SOUTH AMHERST, Ohio — A late-race caution afforded Bobby Santos III the chance to strike in Friday night’s Must See Racing Engine Pro Sprint Car Series feature at Lorain Raceway Park, and the Massachusetts veteran resoundingly seized the moment.
Santos powered around the outside of a dominant Davey Hamilton Jr. when the green flag waved with 10 laps left, then drove away into the night en route to victory during the opening act of the Super Crown Nationals at the three-eighths-mile oval.
The past NASCAR modified champion captured the checkered flag by .958 seconds over Hamilton, winning for the seventh time in his Must See Racing career in a race that appeared to be Hamilton’s for the taking.
Hamilton, a third-generation driver from Tampa, Fla., roared to the top spot on lap five of the 40-lapper and appeared to be in control for the majority of the night. He opened up a lead of more than a half track on Santos, who started 10th after the inversion die was rolled, by the midway point of the race.
However, what Hamilton couldn’t have foreseen was the mechanical issue that befell 2020 series champion Anthony McCune with 10 to go, forcing the only caution flag of the night and setting up a double-file restart with Santos on the high side and motivated to make something happen.
He did just that, ultimately collecting the king’s crown in victory lane for his first victory at Lorain.
“When the caution came out, I knew that was my only shot,” noted Santos. “Davey and his boys did an awesome job; they were the car to beat. We just got a good restart and got the clean air at the end when it mattered.
“Coop and Tony worked their butts off … because we weren’t always where we needed to be today, but we got the job done when we needed to,” he added. “The track was tough all night and it was hard to pass, but we proved there were two lanes because we started 10th and won, so that’s pretty cool.”
Though Hamilton was disappointed at falling short of the win after leading a race-high 26 laps, he was quick to give credit to Santos and circled the one aspect of his performance that he knows needs work.
“I need to get better on my restarts; I’m the one that’s responsible for this second-place finish,” Hamilton admitted. “The guys did a great job with this piece; it was capable of winning tonight, for sure. Bobby’s the man to beat, though, no matter where he goes.
“To run second to him is good, but I think we deserve one spot better and can get there soon enough.”
Five-time series champion Jimmy McCune completed the podium finishers ahead of point leader Jason Blonde and Mike McVetta, who finished fifth after winning the ISMA/MSS supermodified feature earlier in the night.
The finish:
Feature (40 laps): 1. 22a-Bobby Santos III [10], 2. 14-Davey Hamilton Jr. [5], 3. 88-Jimmy McCune [6], 4. 42-Jason Blonde [4], 5. 50m-Mike McVetta [9], 6. 9s-Charlie Schultz [7], 7. 2k-Todd McQuillen [3], 8. 7-Bobby Komisarski [16], 9. 72s-Joe Speakman [15], 10. Z10-Kevin Mingus [13], 11. 51s-Joshua Sexton [12], 12. 8-Anthony McCune [8], 13. 36jr-J.J. Henes [1], 14. 40-Sawyer Stout [11], 15. 11g-Tom Geren [2], 16. 28-Jeff Bloom [14].