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BOBBY SANTOS
III LOOKING TO GET BACK TO WINNING WAYS
IN 45th ANNUAL NAPA SPRING SIZZLER AT STAFFORD SPEEDWAY |
Between
the 2010 and 2014 seasons on the NASCAR Whelen
Modified Tour, Bobby Santos, III was the driver to
beat when it came to racing at Stafford Speedway. In
the 20 NWMT races held during that time period,
Santos won 6 times, including 3 NAPA Spring
Sizzlers® and he won 9 pole positions. Enter the
2015 season and Santos and the #44 Tinio Corporation
/ Curb Records team saw their performance fall off
at the Connecticut half-mile facility with a best
finish of 5th. With the green flag in the 45th
Annual NAPA Spring Sizzler® right around the corner,
Santos is excited about returning to Stafford and
looking to get back to his winning form behind the
wheel of the #44 Tinio Corp. / Curb Records
Chevrolet.
“We didn’t run as good as we wanted to last year,
but all the guys on the team have done their
homework and hopefully we’ve got all the pieces we
need to get back to running how we feel that we
should be running,” said Santos. “Hopefully we’re
headed in the right direction. I think some other
guys did their homework and got better while we
weren’t as good as we needed to be. I’m excited we
have all the same guys back on the team because
after having a tough year we all still like each
other and we want to work together. We’ve won races
together in the past and there’s no reason why we
can’t continue to win races together. Stafford has
been good track for me in the past and I expect it
to continue to be a good track for me.”
Santos has exhibited his mastery of Stafford while
driving for two different teams. His run of good
fortune began in 2010-2011 with Bob Garbarino’s #4
team and then continued his winning ways with the
#44 Tinio team. Santos has won 3 of the last 5 NAPA
Spring Sizzlers (2011, 2013, 2014) and he has a new
chassis to work with as he chases his fourth career
Sizzler® victory.
“We have an LFR Chassis for this season and I have
to thank Ray Graham and everyone who helped put that
deal together for us to have those cars this year,”
said Santos. “Another Sizzler® win would be awesome.
That race has always treated me well and it’s a race
in New England that most drivers either want to win
or wish that they could win. To be lucky enough to
have more than one win in that race is pretty
unbelievable and I’d definitely like to add to that.
Doug [Coby] is an excellent driver and he has an
excellent team but if we can be as half as good as
they were last year with their LFR car, it should be
a pretty good season for us.”
Although his race finishes from 2015 at Stafford
weren’t up to the level that Santos and the #44 team
were looking for, their qualifying were on point as
Santos’ worst starting position was 7th. Santos is
confident that he can have another good qualifying
effort which in turn will make the race easier for
him and his team.
“We had speed at times last year but in the overall
picture of things the car didn’t last as long as we
needed it to during the races and the handling went
away,” said Santos. “Qualifying is always important
but if you have a really good car and things go your
way, there’s no reason why you couldn’t start in the
back and still win the race. We obviously want to
qualify well and start up front to make things
easier, but if not, we’ll just have to make the best
of the situation and do what we can with it to put
ourselves in position to win at the end of the race.
I think you’re going to have to put tires on the car
during the race. With the 150-lap races, there’s a
possibility you could go without taking tires, but
with a 200-lap race you’re definitely going to need
tires.”
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. Discount
Tickets will be available at all 57 participating
NAPA Auto Parts stores beginning on Monday April
4th. For a full list of the 57 locations throughout Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, and Rhode
Island, call the speedway office or visit us on the
web at
www.staffordmotorspeedway.com/participating-napa-auto-parts-stores.
For more information on the 45th 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:
April 9, 2016 |
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