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Phoenix, Ariz……..Bobby Santos III of Franklin, Mass. emerged the winner of Thursday night’s 25-mile USAC National/Western Midget race at the 34th “Copper World Classic” at Phoenix International Raceway. Santos wrested the lead from Bryan Clauson on lap 23, then slipped behind Clauson at the white flag. On the final lap Clauson slid high in turn three and Santos went on to the win in his Santos Motorsports Beast/Esslinger Ford. Pole starter Bobby East finished second ahead of Alex Bowman, Brad Kuhn and Cole Whitt. Kuhn extended his National point lead to 40 points over Brad Sweet, who finished 14th, while Western Midget point leader Garrett Hansen finished 24th in Thursday’s race. East led the first seven laps and Clauson led the next 15 before the final three lap dramatics.
PLUS……Bobby finished 7th in the K & N USAC SILVER CROWN CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES RACE: November 12, 2009 – Phoenix, Arizona – Phoenix International Raceway – 34th “Copper World Classic”
FEATURE: (100 Laps) 1. Cole Whitt, 2. Kody Swanson, 3. Tracy Hines, 4. A.J. Fike, 5. Levi Jones, 6. Tyler Walker, 7. Bobby Santos III, 8. Bud Kaeding, 9. Jason Leffler, 10. Coleman Gullick, 11. Jerry Coons Jr., 12. Shane Hmiel, 13. Todd Wanless, 14. Jacob Wilson, 15. Ryan Smith, 16. Bryan Clauson (#8), 17. Josh Wise, 18. Bobby East, 19. Cameron Dodson, 20. Brian Tyler, 21. Scott Pierovich. 59:33.234
Congratulations to Bobby and His Team!
Posted by Roury Williams / The Post-Standard September 02, 2009 4:53PM
Supermodified team owner John Nicotra has two solid cars and two proven drivers going into Classic Weekend at Oswego Speedway.
He might have a third in both categories.
His team already has track champion Otto Sitterly and former Classic winner Davey Hamilton in the blue No. 6 and No. 7 supermodifieds. Now they are working to prepare a third car that was recently purchased for next season’s racing. If they can get it ready for this weekend, they’ll go for it.
“If everything goes good, like we hope, we’re going to bring three cars for two drivers on Friday,” Nicotra said. “At the end of Friday’s practice, once I figure out which two cars we want, there might be a third car available for somebody to get into, maybe Saturday morning.”
The “new” car has actually run in two races, including last year’s Classic, finishing third with DJ Shullick at the wheel. Nicotra said it has been “stripped to nothing and put back together. When it hits the track it’s going to be anybody’s guess. I have all the faith and confidence in Otto and his crew, but there are a lot of unknowns.”
Nicotra said it was too early to say who might drive the car, but “Bobby Santos is at the top of my list. I have talked to Bobby but we don’t have any deal in place. It’s just in the early stages of talking, but Otto and I are both impressed with Bobby’s talent. At this point, I would say that he would be our pick, if we get that far and he’s available.”
Santos, 23, is an up-and-coming driver from Franklin, Mass. He has won races in all three USAC divisions this season and has raced supermodifieds. On Aug. 6, he finished 17th in a USAC Silver Crown event at Oswego.
Nicotra emphasized that Sitterly and Hamilton are his priorities. “My main concern is my two drivers. Everything after that comes second. If I’ve got to let a third car sit there with nobody (to drive it), I’ve got no problem with that at all.”
“Who’s to say how competitive it’s going to be? If it’s not competitive, we’re not going to put someone in there to run 10th. If we’re not in the ballpark, we’ll just load it up and bring it out next year. We bought this car for next year. It’s just kind of a bonus that it happened just before the Classic. It really has nothing to do with this year’s Classic.”
With the world of big time NASCAR readying to descend upon Indianapolis Motor Speedway this weekend for the Allstate 400, it was a young Massachusetts driver making his own history down the road from the big track at O’Reilly Raceway Park in Clermont, Ind. on Thursday evening.
Bobby Santos III picked up his first USAC Silver Crown victory Thursday and did it in impressive fashion, running away from the field to cruise easily to the win in the J.D. Byrider 100 at O’Reilly Raceway Park.
Santos, of Franklin, Mass., became the first driver this season to win all three USAC divisions, Silver Crowns, Midgets and Sprints.
“It means a ton,” the 23-year old Santos told the packed crowd at O’Reilly Raceway Park, formerly Indianapolis Raceway Park.
Silver Crown veteran Bobby East ended up a distant second to Santos.
Santos went to the inside of East on Lap 23 to take over second and then took the lead from Chet Fillip five laps later.
Santos ended up lapping most of the field and held more than a half a straightaway lead for most of the final 60-laps of the caution-free 100-lap race.
Santos finished second to Bryan Clauson in the 30-lap Midget event at the track Thursday. Santos has two USAC Sprint Car victories and two USAC Midget victories this season
7/24/2009 by Shawn Courchesne - The Backstretch
