Santos Retains Point Lead after Disappointing Finish
Finishes 19th at New Hampshire Motor Speedway; Has Two Point Advantage Over Stefanik

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (September 20, 2010) - The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour (NWMT) weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (NHMS) started optimistic for Bobby Santos III and his Mystic Missile Racing team as they posted the third fastest practice time in both practice sessions and qualified fourth for the F.W. Webb 100. After leading early, he held steady in the top-10 throughout the race until a turn three incident with three laps-to-go ended their day, relegating them to a 19th-place finish.

The Mystic Missile team rolled into the "Magic Mile" Thursday for practice and qualifying. The No. 4 Dodge was fast off the truck, as Santos posted the third fastest practice time of 29.431 seconds (129.415 mph). Santos had an early draw and wheeled a qualifying lap of 29.909 seconds (127.346 mph). NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) star Ryan Newmanswept the day posting the fastest practice time and taking the Coors Light Pole just before the rain came on Thursday evening. Knowing Newman would be hard to beat, the Mystic Missile team utilized final practice on Saturday morning to find any advantage. Santos again posted the third fastest time of 29.488 seconds (129.164 mph), while Newman sat out the Saturday practice.

Minutes after NSCS final practice, the NWMT took the stage with Santos starting from the outside of row two. When the green flag dropped on the F.W. Webb 100, Santos made a hard charge to the front and powered his No. 4 Mystic Missile Dodge to the lead by lap two. By lap five, he was shuffled back to sixth. The first caution of the 100-mile race fell on lap seven when two cars spun in turn two. Santos still sat in the sixth position and chose to stay out during the caution to keep his valuable track position.

When the second caution of the afternoon fell on lap 29 for a spin in turn four, Santos moved up to the fifth position but radioed that the car was tight in the center of the corner. A multi-car incident on lap 38 allowed Santos his first and only pit stop, as all the leaders turned down pit road. Santos radioed that the car was decent on the bottom line and did not request any handling changes. As he pulled into his pit stall, the Mystic Missile team added fuel and changed three tires. Santos was the third car to come off pit road and restarted the race in ninth.

The Franklin, Mass., native drove up to the fourth position by the halfway mark. By lap 53, he drove hard into turn one in a battle with Chuck Hossfeld for second but got out of the draft and went back to fifth. Santos then battled fellow Heinke-Baldwin Development Driver Erick Rudolph for the fourth position by lap 64. On lap 65, he drove to the inside of the No. 98 Mohawk Northeast/Original Pizza Logs Chevrolet in turn one and cleared him for the fourth spot coming off of turn two.

By lap 67, another caution flag flew for another single-car spin. The team elected to stay on the track, as Santos radioed that the No. 4 Dodge was better on the bottom line and a little free. The 24-year-old restarted in the fifth position and held steady in the top-five before falling back to sixth by lap 79. When the sixth caution of the 100-lap race flew on lap 92, the No. 4 Mystic Missile Dodge sat in seventh.

Ready to make a run to the front in the final five laps, Santos drove to sixth on the first green flag lap. With three laps-to-go, Santos battled the No. 3 of Ryan Preece. Contact in turn three sent Santos into the wall, with major damage. The car was unable to drive on, and Santos was taken to and released from the infield care center. He finished 19th, while Newman took the checkers in a green-white-checkered finish.

A lap 38 incident for Ted Christopher allowed Santos to keep the championship point lead with just two races remaining in the 2010 NWMT season. A third-place finish for Mike Stefanik escalated him to second in the point standings, just two points behind Santos.

"It was a rough way to spoil a good run," explained Santos. "Thankfully, we are still ahead in the points, but two points is not a lot. We will have to go to Stafford and Thompson and focus on solid finishes. Our car was a little tight in the beginning of the race and loosened up as the race went on. I think we were poised for a top-five finish. It's hard to swallow a wrecked race car and a decreased point lead, but we'll get back at it in two weeks. We're still in the hunt for the championship, and that's all you can ask for."

Santos will race locally next weekend and then return to NWMT racing October 3rd at Stafford Motor Speedway for the CARQUEST Fall Final.