From David Sink
BAKERSFIELD, CA (November 9, 2019) — Bobby Santos III avoided a near disaster and captured his seventh consecutive King of the Wing feature Saturday night at Kern County Raceway Park in Bakersfield, California in front of a healthy crowd. The seven race streak dates back to 2018.
Santos III started in the sixth position 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 III took command of the event on lap 13.
On lap 15 near disaster struck for Santos III. 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 III went on to capture his second consecutive George “Ziggy” Snider Classic. Following Santos III across the stripe were Eric Humphries and Audra Sasselli rounding out the top three.
In victory lane, Santos III indicated the early race incident could have potentially cost him the race. ”The lapped cars were a little tricky this year” explained Santos III. ”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” concluded Santos III.
Santos III 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 in the Las Angeles area tomorrow afternoon.
George “Ziggy” Snider Classic
King of the Wing Sprint Car Series
Kern County Motorsports Park
Bakersfield, CA
Saturday November 9, 2019
Feature:
1. 22A – Bobby Santos III
2. 15 – Eric Humphries
3. 77 – Audra Sasselli
4. 12A – Ron Larson
5. 12 – Cameron Neisinger
6. 02 – Anthony Quintana
7. 12B – Monty Bergener
8. 68 – Mike Anderson
9. 2 – Austin Carter
10. 22 – Richard Larson
11. 4 – Alan Beck
12. 45 – Justin Kawahata
13. 11 – Mike Straub
14. 46 – Justin Segura
15. 7 – AJ Russell
DNS 43 – Kyle Bergener