It’s fair to say if there’s a Tour Type Modified event going on at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Bobby Santos III will be looking to find a way to get there.
Santos has won five of the last seven NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour events in Loudon including last year’s Musket 200 in September. The Musket 200 win in 2020 was Santos’ second consecutive victory in the event driving for team owner Dave Sapienza. Of Santos’ 19 career Whelen Modified Tour victories six have come on the 1.058-mile New Hampshire Motor Speedway oval.
For the 2021 season Santos will run selected Whelen Modified Tour events again for Sapienza and he will also reunite with Tinio Motorsports to run selected Tour Type Open Modified events.
“What’s going on at Thompson [Speedway with the new Outlaw Open Modified Series] definitely struck their interest again,” Santos said of the Tinio Motorsports team during Episode 89 of Unmuffled. “I think them taking a little time off and regrouping and I guess missing out on the racing the last couple years, I think they missed it and just decided they wanted to do it some more. We had a lot of fun racing with those guys and always enjoyed it. … I’m looking forward to racing with them again. We had fun and the fact that races are in their backyard at Thompson you know kind of put the fire in them to do it again.”
Santos plans to run the $10,000 to win Icebreaker Tour Type Modified event on April 11 at Thompson Speedway for Tinio Motorsports.
The second event the team plans to run is the inaugural Northeast Classic at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on April 17. The event, put on in partnership by the American-Canadian Tour and Pro All Stars Series, will feature a 50-lap, $5,000 to win Tour Type Open Modified feature. Santos won three consecutive Whelen Modified Tour events for the Tinio Motorsports team at Loudon, winning both events at the track for the organization in 2017 and also the July event in 2018.
“I’m actually really looking forward to Loudon in April,” Santos said. “I don’t know much about that event, but I know they’re running Modifieds at Loudon so I’m excited for that.”
To hear plenty more from Santos on his plans for 2021 in a Modified and beyond subscribe to the RaceDayCT Insider program. For $5 a month you’ll have access to all of our weekly podcasts including the previous library of episodes.
Well, guess I’m going to pick my winner now. Of course Bobby Santo III. Pretty hard to bet against the man given his record.
I do hope that BSIII’s dad runs the operation.
He is unbelievable behind the wheel, can’t wait to watch him race more in the northeast this year.
I was hoping BSIII would be in Sapienza equipment. Sap can tell the difference between SK and Tour Type mods.