Motor Speedway track office at
860-684-2783 or visit us on the web at www.staffordspeedway.com