Bobby Santos Sips Sweet Champagne at Thompson International Speedway
Wins NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Championship

THOMPSON, CONN. (October 18, 2010) - Bobby Santos III clinched the 2010 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Championship Sunday at Thompson International Speedway. Santos drove the No. 4 Mystic Missile Dodge to a sixth place finish in the race and secured the championship by 27 points. Santos was elated that the finale was placed just 40 minutes from his hometown and at the track where he made his racing debut at the age of four. A place of many firsts for the Franklin, Mass., driver, he accomplished his biggest first: winning a championship.

The weekend began with practice and qualifying on Saturday. Santos drove the No. 4 Mystic Missile Dodge to the fourth-fastest time in the lone practice session with a fast lap of 18.845 seconds (119.395 mph). Qualifying followed, and the Mystic Missile Dodge was the 20th car to hit the track on the windy day. Santos drove a fast lap of 18.709 seconds (120.263 mph) and won his fourth pole of the season. Following the redraw, Santos held onto the top spot for the Sunoco World Series of Speedway Racing.

The garage opened early Sunday, and the pressure was on. Santos and the Mystic Missile team proved to be calm and focused as they looked for the race to begin. They took the green flag from the pole position, and a tight racecar in the center of the corner plagued the car all day. Knowing he had to complete 150 laps and finish within sight of nine-time NWMT Champion Mike Stefanik, Santos did not push the car too early.

When the field completed the first lap, Santos sat in the second spot. He was content to hold the second position, and when the first caution of the day came on lap eight, Santos took the opportunity to discuss the handling of the No. 4 Dodge with the team. He radioed that they had a good car, but it was tight in the center of the turns. Officials threw the red flag to finish cleaning up oil. The Mystic Missile team took the extra time to talk further about the handling. Crew Chief Bob Mueller asked the 25-year-old how tight the car was on a 10-point scale. Santos responded that it was a three out of 10 tight but was getting better on the longer run.

The field returned to green flag racing on lap 21 with Santos holding the second position. He fell back to third on the restart and began a short battle with Stefanik for the third spot. When the yellow flag was displayed on the 32nd lap, Santos held Stefanik back to keep the third position. He then radioed to his crew that the Mystic Missile Dodge was still tight in the center of the turn and a little free coming off the turn. He also commented that the track felt greasy.

His battle with the handling of the No. 4 Dodge became apparent on the next green flag run. When the race restarted on lap 35, the Franklin, Mass., native fell back to the sixth position two laps later. Knowing a pit stop was coming soon, Santos held onto the sixth spot and waited to make adjustments to the car. When the lap 47 caution displayed for a spin in turn three, Santos and the Mystic Missile team discussed whether to pit or wait to see what the leaders decided to do. After a short discussion, they decided to call Santos down pit road for service. The Mystic Missile team changed three tires and added fuel. They also made adjustments to the left rear to try to fix the tight condition.

Only a portion of the field took the opportunity to pit, so when the green flag displayed on lap 51, the Mystic Missile machine restarted in the 14th position. By lap 55, Santos drove into the 12th position and made a pass in turn one on lap 58 to take the 11th spot. A concerned Santos radioed to the crew during the lap 61 caution that he was really struggling rolling into the turns. The Mystic Missile team restarted in the 10th position on lap 66 but fell back to 13th by the halfway mark of the 150-lap race.

The fifth caution of the day was displayed on lap 82 for a spin on the frontstretch. Santos came over the radio and stressed that the car was so tight it was chattering the right front in the corner. Crew Chief Mueller radioed for Santos to put some more rear brake into the car to try to fit the tight condition without giving up track position by pitting. The lap 85 restart found Santos in the ninth position. Three laps later, Santos muscled the Mystic Missile to the fifth position and held that spot until Ted Christopher passed him. Two laps later, Christopher drove wide into the corner, and Santos reclaimed the fifth position. Christopher passed him again the next lap.

Santos held onto the sixth spot until he drove into fifth place on lap 113. On lap 117, the first of many clean battles with Eric Beers began for the fifth spot. Beers worked to get around Santos on the inside but could not hold his car on the inside in the center of the corner. The two drivers continued to race hard and clean for the next four laps, until the caution came out on lap 131 for a spin on the backstretch. Sitting in fifth with championship contender Stefanik just in front of him, Santos focused on staying on Stefanik's back bumper.

The field went back to green with 15 laps to go, and Santos held the fifth spot, the position he needed to finish to win the championship even if Stefanik won the race. The seventh and final caution flag flew on lap 138. Santos radioed he still was battling problems with a tight racecar and was also struggling to get the car in gear on the restart. The team encouraged him to do what he has done all season and he would be fine. The restart came on lap 141, and Santos fell to the sixth position. With five laps to go, Santos held onto sixth with Stefanik in third. Points racing for the first time this season, Santos looked to the crew to get Beers, who sat behind him, to work with him. Beers complied, and Santos took home the sixth position, while Stefanik finished fourth.

The sixth-place finish was enough to clinch the 2010 NASCAR Whelen Modified Series Championship by 27 points. When the checkered flag dropped on winner Christopher, the Mystic Missile team leapt onto pit road and headed for the frontstretch. Still letting the championship sink in, Santos celebrated with the Mystic Missile team and his family while still in the car. A few short minutes later, Santos emerged to cheers from his team, family and fans. He received the Championship trophy, and he made sure to include everyone in his celebration. Santos took time to take pictures with the team, friends and family before meeting with the media to discuss the win.

"The season started off amazing," commented Santos. "The first three races seemed too good to be true. After that, we got tested a little bit to see how good we were. We had some strong top-fives throughout the middle of the season. We also had two blown motors and one bad crash. The team came back together. Bristol was a defining moment of the season. The guys on the pit crew did an awesome job fixing the brake problem on the car during the pit stop. We didn't lose a lap and had a top-five finish. Stafford was huge for us. We came back from the bad day at Loudon and got the win. That is what we needed today. We weren't perfect at Thompson. We ended the season with another top-10 finish, and that's what we did all year. I am just really excited that the No. 4 car and the Mystic Missile team did such a good job all year."

Santos became the first driver to win a championship in his first full NWMT season, and the Mystic Missile team celebrated their second championship in a row, third total. The Mystic Missile team completed the season with four wins, nine top-five and 11 top-10 finishes in their 14 starts.