NOTEBOOK: Bobby Santos III reunites with Boehler Racing Enterprises to drive Ole Blue at Oswego

The famous Boehler Racing Enterprises Ole Blue No. 3 will have a different driver behind the wheel for Saturday‘s NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Toyota Mod Classic 150 at New York’s Oswego Speedway.

It just so happens to be a driver who has a bit of history with Ole Blue.

Bobby Santos III, who drove for Boehler Racing Enterprises during the 2007 season and scored his first Modified Tour victory with the team at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park, will be at the wheel Saturday night at Oswego.

Santos replaces Jake Johnson, who drove the No. 3 during the first 10 races of the season before departing the team earlier this week.

RELATED: Full entry list for Saturday’s race at Oswego

“It was (the Johnson family’s) decision to back away,” said team owner Michael Boehler. “I think between the wreck at Thompson and him starting his senior year at college next week and then going on to further education after that, it was just something they decided to do as a family.”

With Johnson at the wheel, Boehler Racing Enterprises has enjoyed its best season in years with the Modified Tour. The team opened the year with three top fives in the first four races, including a win at New Hampshire‘s Monadnock Speedway. In all, the team has earned three top fives and eight top 10s to go along with the victory.

However, two of the team‘s last three races have resulted in finishes outside the top 10. That includes the most recent event at Thompson, where Johnson retired early due to a crash just past the halfway point.

Boehler is hopeful Santos will help the team right the ship this weekend at Oswego, a track where Santos has ample experience in multiple divisions.

“Bobby is first class,” Boehler said. “Obviously our families have known each other 40-plus years, so way back. With him driving for us in the past and even getting a win back in ‘07 and all his experience in open-wheel (racing), I don‘t know of any other driver in the Northeast who has as much experience as he does with all the types of open-wheel racing he‘s done.

“To have his talent behind the wheel, we‘re very excited, and the guys are excited. We‘re going to go do the best we can and try to get another win.”

Santos was already going to be at Oswego Speedway this weekend, as he had plans to compete in Sunday‘s annual International Classic for Supermodifieds, the track’s most prestigious event of the season.

When Boehler reached out to Santos to ask if he wanted to drive Ole Blue on Saturday, Santos said it was an easy yes.

“Mike sent me a text and said, ‘You‘re running the super at Classic weekend, right?‘ I said yeah, and he called me,” Santos said. “Obviously I was going to be there. I had no plans to race Saturday; I was just going up there for the super this year.

“I was looking forward to relaxing, but an opportunity to drive the No. 3 car is an opportunity you don‘t say no to.”

Santos, a 38-year-old from Franklin, Massachusetts, is perhaps one of the most skilled open-wheel competitors in the United States. He‘s raced and won in nearly every style of race car he‘s driven, including on the Modified Tour.

His 19 career victories are tied for 12th on the all-time Modified Tour win list, and he captured the 2010 series championship while driving Bob Garbarino‘s No. 4 Mystic Missile.

Santos is looking forward to a homecoming of sorts with the Boehler team Saturday. It‘ll also double as a chance for his children to see him driving the car that helped launch his racing career.

“It‘s pretty wild thinking that‘s literally almost 20 years since I last drove that car,” Santos said. “It‘s pretty neat because my kids have the toy modifieds, and I think one of them is the No. 3 car. We‘ve told them that I‘ve driven that car, and they don‘t understand or see the significance at this point.

“They know what cars I drive the last handful of years since they‘ve been around. For them to actually see me driving that car is pretty cool.”

Beyond Oswego, Boehler is still working on figuring out who will drive the No. 3 for the remainder of the Modified Tour season. Santos said that, should his schedule allow, he‘d love to drive Ole Blue again after Oswego.

For now, however, Santos is only scheduled to race at Oswego. Both parties hope the homecoming results in a trip to Victory Lane.

Busy week leads Andy Jankowiak to Oswego

It‘s been a busy week for veteran racer Andy Jankowiak.

On Monday, Jankowiak was at Martinsville Speedway to take part in a test session ahead of the inaugural oval event for the Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup. He took part in several simulated races that were designed to help drivers and teams adjust to racing the spec cars, which have up until now only been raced on road courses.

He was joined at the test by series regulars like Jeremy Flecher, Jared Thomas and Nate Cicero, as well as Late Model Stock competitors like Brandon Pierce and Chad McCumbee.

Once the test was complete, Jankowiak hit the road to travel back home to New York so he could race Jody Lauzon‘s No. 00 Modified during Saturday‘s Toyota Mod Classic 150 at Oswego Speedway.

Saturday‘s race will mark Jankowiak‘s fourth start with the Modified Tour this season and second of his career with the series at Oswego. One season ago, he started 11th and finished 13th at Oswego.

This year in three starts, Jankowiak has one top-10 finish, a seventh-place run at the Lancaster Motorplex on Aug. 3.

Modified championship battle intensifies

For the first time all season, there is a new driver atop the Modified Tour championship standings.

That man is Justin Bonsignore, who holds a four-point advantage on Ron Silk ahead of Saturday‘s Toyota Mod Classic 150 at Oswego Speedway.

Bonsignore claimed the championship lead after the most recent event at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park, where he finished second. Silk, who had led the standings since the opening race of the year at New Smyrna Speedway in February, finished seventh that night.

Consistency has allowed Bonsignore to gain a foothold at the top of the standings. He hasn‘t finished worse than seventh all season in Ken Massa‘s No. 51, whereas Silk has finished 10th three different times. Bonsignore also has more top fives with eight; Silk has six.

Oswego should serve as an even battle ground for the two would-be title contenders. Both men have two wins at the track, with Silk winning there in 2021 and 2023, and Bonsignore scoring wins in 2019 and 2022.

From a statistical viewpoint, Bonsignore might have a slight edge. In eight starts at the track, he has finished outside the top five just twice. Silk has three top fives in six starts.