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03/21/2014 |
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BOBBY SANTOS
III FEELING POSITIVE ABOUT CHANCES AT VICTORY
IN 43rd ANNUAL NAPA AUTO PARTS SPRING SIZZLER |
With
the 43rd Annual NAPA Auto Parts Spring Sizzler just
over a month away from taking the green flag, one
driver who is looking forward to the race is Bobby
Santos, III. In just a short amount of time, Santos
is working his way towards becoming a Sizzler
legend. In only five starts in "The Greatest Race in
the History of Spring", Santos has 2 wins and a
second place finish to go along with 2 DNF's. The
DNF's came in Santos' first two Sizzler starts in
2004 and 2007 and he has been absolutely magical
since then with his Sizzler performance.
Driving for the Bob Garbarino owned Mystic Missile
team, Santos won the pole in 2010 and he led the
first 54 laps of the race before contact with a
lapped car sent him into a spin and he had to
restart at the rear of the field. Santos charged his
way back through the field but couldn't get by Ted
Christopher in the final laps and had to settle for
second place. In Santos's first Sizzler victory in
2011, he started third and led a race high 152 laps
and after missing the 2012 Sizzler, Santos returned
with the Sully Tino #44 team in 2013 and won the
pole and led 197 of the 200 laps for his second
career Sizzler victory.
"Definitely a big part of it is driving for good
teams with good cars," said Santos. "But something
about Stafford agrees with me really well. I do like
the longer distance races, I think it suits my
driving style a little more. The big races always
get you a little more excited and the Sizzler is a
race that everybody wants to win and win it as many
times as you can."
Santos will return to this year's NAPA Auto Parts
Spring Sizzler with the same #44 Curb Records / Tino
Corp. team and he has a good feeling about his
chances of repeating his Sizzler victory of one year
ago.
"I think we'll have a good shot at winning the race,
this is our second full year together and our third
year working together as a team, so we've learned a
lot together," said Santos. "We were a new team when
we first started out and last year they were
building cars. This winter they've just had to fine
tune what they have and I think we'll be really
prepared for Stafford and the beginning of the
season where we can make a run at winning some of
the big races and the championship. We have some
really good support from Curb Records, Simpson Race
Products, K & N, and the big one is Sully Tinio and
Tinio Corp. Billy the Kid is giving us some awesome
motors and I think we'll be better off this year
than we have been in the past and I think we'll have
as good of a shot as anybody"
With wins in his last 2 Sizzler starts, Santos
certainly knows what it will take to put his car
into victory lane for a third time. While the
weather is still a bit on the brisk side, Santos
says that the weather won't really play a factor in
his team's setup for the race. He also says that
qualifying will still play a large part in winning
the race although the race is 50-laps longer than a
normal Whelen Modified Tour event.
"Pretty much the biggest thing will be how much
rubber gets down on the track," said Santos. "It's
normal for the Sizzler to be a little cooler than
what it typically is at Stafford and everyone is so
experienced at Stafford that I think everyone is
used to the weather. I think qualifying will still
be as important as it normally is. A couple years
ago, I got spun early in the race while leading and
we came back to get second but we lost our track
position. I would definitely rather have track
position than not to have it. Qualifying up front is
a good thing but it's not an end all if you don't
qualify well. I think a one, three-tire stop around
halfway would be my guess to the winning strategy.
But if you're not as fast as you think you can be
you can pit early and try to hold everyone off or
you can pit late. I think it's harder to plan
strategy when you do have a fast car because the
pressure is on to make the right decision and even
if you make the right decision people are going to
do the opposite of what you do since you're the fast
car."
Santos will begin his quest for a second consecutive
NAPA Auto Parts Spring Sizzler victory with the run
for the Coors Light Pole position getting underway
on Saturday, April 26 along with heat and
consolation races for Stafford's weekly divisions.
In the 34 Spring Sizzler events run since 1980, the
fast qualifier has gone on to win the race only 8
times, but Santos was one of those drivers with his
victory last season. Saturday will conclude with
feature events for the SK Light, Limited Late Model,
and DARE Stock divisions as well as a feature event
for the Northeast Mini Stocks. The Sizzler concludes
on Sunday, April 27 with the famous NAPA Auto Parts
Pit Party followed by Stafford's SK Modifieds® and
Late Models joining the Whelen Modified Tour in
feature action.
Tickets for the "Greatest Race in the History of
Spring" are on sale now at the Speedway Box Office.
Tickets are priced at $38.50 for adult general
admission tickets, $5.00 for children ages 6-14, and
children ages 5 and under are admitted free of
charge when accompanied by an adult. Reserved
seating is priced at $42.00 for all ages. As always,
Stafford Motor Speedway offers free parking with
overnight parking available. All tickets are good
for both Saturday and Sunday admission. All ticket
prices include 10% CT Admission Tax.
For more information on the 43rd annual NAPA Auto
Parts Spring Sizzler, or to order tickets, contact
the Stafford Motor Speedway track office at
860-684-2783 or visit us on the web at
www.staffordspeedway.com. |
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Source: Scott Running / Stafford Motor Speedway
Posted:
March 21, 2014 |
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