Robert Santos III (born October 3, 1985) is an American professional racing driver from Franklin, Massachusetts. He graduated in 2004 from
Tri-County Regional Vocational Technical High School. Santos, nicknamed "Bobby New England", is the grandson of Bobby Santos, a former
modified racer. His sister,
Erica Santos, is also a racecar driver. He is the cousin of former
University of New Hampshire
The University of New Hampshire (UNH) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Durham, New Hampshire. It was founded and incorporated in 1866 as a land grant college in Hanover in connection with Dartmouth College, m ...
quarterback
Ricky Santos.
Early career
Before stock cars, Santos was a successful
midget racer. He raced in the
Northeastern Midget Association,
USAC,
PRA Big Car, and
ISMA. He had the most wins of any driver in the USAC National Midget Tour in 2006, collecting five wins, including a win at
O'Reilly Raceway Park
Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park (formerly Indianapolis Raceway Park, O'Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis, and Lucas Oil Raceway) is an auto racing facility in Brownsburg, Indiana, United States, about northwest of downtown Indianapolis. I ...
on the
Night Before the 500
The Dave Steele Carb Night Classic is a United States Auto Club dirt track car race held near Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, which takes place in late May before the Indianapolis 500 at the nearby Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Over its his ...
. He was signed to
Bill Davis Racing
Bill Davis Racing was a racing team that participated in all three of NASCAR's top divisions until 2009.
The team had run Toyota-branded stock cars and trucks in the Camping World Truck Series (Toyota Tundra) since 2004 and Sprint Cup Series ( T ...
.
ARCA career
In 2006, Santos made his stock car debut at
Iowa Speedway
Iowa Speedway is a 7/8-mile (1.4 km) paved oval motor racing track in Newton, Iowa, United States, approximately east of Des Moines. It has over 25,000 permanent seats as well as a unique multi-tiered RV viewing area along the backstretc ...
for Bill Davis Racing in the #02
Dodge. He started 10th and finished 6th. Bobby returned to ARCA in 2007 for Bill Davis, now in a
Toyota Camry
The Toyota Camry (; Japanese: トヨタ・カムリ ''Toyota Kamuri'') is an automobile sold internationally by the Japanese auto manufacturer Toyota since 1982, spanning multiple generations. Originally compact in size (narrow-body), the Camry ...
. He won Toyota's first stock car pole at
USA International Speedway
The USA International Speedway was an oval located near Lakeland, Florida, United States, that opened in 1995. The track was a .75-mile-long concrete paved oval with 14° banked turns. USA International Speedway was closed with the final race on A ...
in
Lakeland, Florida
Lakeland is the most populous city in Polk County, Florida, part of the Tampa Bay Area, located along Interstate 4 east of Tampa. According to the 2020 U.S. Census Bureau release, the city had a population of 112,641. Lakeland is a principal ci ...
. While leading the race, he was involved in an incident with a lapped car and did not finish. He returned at
Nashville Superspeedway
Nashville Superspeedway is a motor racing complex located in Gladeville, Tennessee, United States (though the track has a Lebanon postal address), about southeast of Nashville. The track was built in 2001 and is currently hosting the Ally 400, ...
, but had a mid-pack run. At
Kansas Speedway
Kansas Speedway is a tri-oval race track in the Village West area near Kansas City, Kansas, United States. It was built in 2001 and it currently hosts two annual NASCAR race weekends. The IndyCar Series also held races at the venue until 20 ...
, Bobby started second, but a blown engine relegated him to another DNF. Santos broke his dry spell at
Kentucky Speedway when he started fourth and finished third, behind
Erik Darnell
Erik Darnell (born December 2, 1982) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He is the grandson of former USAC and NASCAR driver Bay Darnell, who also started three NASCAR races (including one for Holman Moody). Darnell formerly dr ...
and
Erin Crocker. Santos placed third in the next race at Kentucky, as well. The third-generation racer won a pole at
Pocono Raceway in early August and qualified fifth at
Talladega Superspeedway
Talladega Superspeedway, nicknamed “'Dega”, and formerly named Alabama International Motor Speedway (AIMS) from 1969 to 1989, is a motorsports complex located north of Talladega, Alabama. It is located on the former Anniston Air Force Base ...
, but was unable to back up either with a strong finish.
NASCAR career
In 2007, Santos made his NASCAR Busch Series debut at
Richmond International Raceway
Richmond Raceway (RR) is a , ''D''-shaped, asphalt race track located just outside Richmond, Virginia in unincorporated Henrico County. It hosts the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Known as ...
for the new
Riley D'Hondt Motorsports team. He qualified seventh in his #91 Toyota but faded back to a thirtieth-place finish after running in the top 10 at the beginning of the race. He also qualified fourth for the Camping World 200 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and was running in the top 10 before being hit by a lapped car. He ran two additional races for RDHM but did not finish better than 30th.
Santos has also participated in the
Whelen Modified Tour
The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour (NWMT) (previously the NASCAR Winston Modified Tour and NASCAR Featherlite Modified Series from 1985 until 2005) is a modified stock car racing series owned and operated by NASCAR in the Modified Division. The Mod ...
, collecting his first two wins at
Thompson International Speedway in October 2007, and the Ice Breaker, also at
Thompson International Speedway, in April 2010. He parlayed his season-opening Icebreaker win into the 2010
Whelen Modified Tour
The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour (NWMT) (previously the NASCAR Winston Modified Tour and NASCAR Featherlite Modified Series from 1985 until 2005) is a modified stock car racing series owned and operated by NASCAR in the Modified Division. The Mod ...
championship, collecting a total of four wins and four poles on the season.
Santos ran the 2011 Nationwide Series opener for
Jimmy Means
James Means (born May 29, 1950) is a retired American racing driver and owner, who competed in the Winston Cup Series as an owner-driver. He is currently an adviser for Front Row Motorsports and owns his own team, Jimmy Means Racing.
He compe ...
in what was a back-up
JR Motorsports car after wrecking the 52 in practice; the Earnhardt family has a long friendship with the independent owner and former driver. Santos finished 17th after vowing to run the race in its entirety.
Current career
![USACSilverCrown22BobbySantos2018Madison](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a3/USACSilverCrown22BobbySantos2018Madison.jpg)
After his stint in stock car racing, Santos returned to his roots, racing the full NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour for Bob Garbarino's Mystic Missile Racing team and a limited schedule in all three USAC divisions. Santos also made select appearances in the NEMA ranks in 2009. Santos' post-NASCAR career has been highlighted by wins in many of the nation's largest midget races, including the
Turkey Night Grand Prix
The Automotive Racing Products Turkey Night Grand Prix is an annual race of midget cars. It is the third oldest race in the United States behind the Indianapolis 500 and the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. It has been held on Thanksgiving nig ...
and
Copper World Classic. He also won the 2020 Little 500 USAC Sprint car race at
Anderson Speedway
Anderson Speedway is a quarter mile (400 m) high-banked paved oval racetrack in Anderson, Indiana, United States.
The track hosts the annual Little 500 sprint car race and the Redbud 400 stock car race. Weekly racing features several stock ca ...
.
He will drive part-time in the NASCAR
Nationwide Series
The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to a ...
in 2012 for
Tommy Baldwin Racing
Tommy Baldwin Racing is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the modified ranks. The team is based in Mooresville, North Carolina, and is owned by former crew chief Tommy Baldwin Jr., son of the late modified ...
and will continue to compete on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour behind the wheel of the Tinio Corporation No. 44.
Santos registered back-to-back
Musket 250
The Musket 250 is a NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The Whelen Modified Series has been racing since September 2, 1990. This race was originally 125 laps, but in 1997 was reduced to 100 laps. This race was held d ...
wins in 2019 and 2020.
Motorsports career results
NASCAR
(
key) (
Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. ''Italics'' – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)
Nationwide Series
Camping World Truck Series
Ineligible for series points
Whelen Modified Tour
ARCA Re/Max Series
(
key) (
Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. ''Italics'' – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)
Superstar Racing Experience
(
key)
* – Most laps led. 1 – Heat 1 winner. 2 – Heat 2 winner.
Season still in progress
References
External links
*
Bobby Santosat USAC Racing
{{DEFAULTSORT:Santos, Bobby III
Living people
1985 births
People from Franklin, Massachusetts
Racing drivers from Massachusetts
NASCAR drivers
ARCA Menards Series drivers
USAC Silver Crown Series drivers