Bobby Santos wasted no time in making his presence
known as the new driver of the No. 4 “Mystic Missile” Modified as he set the
track qualifying record Saturday at Thompson International Speedway and
earned his first career NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Coors Light Pole Award.
Santos, who was fastest in practice earlier in the day, turned a fast lap of
18.418 seconds (122.163 mph) in qualifying for Sunday’s 150-lap
season-opener. That lap surpassed the previous Whelen Modified Tour
qualifying record at Thompson set by Eric Beers at 18.429 seconds (122.080
mph) prior to the 2008 World Series.
Santos, from Franklin, Mass., has competed in the Whelen Modified Tour
part-time since 2004 and landed his first full-time ride this offseason in
the No. 4 after the departure of 2009 Tour titlist Donny Lia to the NASCAR
Camping World Truck Series. Santos had 29 career starts entering this week
and his lone Whelen Modified Tour victory came at Thompson in 2007.
Chris Pasteryak was the second-fastest qualifier on Saturday at 18.470
seconds (121.819 mph) followed by Ron Silk (18.514/121.530), Mike Stefanik
(18.596/120.994) and Burt Myers (18.603/120.948).
Ryan Preece, Doug Coby, Ted Christopher, Rowan Pennink and Eric Berndt
rounded out the top 10 qualifiers.
Following qualifying, a redraw of the top-10 cars saw Santos also draw the
No. 1 spot. He will be joined in the front row on Sunday by Coby, and the
second row will consist of Stefanik and Berndt.
The 2010 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour will officially begin with
Sunday’s Icebreaker. The race is set to go green at approximately
3:15 p.m. For ticket information, please visit Thompson’s official
Web site www.thompsonspeedway.com.
Qualifying Results
NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour - Icebreaker Lineup
Race Sunday; Qualifying Sunday
at Thompson International Speedway,
Thompson, Conn.
Lap Length: 0.625 miles
1. (4) Bobby Santos, Franklin, Mass., Dodge, 122.163
2. (0) Doug Coby, Milford, Conn., Chevrolet, 120.663
3. (16) Mike Stefanik, Coventry, R.I., Pontiac, 120.994
4. (54) Eric Berndt, Cromwell, Conn., Chevrolet, 120.450
5. (7) Burt Myers, Walnut Cove, N.C., Ford, 120.948
6. (36) Ted Christopher, Plainville, Conn., Chevrolet, 120.514
7. (93) Rowan Pennink, Huntingdon Valley, Pa., Chevrolet, 120.463
8. (6) Ron Silk, Norwalk, Conn., Chevrolet, 121.530
9. (52) Chris Pasteryak, Lisbon, Conn., Chevrolet, 121.819
10. (3) Ryan Preece, Berlin, Conn., Chevrolet, 120.838
11. (2) Todd Szegedy, Ridgefield, Conn., Ford, 120.424
12. (79) James Civali, Meriden, Conn., Pontiac, 120.366
13. (46) George Brunnhoelzl, III, W. Babylon, N.Y., Chevrolet, 120.276
14. (91) Richard Savary, Canton, Mass., Chevrolet, 119.891
15. (14) Jimmy Blewett, Howell, N.J., Chevrolet, 119.847
16. (10) Ed Flemke, Jr., Southington, Conn., Chevrolet, 119.821
17. (71) Rob Fuller, Boylston, Mass., Ford, 119.694
18. (90) Renee Dupuis, Glastonbury, Conn., Chevrolet, 119.687
19. (50) Kevin Goodale, Riverhead, N.Y., Chevrolet, 119.649
20. (99) Jamie Tomaino, Howell, N.J., Chevrolet, 119.630
21. (76) Eric Beers, Northampton, Pa., Chevrolet, 119.193
22. (58) Eric Goodale, Riverhead, N.Y., Chevrolet, 119.073
23. (1) Rob Summers, Vernon, Conn., Chevrolet, 118.991
24. (59) Chuck Hossfeld, Ransomville, N.Y., Chevrolet, 118.577
25. (8) Glenn Tyler, Hampton Bays, N.Y., Chevrolet, 118.515
26. (70) Andy Seuss, Hampstead, N.H., Chevrolet, 118.446
27. (51) Justin Bonsignore, Holtsville, N.Y., Chevrolet, 117.999
28. (39) Richie Pallai, Jr., Yorktown Heights, N.Y., Chevrolet, 117.733
29. (98) Erick Rudolph, Ransomville, N.Y., Chevrolet, 117.721
30. (28) Woody Pitkat, Stafford, Conn., Chevrolet, 117.194
31. (38) Jake Marosz, Middletown, Conn., Chevrolet, 116.750
32. (68) Johnny Bush, Huntington Station, N.Y., Chevrolet, 115.824
33. (18) Ken Heagy, Calverton, N.Y., Chevrolet, 115.054 +
34. (33) Wade Cole, Riverton, Conn., Chevrolet, 114.568 +
35. (26) Gary McDonald, Ronkonkoma, N.Y., Pontiac, 112.573 +
36. (05) Joe Hartmann, Calverton, N.Y., Chevrolet, 115.717 +
37. (15) Danny Knoll, Jr., Buffalo, N.Y., Chevrolet, 115.771 +
* Sunoco Rookie of the Year Contender
+ Provisional Starter
NOTE: Top 10 Qualifiers Redrew for Starting Position |