Bobby Santos III Scores Fifth Consecutive NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Top-Five

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (June 30, 2010) - Bobby Santos III continued his streak of NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour top-five finishes Saturday, June 26 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. In the fifth race on the 2010 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour schedule, Santos earned his fifth top-five, finishing the race in fourth position.

Santos and the No. 4 Mystic Missile Racing team were fast right out of the gate, finishing Thursday's practice session with the fifth-fastest time. Santos was slated to be the second-to-last car to qualify Thursday afternoon, but inclement weather threatened the completion of qualifying. Just minutes before heavy rain started to fall, Santos qualified the No. 4 Dodge in second position.

The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour had no on-track activity slated for Friday, leaving Santos free to race his sister's NEMA Midget car at Lee USA Speedway. He finished in fifth position there late Friday night, and returned to Loudon for Saturday's race.

Santos finished second in Saturday morning's final practice, with a time of 29.698 seconds (128.251 mph). The Franklin, Mass., native was eager to begin the race on the outside pole, as he found the outside to be the desirable line at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Santos spent the early stages of the race in second and third position, avoiding trouble and feeling out his car. When the third caution flag waved on lap 40, Santos came to pit road for three tires and fuel. The 24-year-old entered and left the pits in third position. Once the green flag reemerged, Santos was quick to take the lead, moving in the top spot for the first time on lap 46. Santos spent the remaining 54 laps moving in and out of the top-four positions, leading three times for a total of 16 laps.

The yellow flag waved for the final time on lap 80, bunching up the field for a final 17-lap shootout. Santos took the restart in the fourth position but quickly moved to second on lap 84. His car was strong on short-runs, but the car tightened up as the run continued, causing Santos to slip to third on lap 92. With only three laps to go, he was passed again, ending his day in fourth position.

"Our car got a little too tight on the long runs, but we were as good as anybody on the short runs," Santos explained. "The team did an awesome job on the pit-stop. I had a good time racing with Ryan (Newman) and Teddy (Christopher). We had a lot of going back and forth, and the race was just a lot of fun."

Despite this being Santos' lowest finishing spot of the season, he was happy to finish in the top-five.

"I was really happy with the end result," Santos said. "We didn't win, but I can't complain. We had a good day."

Santos currently leads the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour point standings, sitting 129 points ahead of second-place Ted Christopher. His next NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour race is slated for this Saturday, July 3, at Lime Rock Park.