Bobby Santos III (center) topped Kody Swanson (right) and Jason Blonde at Berlin Raceway Saturday. (Must See Racing photo)

By Jacob Seelman, SWN News Director

MARNE, Mich. (June 6, 2026) – Bobby Santos III continued to make the Must See Racing Perfit Sprint Car Series his playground whenever he competes with a commanding victory Saturday evening at Berlin Raceway.

After setting fast time in qualifying and starting from the pole for the 30-lap feature, Santos mastered multiple restarts and led all the way to earn his 15th career Must See Racing 410 sprint car win and first of the season.

Though he was hampered by slower traffic at various points, including in the final two laps, Santos still crossed the finish line with a 1.122-second advantage over runner-up Kody Swanson.

Saturday marked Santos’ sixth career winged sprint car triumph at Berlin, one of his most successful tracks in the discipline.

“This place is awesome,” said Swanson in victory lane. “Jeff Striegle and his whole crew here work really hard to put on a premier event. We appreciate that; it’s awesome to be here with the Must See Series. There was a good field of cars in town tonight, so this one feels good.”

Swanson chased Santos for the final 29 circuits after lining up second for the first restart of the race, which came on lap two following a caution for the expired engine of polesitter Troy DeCaire’s No. 41 on the backstretch.

DeCaire stayed with Santos throughout the opening lap, though he was edged out at start-finish by the No. 22a, which got a better run of momentum off the outside of the fourth corner.

From there, a plume of smoke erupted from the rear of DeCaire’s machine and caused it to coast to a halt, ending his quest for his first Must See Racing victory in five years.

That set up Swanson as the chief challenger, but he could do nothing to stop Santos’ dominance.

Cautions on the first try at a lap-two restart, for a stalled Davey Hamilton Jr. in turn two, and with 13 to go for a slowing Tom Geren bunched the field back up and appeared to give Swanson a chance.

Each time, though, Santos pulled away smoothly before reaching traffic that allowed Swanson to close the gap somewhat.

It was an ebb-and-flow battle that never went the way of the California veteran, who was hoping to win his second race in four days after topping the Race For The Million Sprint Car Series event at nearby Owosso Speedway on Wednesday night.

“Obviously, that [No.] 50 car is the best in the country,” said Santos of Swanson’s Dick Myers Racing entry. “To get a win versus those guys feels good.”

Jason Blonde, the 2023 Must See Racing champion, completed the podium ahead of West Coast star Eric Humphries and five-time series titlist Jimmy McCune.

Of the 17 starters, nine cars finished on the lead lap at the seven-sixteenths-mile short track.

The next race for the Must See Racing Perfit Sprint Car Series is Saturday, July 11 at Owosso Speedway in Ovid, Mich.

Swanson swept the most recent weekend for the tour at the track, a two-day show last August.

The finish:

Feature (30 laps): 1. 22a-Bobby Santos III [2], 2. 50m-Kody Swanson [5], 3. 44-Jason Blonde [7], 4. 15-Eric Humphries [4], 5. 88-Jimmy McCune [6], 6. 5-Joe Liguori [9], 7. 9s-Charlie Schultz [3], 8. Z10-Kevin Mingus [8], 9. 4-Donnie Adams Jr. [12], 10. 6k-Quintin Saayman [16], 11. 88x-Chase Locke [10], 12. 14-Davey Hamilton Jr. [11], 13. 94w-Geoff Wade [13], 14. 88jr-Jimmy McCune Jr. [14], 15. 11g-Tom Geren [17], 16. 37-Aiden Koss [15], 17. 41-Troy DeCaire [1].

Lap Leader(s): Bobby Santos III 1-30.

Hard Charger: 6k-Quintin Saayman (+6)