|
BOBBY SANTOS III
LOOKING FOR THIRD CONSECUTIVE NAPA AUTO PARTS
SPRING SIZZLER VICTORY AT STAFFORD MOTOR SPEEDWAY |
In the long and storied history of the NAPA Auto
Parts Spring Sizzler at Stafford Motor Speedway,
there have been several drivers whose performance
has shined high above the rest of their competitors.
The Spring Sizzler presents the opportunity for
Franklin, MA native Bobby Santos, III, to enter into
a very elite group.
Santos
will try this year to join Maynard Troyer and Ted
Christopher as the only drivers to win the Sizzler
three consecutive times and also to join Christopher
and Mike Stefanik as the only drivers with 4 or more
career Sizzler victories. Santos’ Sizzler career got
off to a very slow start, with accidents in his
first two Sizzlers relegating him to 32nd place
finishes in 2004 and 2007. But when he hooked up
with Bob Garbarino for the 2010 season, Santos has
quickly carved out his own space in Sizzler lore.
Santos won the pole for the 2010 Sizzler and led the
first 54 laps of the race before contact with a
lapped car dropped him back to 22nd in the running
order. Santos recovered to finish second in that
race and he then won each of his next three Sizzler
starts in 2011, 2013, and 2014.
“I’m excited, the Sizzler is obviously one of my
favorite races of the year and it’s treated me very
well the last handful of years,” said Santos. “It’s
definitely one of those races that you look forward
to and with all the history of the race and
everything that goes with it, it makes the race even
better. I’ve driven for good teams that give me good
race cars and I like the longer distance races. That
extra 50 or 75 laps definitely suits my style of
racing and driving. Any time you can be in the same
category as Ted Christopher and Mike Stefanik is an
honor. They were my two favorite drivers growing up
and in my opinion two of the best. If I can do
anything halfway close to what they accomplished, it
would be pretty neat. But the competition gets
harder every year and it’s going to be a difficult
race to win for sure.”
With how well Santos has run at the Spring Sizzler
in the past, the NWMT field could be in for another
day of trying to chase down the #44 as Santos and
his team will be bringing a slightly different car
than in the past to this year’s Sizzler.
“The car that we ran at Loudon last year will be our
Stafford car this year, so it’s a little nicer and
newer car than we’ve brought the last couple of
years,” said Santos. “It’s still a Troyer car with a
Billy the Kid engine, so no major changes. It’s a
good combination and we have everything we need to
run well. I have to thank Sully Tinio, he is the
main person behind all this, Mike Curb with Curb
Records is another big sponsor, and all my guys on
the crew who work so hard. For me to be able to just
show up and drive, it’s pretty cool to get into that
equipment and have that opportunity.”
While Santos says he is a fan of the longer distance
races, he says that when it comes to the Spring
Sizzler a driver can’t rely on the same strategy for
each race.
“It seems like every race is different,” said
Santos. “The best strategy would be to get a caution
right around halfway. The ideal scenario for me
would be leading the race and get a yellow around
lap-120 and be able to come back out of the pits
still in the lead. You just have to play things by
ear and if you’re out front, you can kind of dictate
the strategy. I think last year we didn’t get into
the lead until after the pit stops so we just went
with the flow of what everyone else was doing and I
made my move about 40 or 50 laps after the pit stop.
I’ve also won the race by leading almost every lap,
so you have to keep track of the way things fall in
front of you.”
Santos will begin his quest for his third
consecutive NAPA Spring Sizzler victory with
practice and Coors Light Pole Qualifying on
Saturday, April 25th as part of the 44th Annual NAPA
Auto Parts Spring Sizzler. The 200-lap NAPA Spring
Sizzler will run on Sunday, April 26 at
approximately 3:15pm following the NAPA Pit Party
from 11am-12noon and the SK Modified® and Late Model
feature events beginning at 1pm. 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 44th 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.
|
Source:
Scott Running /
Stafford Motor Speedway
Posted:
April 2, 2015 |
|
|