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10/02/2012 |
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CARQUEST Fall
Final
Stafford Motor
Speedway
by
Polly Reid |
 It
was a stout and savvy move by Bobby Santos that
earned the Franklin, MA driver his 7th career Tour
win- his first trip to victory lane for the Sully
Tinio owned, Imperial/Tinio Corp sponsored Chevrolet
in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Carquest Fall
Final at Stafford Motor Speedway.
With the last 93 laps of the Carquest Fall Final 150
green, the win appeared to be clear cut for Woody
Pitkat who had secured the top spot on lap 17
passing Ron Silk for the lead. Pitkat was putting
some comfortable real estate between himself and
Santos in second but as the laps ticked off the
board, Santos made his move. Suddenly closing the
distance, Santos read his competition and with less
than five circuits to go, went low going into turn
three coming out of turn four the new and final
leader of the day claiming the coveted Carquest Fall
Final victory.
Pitkat crossed for second with Coors Light pole
award winner Jimmy Blewett third, Ron Silk and Ryan
Preece the top five.
 "I
got to thank these guys on the Tinio team, it's a
lot of fun. Congratulations to Woody Pitkat - he did
an awesome job, it feels great to win but I really
wished he had won, he's like family. I'm happy he
ran good- I would have been happy if I came in first
or second there.”
It was a combination of a couple of things for
Santos that propelled the Tinio machine forward at
the end. "I was taking care of my stuff, I was
trying to save my tires then Flemke, he was trying
to help Woody win the race, he was kind of using me
up, honestly that was probably the motivation for me
in the last ten laps, to get up on the wheel."
Santos took the green second and dropped back as far
as 6th, but was never out of the mix as he settled
into second by lap 27 and owned that spot through
two more cautions. As the Fall Final continued and
the field stretched out, Pitkat remained in command
with Santos second. It was in the closing circuits
that Ben Dodge said 'Santos came alive' closing the
gap instantly and made the winning pass catching
Pitkat admitted by surprise.
"One time I looked, he was probably 10 or 15 car
lengths behind me,” said Pitkat. “I must have just
wiggled one time off of 3 and 4 there and he must
have just sucked me up. I was losing the power
steering at the end. I was doing what Jimmy Blewett
told me to do, don't worry about any noise or any
weird feeling, just drive it like you stole it."
“It's nice to have the opportunity to show these
guys it is a top five car, it should be a top five
car every week,” Pitkat explained about the Hill
Enterprises owned Chevrolet. “I've raced on the Tour
what the last five or six years? These last two
weeks have been the least stressful- the way you
would want to unload the car, practice smoothly,
make a couple of minor adjustments, the car gets
better every time you do it. We had good times after
we practiced, after we time trialed, had a good
dinner, slept well- everything has been so smooth,
it's just been a dream come true for me. I just
can't thank Sandra Hill enough for giving me the
opportunity again. It would be nice to have been one
more spot ahead but maybe we can do that in two
weeks."
“I lost to a brother-in-law, the guy has millions
and millions of laps, he started a lot younger than
I did, I'm very proud of him. If I can't win, that's
who I want to see win instead. I really wanted to
win- I thought I was going to be the dark horse for
Courchesne.”
During the caution on lap 50, Blewett played out an
important strategy that would have worked had
another yellow come out. Blewett lined up 20th on
the restart and passed his way through the field
finding himself back into the top ten with 40 to go.
Blewett continued forward landing into the top five
with 8 to go making his final move with 3 to go
passing Ron Silk for third.
"First I'd like to congratulate Bobby Santos and his
entire team, they've been doing good all season, had
their ups and downs, I'm happy for them to get the
win here today. Hats off to my team, they did an
excellent job, I couldn't be here without my
grandfather and all the support of the people that
surround me. We're getting closer. We put tires on,
we short pitted there thinking we'd get a caution
later in the race and gain the track position - but
who knew it would go green for that long. We'll take
third any day of the week. “
Running a limited NWMT schedule, the Sully Tinio
team has been competitive in each outing.
“I’ve been really fortunate to be working with
them,” said Santos. “They’re new to the Tour but
they’ve been working really, really hard. They are
having a lot of fun, their enjoying it- this means a
lot for a rookie team.”
“I really thought we were going to be sitting in
second place,” said Lawney, son of car owner Sully
Tinio of the last ten laps. “Then I looked up and
Bobby was there. Then he got by with five to go and
started walking away with it and was pretty sure
then we were going to take it. I’m very happy for my
dad to get a win under his belt with this- I’m very
happy for the team to get it- Stevie Lemay is
unbelievable, Bobby is unbelievable, the crew-
they’re at the garage all the time, they never give
up. Thank you to Imperial Cars, Oleeva’s Market and
Dan Kelly’s Morgan Horses, they’ve made it a lot
easier to be here.
Hopefully there is many more to come.”
The newly formed team is headed up by crew chief
Steve Lemay of Blackstone, MA. “We’re having a
blast, this is what it’s all about,” said Lemay
about his first NWMT win. “There’s no pressure from
the points that helps. We just try and run as good
as we can and win races. You get a good car owner,
you put the right driver in it- the kid is going to
drive the wheels off of it, there’s no doubt about
it. I worked with Bobby ten years ago when he got
into the modifieds, so we kind of have a history
together. I’ve know his dad his whole life.” Lemay
helped strike a deal with Santos during the off
season that has led to a successful season for the
Tinio team. “This is like a dream for me, to get the
opportunity to do this.”
Point leader Doug Coby of Milford, CT in the Wayne
Darling owned Reynolds Auto Wrecking Chevrolet took
the green 11th and finished the day 9th. A few
points were shaved from his lead with the finishes
of Preece and Silk as Coby heads into the final NWMT
event 18 points ahead of Preece, 19 over Silk.
The Thompson World Series in two weeks will crown
the 2012 NWMT Champion. Three drivers, Coby, Preece
and defending champion Silk head to the closer as
title contenders.
Jamie Tomiano of Howell, NJ was named the Grand
Marshall of the 40th Annual Carquest Fall Final.
Denise DuPont caught up with Jamie before the green
flag and came back with this from the Ironman of the
NWMT. “It is definitely and honor. I was always
hoping to do something like this. But I always
thought you would have to stop racing first. So when
they asked me to do it and I am still racing, I
think that it is a great honor and definitely a
privilege to do it." Since the inception of the NWMT
in 1985, Tomiano has competed in all but five of the
557 races- his first NWMT victory? The 1986 Fall
Final.
See you all at Thompson October 13th and 14th for
the World Series – if you can’t be there, click on
TheChromeHorn.com for Denise Dupont’s live
updates. |
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Source: Polly Reid / TheChromeHorn.com
Posted: October
2, 2012 |
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