(Stafford Springs, CT)---The last time the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour made a visit to Stafford Speedway, Bobby Santos, III put his #44 Tinio Corp. car on pole and he led the first 117 of the race’s 125 laps before getting passed by Doug Coby and settling for second.  Santos is coming off a victory in the USAC Silver Crown Series J.D. Byrider 100 at Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis last Thursday night and he is looking forward to getting back to Stafford Speedway after his second place finish in May.

“Any race you can win definitely gives you confidence and momentum going into the next race,” said Santos.  “I’m definitely excited to run the next Tour race and I’m looking forward to Stafford.  It’s a track that has treated me pretty well the last couple of years, so we’re definitely looking forward to the race this Friday.  The run we had last time at Stafford has everyone on the team excited about coming back to Stafford.  Everyone was real happy with what we did back in May and we’re hoping we can do a little better this time around and get to where we want to be.”

For Santos, the TSI Harley-Davidson 125 in May wasn’t all roses.  During practice, Santos’ car was a mid-pack car, but some fast thinking and changes on his car enabled him to take pole position and nearly win the race.

“In May we weren’t the best car off the trailer in practice, I think we were around 12th or 15th, but my crew chief, Stevie Lemay, made a couple of awesome changes on the car which allowed me to get quick time in qualifying,” said Santos.  “I think this time around, we should be stout right off the trailer with some notes to work off where we had no notes last time.  Who knows, it could be a totally different race track when we come back this Friday and we’ll have to adjust to the conditions of the day.  We have some really smart guys on the team and I’m confident we’ll have a good car again.”

Santos is also eager to make up for the sting of winning the pole and leading the first 117 laps of the May race before getting passed by Doug Coby and having to settle for second place at the end of the race.

“With the racer in me, nothing is worse than leaving a race and getting beat,” said Santos.  “I think if we had come from the back, or if we hadn’t led the whole race, it probably would have felt a little better.  I have to give Doug [Coby] credit for that, he was strong at the end of that race.  But it was a strong run for us, I feel like we can be just as competitive as we were last time and challenge again.  The way the competition is now, we could end up going back and being a 10th place car, but I’m confident that with the guys we have on the team we can go back and do it again.”

Tickets for the 22nd Annual Stafford 150 are available and on sale now at the Speedway Box Office.  Tickets are priced at $33.00 for adult general admission tickets, $5.00 for children ages 6-14, and children ages 5 and under are admitted free of charge when accompanied by an adult. Reserved seating will be priced at $35.00 for all ages.  All ticket prices include 10% CT Admission Tax.  As always, Stafford Motor Speedway offers free parking with overnight parking available.

For more information, contact the Stafford Motor Speedway track office at 860-684-2783 or visit us on the web at www.staffordspeedway.com.