BIRCH RUN, Mich. — Despite a litany of wild occurrences during a zany Friday night, the second Must See Racing Sprint Car Series visit of the year to Birch Run Speedway ended with a familiar result.
Bobby Santos III bounced back from a DNF in USAC Silver Crown Series competition one night earlier and landed in victory lane with his winged sprint car, despite a power outage, 45-minute red flag and a fierce charge from Jimmy McCune in a seven-lap sprint to the finish line.
Santos took the lead on lap 10 of 30 – during the restart after the night’s only stoppage – and paced the remaining distance for his third Must See Racing sprint car victory of the season and first since late April.
In victory lane, the Franklin, Mass., native stood next to his Beast Chassis race car and dedicated his win to the late Bobby East, who was tragically killed on July 13 in Westminster, Calif.
“This Beast Chassis was on rails when it counted tonight,” Santos said. “Bob and Janice (East) have always built fantastic race cars, but I think I had baby Beast (Bobby East) riding with me at the end there.
“We’re all thinking about them during this time, but I’m happy to get a Beast Chassis in victory lane tonight in their honor.”
Though East never competed with Must See Racing, he was a stalwart in open-wheel, short-track competition through the years, winning two USAC Silver Crown titles and a USAC midget championship.
Tom Jewell led the field to the green flag after a nine-car inversion, but it was outside pole-man Rick Holley who jumped out to the early lead and paced the first four circuits before Schultz roared from fifth starting spot to assume command of the field.
From there, Schultz led the next five laps and steadily pulled away from nis nearest pursuer, Bobby Santos III, before a red flag stoppage was needed on the ninth lap for a power outage in the control tower that knocked out the track’s electronic scoring system.
That interruption ended up being the turning point that led to Santos’ victory, as he jumped past Schultz on the outside when racing resumed after a 45-minute delay and never looked back again.
Despite a caution with seven circuits to go for a crash on the backstretch involving veteran Joe Speakman, Santos never relinquished control on the final restart and ultimately won by a half straightaway over five-time series champion Jimmy McCune in the end.
Even though the night was a bizarre one, with the power outage and other interruptions leading to a stop-and-start feel, Santos said afterward that he was never concerned with the quality of racing.
“The battles with Schultz and McCune were tough, but everyone with Must See and Birch Run kept their cools in what could have been a lot worse situation, with the power outage happening when it did,” Santos noted. “They’re good at running the radios and running the race, and as far as I’m concerned nothing was different from where I was sitting behind the wheel.
“I think we all felt comfortable and safe to continue on, and it definitely worked out in our favor,” he added. “It was crazy coming up through traffic; there were a lot of tough cars tonight, but we came here to win and I’m grateful we were able to do that.”
After starting 12th due to a broken nose wing during his qualifying run, McCune clawed his way through a gaggle of slower traffic to eventually end up with the runner-up honors in a remarkable comeback.
“This was a heck of a good run for us, considering everything,” McCune admitted. “It was just a lot of stupid things that set us back. We had a little oil leak in practice, the front wing broke during qualifying and then we just had to pull the suit up and drive from the back. We did some modifications for the feature to get everything working … and then my old man bet me a thousand bucks to win from the tail.
“We came up one spot short, but hopefully we put on a great show for all the fans that came out here.”
Kalamazoo winner Jason Blonde completed the podium ahead of Charlie Schultz and Joe Liguori, the two chief contenders for the season championship.
With their finishes Friday night, Schultz leaves Birch Run with a five-point lead over Liguori. Three races remain before the champion will be crowned at Pennsylvania’s Jennerstown Speedway in late August.
The finish:
Feature (30 laps): 1. Bobby Santos III [8], 2. Jimmy McCune [12], 3. Jason Blonde [7], 4. Charlie Schultz [6], 5. Joe Liguori [9], 6. Jacob Dolinar [4], 7. Rick Holley [2], 8. Ryan Litt [5], 9. Tom Jewell [1], 10. Adam Biltz [3], 11. Tom Geren [13], 12. Todd McQuillen [11], 13. Teddy Alberts [15], 14. Kevin Feeney [16], 15. Joshua Sexton [10], 16. Joe Speakman [14], 17. Jeff Bloom (DNS).