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BOBBY SANTOS
III COMES OUT OF NOWHERE TO WIN NWMT F.W. WEBB 100
Santos Breaks the Famous Modified Draft Once Again at the
‘Magic Mile’
by Denise DuPont |
It
was a great fall weekend for the NASCAR Whelen
Modifieds (NWMT) to race at New Hampshire Motor
Speedway (NHMS). There were twenty-eight teams there
to make their mark and try to take home a modified
‘Daytona type’ win. Ryan Newman was fastest in
practice and his speed continued right into
qualifying where he earned his sixth NWMT Coors
Light Pole Award at NHMS.
Modified drivers once again went to work using the
draft that they are famously known for at the ‘Magic
Mile’. During the 100 lap race there were eighteen
lead changes among six drivers. Ryan Newman of South
Bend, IN., Timmy Solomito of Islip, NY, Doug Coby of
Milford, CT. and Patrick Emerling from Orchard Park
of NY all took their turn leading the field. In the
final laps it appeared that it was going to be a
battle between Coby and Emerling to the end. Then
all of a sudden on lap 97, Bobby Santos of Franklin,
MA did his ‘Bobby Secret Move’ on the bottom of the
track and charged past the lead pack to win the
race.
Santos
had not been a factor the entire race. Coming from
mid pack, he was suddenly there out of nowhere to do
the unbelievable once again. He broke the draft on a
restart and had enough power to win the race. “On
the last restart I was pretty confident in the car”,
stated Santos. “On the restart before it (his car)
went in so deep. So on the final restart I just had
to hope that line that was right. I used it and I
drove away. My dad said that: ‘You can’t break the
draft in New Hampshire.’ and I did it, I broke the
draft!” “The first half of the race we rode around
just to see what we could accomplish and what
direction we had to go. I told them that we need a
few changes and we made the changes. We made
adjustments and took tires at the break. We knew we
needed to be smart, be where we needed to be and not
abuse the tires. ” Santos said. “So I just put
myself in position for the end. I started to make my
run. I thought I could get into the top five but I
did not think we would win the race. I just bit my
time. We were running in thirteenth and we just
needed one yellow. We got it and went from there.”
In July, Santos found the bottom at the end to win
the race. It was as though it was Bobby’s little
secret space. Was he surprised to find it again? “I
was shocked then where with fifteen to go the bottom
performed and now we came back a couple of months
later and I found it again to win. It is just a
testament to a good car, team and spotter. I am just
glad they all gave me what I needed to get here. Our
car has been unbelievable prepared this year.”
Rowan
Pennink of Huntingdon Valley, PA started the 100 lap
feature race on the outside pole. He dropped back in
the field still running in the top ten with a
consistent run. With twenty laps to go the team took
a gamble and decided to pit for a fresh right tire.
“We had come in and put a right front on. We started
back on seventeenth with about fifteen to go.”
Pennink said about the #3 team’s late race strategy.
“On the last restart, I just went behind Bobby
(Santos) on the bottom. Cars were running three
wide, maybe even four wide on the back stretch. I
got loose but somehow I got it all straightened out
and went forward for the two to go. Somehow I was
able to get down on the bottom and get to the lead
pack. My guys made a good call to come in and take a
tire.” So the team’s gamble paid off -- Coming from
mid-pack late in the race the #3 Cape Cod Copper
Chevrolet, finished second in the 100 lap feature
event. “This is awesome for the #3 car. It was a
solid finish after coming off a DNF at Riverhead. It
was a great day and they put an amazing car under me
all weekend right off the trailer.” “We just want to
get wins that will help us in the points. But runs
like today do not hurt either.” Pennink said about
the division’s point’s race. “We had a good come
back today. We had a good day and the guys on this
team gave us an awesome car. With about fifteen to
go we made a daring move and came into change a
tire. It took a lot of nerve to do that. And come
right back to finish second here is almost like a
win. You cannot ask for much more than that.”
Emerling
started the race in fifth and hung out in that
position until just before lap 50. He then made his
move into second and started the challenge for the
lead with Coby. The two drivers swapped the lead
back and forth using the draft each to their own
advantage. With twenty to go the cautions started
and the restarts became more challenging. There were
now additional drivers in the mix, some of which had
fresh rubber. “The last restart was a pretty crazy
for us. We were on the outside running and somehow
the bottom just came in. Bobby (Santos) was able to
sneak by us. We were just caught out there in the
wrong spot on the late cautions. So those cautions
did not help us.” Confessed Emerling. “I believe
that we were definitely the car to beat. Bobby
figured the bottom out faster than we did. I tried
it down there during the race and there was nothing.
Then he (Bobby Santos) towards the end got it to
work. We had a better car than he did. He just had a
position better than we did in the end. We were
shuffled up and I lost ground there at the end.
Ending up third for where we started is pretty good.
If things had played out differently we definitely
would have won that race.
Santos summarized the weekend racing at NHMS: “This
is our race track when it comes to modifieds. This
is where everybody shoots for a win, and this is our
Super Bowl. It means everything to win here. But it
also means a lot to win at Stafford. And that race
is up next.”
So join us at the track next weekend for the 45th
NAPA Fall Final weekend and 150 laps of modified
racing at Stafford Motor Speedway.
Notes from
New Hampshire Motor Speedway:
Before the race the modifieds went four wide in a
tribute to their fellow competitor, Ted Christopher.
Bobby Santos
“It was emotional I was one of Teddy’s biggest fans.
Since I was about five years old I remember going to
Thompson to watch Teddy. He was my favorite. Out in
Indiana racing they ask me who my favorite driver
is, they think I am going to say Tony Stewart. When
I say Ted Christopher people ask me who that guy
is?” “He made modifieds. He made New England
modifieds. The recognition he received this week he
deserved. It has been tough this week for the
modified community. When I first started racing he
took advantage of me as a kid. Teddy was a racer. He
did not care what it took to win. He took advantage
of me for a lot of years, but I still looked up to
him. I am proud to say I looked up to him, he
respected and raced me on the track and that means a
lot.”
What are your thoughts
on the PJ1 (Sticky Stuff) on the corners of NHMS?
Rowan Pennink
“It seemed like when everyone had fresh tires you
could not keep up with them on the bottom. There was
plenty of grip but especially side by side you would
get would get pinched down there. Right there at the
end of the race, there was quite a bit of tire on
the bottom and people were starting to struggle at
the top. The bottom was the place to be. You could
get down there and take the corner pretty tight and
get back off and get back in line in front of them
(top line). That is what made it work”. “I passed
every car from the bottom. People were starting to
struggle with the tire situation and we took
advantage kept the car on the bottom. We seemed to
make a lot of headway down there.”
Patrick Emerling
“There were a few cars that tried the bottom earlier
in the race and it was absolutely horrible. The top
was where it was at and then the top wore off on us.
Then the bottom just came right in. At the end if
you were able to get on the bottom that was where
the tires were you were good to go.”
What are your thoughts
this year and racing with the NWMT?
Patrick Emerling
“This year we came here feeling we could win this
race. And before the last series of cautions, we
felt we were the car to beat. The cautions did not
find us in the right spot. We definitely had a fast
car, but the win did not come to us today.” “We know
we are right there in contention to win a race. That
is what we want to do. This year we have possibly
been the best that we have ever been. Running these
tour races here at Loudon this year has given us
more experience and I am just getting better myself.
We have been tuning the car better. We have been
working on it and just getting better.”
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Source:
Denise DuPont /
TheChromeHorn.com
Posted:
September 24, 2017 |
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