IVERNESS, Fla. — Bobby Santos III confirmed on Thursday that he intends to compete in the upcoming “Children’s Dream Fund 50” at Citrus County Speedway on March 2.
The $10,000-to-win event will be a co-sanctioned venture between the Must See Racing Series Presented by Perfit and the BG Products Southern Sprint Car Shootout Series.
Santos originally had no plans to compete in the event due to his busy schedule preparing his sprint cars and USAC Silver Crown car for the upcoming season. He is in the process of building a new car.
When he saw the promotion of the event and the drivers who were entering, it caused him to change his plans.
“When I saw some of the guys who had already entered, it got my attention,” explained Santos. “We enjoy running events that feature the best competition possible. When I saw Aaron Willison, Troy DeCaire, Davey (Hamilton Jr.) and Jimmy McCune had entered, I started to become interested in doing this race.
“My DJ Racing car owner Dick Fieler and I are always talking about running the races with the best drivers and competition. There are some good drivers in Florda that I haven’t had the chance to race with yet. Colton Bettis is a really good young driver I’m looking forward to racing against. He’s done a good job lately and I’ve been paying attention to what he has been doing.
“I was 13 when I got my start so I can relate to everything he’s doing.”
Santos has been one of the best winged asphalt drivers in the country for the past five seasons.
Dating back to 2019, he was undefeated in West Coast races until last Decembers $50,000-to-win Davey Hamilton Jr’s Open Wheel Showdown. He finished second to Aaron Willison and still brought home $20,000 for his efforts.
He also found victory lane with Must See Racing last season.
When it was announced last week that the “Children’s Dream Fund 50” will now pay $10,000 to win, that might have been the final piece of the puzzle that pushed Santos to enter.
“I think it’s great that Must See Racing and the Southern Sprint Car Shootout Series are working together on this race. We need more series to come together like this and work together. It’s only gonna help grow the sport. Cooperation between other series is good for everybody at the end of the day,” Santos started.
“It’s nice that us pavement guys are starting to get some really good paying races. Jim Hanks and JJ Dutton have done a really good job putting this race together. It seems dirt guys have $5,000 to win races regularly. It just shows the sport is growing because we’re starting to see some bigger paying races. It would really be a good start to our season to come out of Florida with a win.
“I’m looking forward to this race,” concluded Santos.