Santos Tabbed Favorite in NASCAR Whelen Modified Preseason Poll
Media Picks Defending Champion to Repeat in 2011
Daytona Beach, FL — With the 2011 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season set to begin with the Icebreaker at Thompson (Conn.) International Speedway this weekend, defending champion Bobby Santos has been tabbed the favorite to repeat by the tour’s media.
Santos, from Franklin, Mass., garnered 15 out of a possible 25 first-place votes and tallied 230 total points to enter the season as the championship favorite. In his first full-time season in 2010, Santos recorded four wins and 11 top 10s in 14 outings to earn his first Whelen Modified Tour crown.
While it may have been the first title for Santos, it was the third in four years for Mystic Missile Racing and longtime car owner Bob Garbarino. Last year’s success with Santos behind the wheel, and with the run in recent years by the team which remains intact, combined to make the No. 4 ‘Mystic Missile’ Dodge the overwhelming preseason favorite.
The 2008 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion, Ted Christopher collected 213 points and five first-place votes to place second in balloting. The Plainville, Conn., driver has finished in the top five in the final standings in each of the previous nine seasons and has visited Victory Lane an average of four times a year during that period. Christopher has once again teamed with crew chief Brad Lafontaine, who helped lead Christopher to his first and only championship three years ago.
Last year’s championship runner-up Mike Stefanik earned 166 points in the poll with one first-place vote. Following a resurgent 2010 campaign, the winningest driver in Whelen Modified Tour history will look to extend his record for titles to eight this year.
The top five in balloting was filled out by 2003 titlist Todd Szegedy and 2008 championship runner-up Matt Hirschman. Szegedy collected 157 points and two first-place votes while Hirschman, who is returning to the Whelen Modified Tour after a two-year absence, received 149 points.
Poll vote totals were weighed on a point scale that ranged from 10-1, with 10 points for first place and one point for 10th place. The voting pool was made up of members of both print and electronic media who cover the Whelen Modified Tour. A total of 24 drivers received votes. Only Santos and Christopher were named on all 25 ballots. Ron Silk received the remaining two first-place votes and was sixth in balloting with 114 points.
The Whelen Modified Tour season will begin with the Thompson Icebreaker this weekend, April 9-10. Santos is the defending winner of the race while Christopher has captured five of the last seven checkered flags at Thompson, including the 2010 season finale.
For event and ticket information, please visit the Thompson International Speedway’s official website (www.thompsonspeedway.com).
Sources: Jason Cunningham/NASCAR WMT PR
2011 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Preseason Media Poll Top 10
1. Bobby Santos, Franklin, Mass., 230 points (15 first place votes)
2. Ted Christopher, Plainville, Conn., 213 (5)
3. Mike Stefanik, Coventry, R.I., 166 (1)