Bobby Santos, III was able to propel himself into a contender for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Championship for 2014 by winning a number of races this season including the Sunoco 100 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (Credit: NHMS photo)

By Lou Modestino

With three wins already in the books as the 2014 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season reaches the halfway point this week, Bobby Santos looks to be firmly entrenched in the championship chase.

Santos, from Franklin, Massachusetts, took down win No. 3 last week at New Hampshire Motor Speedway to move within just two tallies of points leader Doug Coby. Had Coby not been second across the “Magic Mile” finish line, Santos might have even had the points lead heading to Monadnock Speedway for this week’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 200.

The season got off to an inauspicious start for Santos and the No. 44 Tinio Racing team. In the opener at their home track, Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park, the team finished eight laps down in 18th following mid-race issues. The bounce-back was immediate, however, and perhaps the key to being where they are now. Santos drove to Victory Lane the very next time out at Stafford Motor Speedway and their season was quickly back on track.

A Santos win at Stafford was not a surprise – six of his now 13 total victories have been earned there – but subsequent triumphs at Waterford Speedbowl and NHMS were firsts for both driver and team. With wins together at tracks where five of the remaining eight scheduled races are to be held, Santos and the Tinio crew have to feel confident about their championship chances in the season’s second half.

The next challenge will come on Saturday at Monadnock, a track that Tinio Racing has yet to compete at. Santos turned in finishes of fifth and 15th there with Mystic Missile Racing in 2010 and 2011, but the Tinio No. 44 has skipped the event the two previous seasons. They’ll likely need a top performance to stay with Coby in points; Coby was the runner-up at Monadnock in each of the last two years, and the No. 2 team that he now drives for won there in 2011.

RACE: O’Reilly Auto Parts 200

PLACE: Monadnock Speedway, Winchester, N.H.

DATE: Saturday, July 19

TIME: 8:30 p.m. ET

TRACK LAYOUT: .25-mile, banked asphalt oval

2013 POLESITTER: Eric Goodale

2013 WINNER: Justin Bonsignore

EVENT SCHEDULE: Practice 1:30-2:30 p.m., Qualifying 4 p.m., Driver Autograph Session 6 p.m.