WATERFORD, CT - Bobby Santos followed Donny Lia for much of the first half of Saturday night's race. But Santos wasn't content to finish second.<br />
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So Santos, from Franklin, MA, wrestled the lead away and went on to claim the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour victory in the Mr. Rooter 161 at Waterford Speedbowl in Waterford, CT.<br />
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It was Santos' second win of the season and 12th of his career. It was his first tour win at Waterford, the fourth different track he's registered a victory at during his Whelen Modified Tour tenure.<br />
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A green-white-checkered finish pushed the race to 165 laps. Lia, who earlier in the night won the Coors Light Pole Award, finished second.<br />
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Ted Christopher rallied back to finish third. Justin Bonsignore and Patrick Emerling were fourth and fifth, respectively.<br />
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Defending race winner and tour champion Ryan Preece finished sixth, followed by Woody Pitkat, Keith Rocco, Ron Yuhas, Jr. and Doug Coby.<br />
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What proved to be the eventual winning move for Santos in his No. 44 Tinio Racing/ImperialCars.com Chevrolet came on lap 133. Santos dove under Lia through turn 3, and with some contact, came out of turn 4 will the lead thanks to his "bottom shot."<br />
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"We had a great car," Santos said. "I followed Donny (Lia) the whole first half of the race and I tried multiple times to pass him as clean as could be. He roughed me up a little bit I felt like, and I just saved it until the end of the race when it counted."<br />
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The runner-up effort for Lia was his best finish through four races this year. He seemed to take some exception to Santos' winning move, however.<br />
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"We just got a little free and Bobby's (Santos) car was just better than ours there at the end," Lia said. "There were a couple things there
Bobby Santos scored his 12th career NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour victory Saturday night at Waterford Speedbowl. / Photo: Darren McCollester/Getty Images for NASCAR
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