Bobby Santos, III Looks to Continue Strong Runs at Stafford Speedway in Aug. 8 Call Before You Dig 811 Whelen Mod Tour 150
Stafford Springs, CT — As the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour prepares to take the green flag next Friday night at Stafford Motor Speedway for the 24th Annual Call Before You Dig 811 150, Bobby Santos, III will be looking to continue his mastery of the Connecticut half-mile facility. Santos has recorded 6 of his 14 career NWMT wins at Stafford and he has also won 7 of his 14 career NWMT pole positions at Stafford. Santos’ NWMT results have all come in the last 18 NWMT races held at Stafford since the 2010 NAPA Spring Sizzler. But Santos’ Stafford success isn’t limited to just the Whelen Modified Tour. He has also recorded 2 NEMA Midget wins and he won the $50,000 bonus at Stafford in August 2006 when he won both the Midget and PRA Big Car Series events in the same night.
“Stafford is a track that I’m familiar with and it’s a place that I’ve gone to my whole life growing up,” said Santos. “It’s a track that I want to be successful at and my teams have given me really good cars at Stafford, which is the most important thing. I think the track fits my driving style, I like the flatter tracks and Stafford is definitely a track that I enjoy going to.”
Santos comes to Stafford sitting third in an ultra-tight championship race. Doug Coby currently leads the NWMT standings by 4 points over Justin Bonsignore, 8 points over Santos, 13 points over Ted Christopher, and 33 points over Ryan Preece. Santos is the NWMT leader in wins during the 2014 season with three, but with finishes of 10th and 11th mixed around his win at Loudon and with such a tight championship race, having Stafford next on the schedule puts a smile on Santos’ face.
“We’ve had a couple of off races since Loudon and we didn’t run the greatest at Monadnock, so to see Stafford next on the schedule is definitely a good rebound opportunity and that makes me feel good about our next race for sure,” said Santos. “We’re halfway through the season and we still have a shot at the championship with a handful of other guys. If you had told me before the season that we’d have 3 wins and still have a shot at the championship, I would be satisfied with that. You certainly can’t win the championship at this point but the biggest thing is to not lose it now. We just have to keep on winning races like we have been. Teddy [Christopher] hasn’t been spectacular yet and he could go on a winning streak at any moment, and with the way that Doug [Coby] and Justin [Bonsignore] have been running and then Ryan [Preece] is right there, I think this is one of the tightest races we’ve had among different drivers the last 4 or 5 years.”
With the NAPA Spring Sizzler being 200-laps long and the May TSI Harley-Davidson 125 being 125-laps long, the CBYD 811 150 will present another challenge for drivers and teams as they prepare to race a third different distance feature at Stafford this season.
“I think this race will be similar to the Sizzler,” said Santos. “Most likely there will be a pit stop so you have to plan for that and run hard in the first half of the race to put yourself into position for the last 50 or 75 laps to have a shot at winning the race. The most important part is to have a good car to drive and right now Steve Lemay is giving me a very good racecar, which makes my job a lot easier.”
Tickets for the Call Before You Dig 811 150 are available and on sale now at the Speedway Box Office, or online at www.staffordspeedway.com. Tickets are priced at $33.00 for adult general admission, $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 $35.00 for all ages. All ticket prices include 10% CT Admission Tax. Stafford Motor Speedway offers plenty of free parking along with overnight parking in self-contained Recreational Vehicles.
For more information on the Call Before You Dig 811 150, 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