Bobby Santos, III Hoping for Successful Return to Stafford In TSI Harley-Davidson 125
Stafford Springs, CT — After winning the Whelen Modified Tour championship in 2010 and finishing 8th in the 2011 points standings, Bobby Santos, III was left without a full-time ride for the 2012 season. But Santos has hooked up with Sully Tinio for a partial 2012 schedule, and he is looking forward to returning to Stafford Motor Speedway for the TSI Harley-Davidson 125. Santos has won three of the last 7 Whelen Modified Tour events at Stafford, and he also has 2 NEMA Midget feature wins to go along with his sweep of the PRA Big Car and Wingless Midget feature events that netted him a $50,000 bonus in 2006 at Stafford.
“I’m very excited about coming back to Stafford,” said Santos. “We’ve had a lot of success the last couple of years at Stafford and I hope we can continue that success with Sully Tinio and the #44 team. It’s a little disappointing to not be running the full schedule this year, but I have a great deal with Sully to run a part-time schedule this year. We tried to make it to the Sizzler, but we couldn’t get the car ready in time after Thompson. Sully’s team is local to Thompson and the original plan was to just run those races, but everyone was real happy with how we ran, so we got the car ready to come race at Stafford.”
After qualifying third and leading two laps in the season opening event at Thompson, Santos was relegated to a 17th place finish after being caught up in an accident. But with three career victories at Stafford, including a win in the 2010 TSI Harley-Davidson 125, Santos is confident that he and his team have the right strategy and equipment to once again reach victory lane.
“I absolutely think we can win,” said Santos. “Our car at Thompson was one of the better cars I’ve had there, I know Stafford, and my crew chief Steve Lemay is a very smart guy. I think we’ll practice and get the car good like we always do for the race and then figure out if we want to pit or not. In a race like the Sizzler, it’s a matter of when you’re going to pit instead of if you’re going to pit. If you are going to make a pit stop, it has to be early in the race. With how tough the competition is right now on the Tour, it’s very difficult to get back to the front of the field. Although we’re only running a limited schedule this year, I think we can win the races that we go to. Hopefully if we can run well, we can run some more races this season.”
Tickets for the 22nd Annual TSI Harley-Davidson 125 are available and on sale now at the Speedway Box Office. Tickets are priced at $33.00 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 will be priced at $35.00 for all ages. All ticket prices include 10% CT Admission Tax. As always, Stafford Motor Speedway offers free parking with overnight parking available.
For more information on the 22nd Annual TSI Harley-Davidson 125, 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.
Sources: Scott Running/Stafford Motor Speedway PR