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9/24/2010 |
BOBBY SANTOS,
III COMFORTABLE IN POINTS LEAD AS WHELEN MODIFIED TOUR HEADS
TO STAFFORD SPEEDWAY FOR CARQUEST FALL FINAL |
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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 us on the web at
www.staffordspeedway.com. |
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Source: Scott Running / Stafford Motor Speedway
Posted: September
24, 2010 |
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