BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — Bobby Santos III avoided a near disaster and captured his seventh consecutive King of the Wing feature victory Saturday night at Kern County Raceway Park.
The seven-race streak dates back to 2018.
Santos started sixth and remained patient in the early laps of the race. After taking the third position away from Audra Sasselli, Santos III then set his sights on early race leader Justin Kawahata. Santos took command of the event on lap 13.
On lap 15 near disaster struck for Santos. While entering turn one, he made contact with a lapped car. Santos III got sideways, and in the process, lost momentum and rhythm as well. Kawahata took advantage of the situation and regained the lead.
Santos III quickly recovered and regained the lead on lap 20. Santos went on to capture his second consecutive George “Ziggy” Snider Classic. Following Santos across the stripe were Eric Humphries and Audra Sasselli.
“The lapped cars were a little tricky this year,” explained Santos. “The track seemed a little narrow this year. I was being extra patient and struggled with a lapped car. We were still on the lead lap. I had to regroup and go after it. We had a great car and I just gotta thank the team for it. Another win tomorrow will make this trip all worth it.”
Santos was the evenings quick qualifier with a lap of 15.537 seconds around the high-banked half-mile asphalt oval. Heat wins went to Santos III and Austin Carter.
With his second-place finish, Eric Humphries is all but assured a second consecutive King of the Wing title.
The series will close out the 2019 season with a Sunday afternoon visit to Irwindale Speedway.
The finish:
Bobby Santos III, Eric Humphries, Audra Sasselli, Ron Larson, Cameron Neisinger, Anthony Quintana, Monty Bergener, Mike Anderson, Austin Carter, Richard Larson, Alan Beck, Justin Kawahata, Mike Straub, Justin Segura, A.J. Russell, Kyle Bergener.