Santos Celebrates Birthday with a Win at Stafford and Increases Championship Lead
Wins Fourth Race This Season and Second at Stafford Motor Speedway

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (October 4, 2010) - Bobby Santos III celebrated his 25th birthday in the place he loves most: victory lane. He drove the No. 4 Mystic Missile Dodge passed the competition and took the checkered flag for the CARQUEST Fall Final on Sunday, October 3 at Stafford Motor Speedway. The Heinke-Baldwin Racing (HBR) development driver retains the top spot in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour (NWMT) point standings by 37 points with one race remaining.

Saturday began with the series' only practice, and Santos posted the second fastest lap time of 18.224 seconds (98.771mph). An early qualifying draw was the only bad luck of the weekend. Santos was the third car to qualify and laid down a 10th-quickest lap of 18.525 seconds (97.166 mph).

Santos took the green flag from the fifth row on the outside of his HBR teammate Erick Rudolph. The first caution in the CARQUEST Fall Final was on the first lap when a car spun on the backstretch. The field lined up a second time for the start of the race, and once the green flag dropped, Santos held steady in 10th looking to stay out of trouble and be there at the end. When the second caution fell for a single-car spin on lap 29, some of the field pit. The Mystic Missile team chose to stay out and pit later in the race. At the restart, the Franklin, Mass., native was in the eighth position.

Two laps later, a caution flew for the third time on lap 36 for a multi-car incident in turn two with the No. 4 Dodge in sixth. By lap 50, Santos fell to eighth as he saved his car knowing he would need to pit soon. By the halfway point in the 150-mile race, he held steady in the eighth position.

Green-flag racing continued until a single-car spin in turn four on lap 101. The Mystic Missile team took this opportunity to call the No. 4 Dodge down pit road for service. The team changed three tires and added fuel. Santos gave feedback to the crew chief that he was comfortable with the handling of the car, so the crew did not make any further adjustments. The field went back to green flag racing for one lap, as another multi-car incident occurred on lap 108. Santos restarted on lap 118 in eighth and worked up to seventh when the sixth yellow flag of the night flew for a single-car spin in turn four.

The field went back to green with 25 laps remaining in the CARQUEST Fall Final at Stafford Motor Speedway. The next 15 laps brought three more caution periods. The ninth caution for a multi-car incident in turn three caused damage to the guardrail. The race went to a red flag condition, so track officials could fix the guardrail and the field could race safely to the checkered flag.

During the 29-minute red flag condition, Santos gained confidence in the knowledge that he had a car that could contend for the lead while sitting in second. When the field went back to green on lap 143, Santos did not waste any time and passed Ryan Preece by the first turn of lap 144. Once he worked passed Preece, Santos continued to increase his lead and keep his eyes on the finish line. When the white flag fell, Santos carried a sufficient lead over the rest of the field. He drove to the checkered flag for the CARQUEST Fall Final and obtained his fourth victory of the season. This was his second victory at Stafford Motor Speedway this season and his first win since June.

Santos increased his point lead for the NWMT Championship and now sits 37 points ahead of second place Mike Stefanik with one race remaining.

"It was a good weekend," commented Santos. "We practiced really well. The biggest bummer of the weekend was the qualifying draw. We were third to qualify and had a car capable of getting the pole. We qualified 10th, and the first half of the race, we just tried stayed out of trouble. The guys had an awesome pit stop. Then, we just went for it every restart after that. At the red flag, I was pretty confident at that point and anxiously waiting for the green flag. I thought I had a better car than the leader."

"It is exciting that we won and got maximum points today," the 25-year-old continued. "That's most important. Thanks to the team we have been consistent all season. The four wins we have this year is what has us in the championship battle. We just have to go out next week and aim for maximum points again. I'm just really excited to go to Thompson and try to win there."

Santos looks to secure his first NWMT Championship title at the final race of the season, the Sunoco World Series of Speedway Racing, at Thompson International Speedway on October 17th. Santos won the season-opener in April at the Thompson, Conn., race track.