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12/8/2010 |
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SANTOS WINS
CHAMPIONS/MEDIA KARTING SHOWDOWN
NASCAR Whelen Modified
Champ Claims Bragging Rights |
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 Bobby
Santos added another title to his racing resume
Wednesday.
Santos, the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion,
came from the rear of the field to win the Third
Annual NASCAR Champions/Media Showdown at Victory
Lane Indoor Karting in Charlotte on Wednesday.
“It was a lot of fun racing with those guys,” said
Santos, who started 13th in the 14-kart field. “It
was interesting coming up through the field and made
it a lot of fun. I want to thank NASCAR and all the
media for putting this on, it was a lot of fun.”
The event is part of a week-long series of special
activities in the Charlotte area for drivers and
track representatives leading up to the NASCAR
Whelen All-American Series Awards Banquet on Friday,
Dec. 10, and the NASCAR Night of Champions Touring
Awards Gala on Saturday, Dec. 11.
Ryan Truex, the two-time NASCAR K&N Pro Series East
champion and last year’s event winner, made his
charge in the final five minutes of Wednesday’s
karting event to take second.
“I thought I might be able to catch Bobby, but I
just ran out of time,” Truex said.
The championship race was a 15-minute session. The
seven fastest media members started up front,
followed by the NASCAR champions, inverted from
slowest to fastest based on their best times during
the preceding one-hour practice session.
Keith Rocco, the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series
national champion, claimed third, followed by NASCAR
Whelen Southern Modified Tour champion Burt Myers
and NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1
champion DJ Kennington. Rocco was the first champion
to make it to the front of the field. He led most of
the race before being passed late by Santos and then
dealt with challenges from Truex, Myers and
Kennington.
“That is the most fun I have had in a while,” Rocco
said. “That was neat to race against the other
champions.”
Champions German Quiroga (NASCAR Mexico Series) and
Eric Holmes (NASCAR K&N Pro Series West) were sixth
and seventh, respectively. Alex Hayden of the Motor
Racing Network was the top media finisher in eighth.
Kevin Wrenn of WGHP-TV (Fox) in High Point, N.C.,
and Ken Childs of
RaceRap.com rounded out the top 10.
Rocco of Wallingford, Conn., will be in the
spotlight at the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series
Awards Banquet, while the NASCAR Night of Champions
Touring Awards Gala will bring together the series
champions and top drivers from all seven of the
NASCAR regional touring series.
Fans throughout the U.S., Canada, and around the
globe, will again be able to watch the festivities
from both nights via a live webcast on
nascarhometracks.com. The Red Carpet Pre-Show begins
at 6 p.m. and the banquets get underway at 7 p.m.
each night.
Fans in the Charlotte area will be able to meet
their favorite NASCAR touring series champion
Thursday night at Buffalo Wild Wings adjacent to the
NASCAR Hall of Fame. Santos, Truex, Kennington,
Holmes and Quiroga will be guests of Speed51 Radio
from 6-8 pm. Bob Dillner, Matt "Duke" Kentfield and
Elgin Traylor will serve as the co-hosts of the
show. The NASCAR Champions Show can be listened to
live by going to Speed51.com and clicking on the top
story link to the broadcast. The show will also
re-air on
RaceTalkRadio.com from 8-10pm ET on Sunday,
Dec. 12.
“I'm very excited that Speed 51 Radio will be doing
this show,” said Dillner. “My roots are from the
short tracks of NASCAR, so it means a lot of me to
honor the NASCAR Touring champions. Each of the five
champions that will be on the show battled and won
on some of the toughest tracks of North America this
past year and should be very proud of their
accomplishments. To have the show come from the
NASCAR Hall of Fame makes it even more special. I
hope that the fans can come out and participate in
this show by taking part in the Q & A part of it.”
The NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Awards Banquet
will feature the top drivers from NASCAR-sanctioned
short tracks across the United States and Canada.
Invited attendees will include the 2010 NASCAR
national champion, U.S. state and Canadian
provincial champions, track champions, the
national/state/provincial rookies of the year, top
NASCAR Finalist Recognition Program honorees, the
2010 Wendell Scott Trailblazer Award winner and many
others.
The NASCAR Night of Champions Touring Awards Gala
will include invitees from the NASCAR K&N Pro Series
East, the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West, the NASCAR
Mexico Series, the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, the
NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour, and the NASCAR
Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1. |
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Source: Jason Christley / NASCAR
Posted: December
8, 2010 |
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