Milwaukee Mile race summary

SANTOS CONTINUES HOT STREAK, BLAZES TO TOYOTA USAC MIDGET CLASSIC 25 WIN

Milwaukee, Wis. (July 21, 2006) Bobby Santos III out-dueled Billy Wease to score the victory in the TOYOTA USAC Midget Classic 25 Saturday afternoon at The Milwaukee Mile.  It was his fourth victory in the ten USAC National Midget Series this season.

New track record-holder Santos and Wease led the field to green, with Santos edging past to lead lap one.  A quick spin involving David Byrne in turn two, quickly placed the field under the yellow flag.

Wease was quick on his marks for the restart and he dove to the inside, taking command of the race from Santos, from Franklin, Mass., as racing resumed. Behind the lead duo, Dave Darland, Brad Loyet, and David Steele staged a duel of their own for third place while Jerry Coons Jr. and Cole Carter also sliced their way forward.

The second and final caution flag of the event flew on lap six when Brad Kuhn slowed to a halt on the backstretch.

Wease, of Noblesville, Ind., got a great jump on the ensuing restart, streaking away to a sizeable advantage over Santos as racing resumed.  However, as the laps began to click away, Santos gradually reduced the distance between himself and the leader, drawing to Wease’s rear bumper by lap ten.

As Santos closed, Wease began to widen his line on the exit of the nine degree-banked turns.  Santos looked inside on several occasions, with Wease holding the lead off the corners.  looked the inside numerous times before lining up the pass with a dart to the inside of Wease heading into turn one on lap 11.

Once out front, Santos extended his lead, racing uncontested over the final half to score the convincing win.

“I knew I had a good car,” Santos declared from victory lane. “25 laps is a long race and I knew I had to be patient.  I took my time and waited until just the right time to pass before making my move.”

Wease settled for a second place finish while Darland turned back the challenges of Loyet to finish third.  Steele rallied late for a fifth place finish ahead of Jerry Coons Jr and Cole Carter. Darren Hagen, Jay Drake, and Tom Hessert III completed the top ten finishers.

-the milwaukee mile