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CHAMPION CAR OWNER PROFILE: Bob Garbarino

For the second time in three seasons, Bob Garbarino is a NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion.

As owner of the No. 4 "Mystic Missile," Garbarino and driver Donny Lia have won a third of the race's they've entered together as a team, and are two-for-two in championship chases.

Sounds like business as usual for the Mystic, Conn., businessman, but not really. Garbarino first fielded a Modified racing team in 1961, and went NASCAR racing a year later. While he had racked up a number of wins with many successful drivers, it took until 2007 before the owner took home the championship trophy.

Lia doesn't purport to be better than any of his predecessors, he does think that his background as owner of his own team prior to joining forces with Garbarino aided in the success that they have found.

"It's just a matter of the right people and the right places," Lia said. "Everybody knows the experience Bob has running his race team. Combine that with a driver [Lia] that had been running his race team for the past four years and you had two guys that knew what it took to win races."

In addition to being a winner, Garbarino has a strong reputation as a gentleman competitor in the Whelen Modified Tour garage, something that Lia has appreciated being associated with.

"He's just a great person who is always looking to do the right thing and has the right principles," Lia said. "He has that outlook with friends, family, racing, everything."

As someone who has been dedicated to the sport for nearly five decades, it almost goes without saying that Garbarino is a staunch supporter and advocate for the Tour and its teams and competitors.

"He's a big supporter of Modified racing, but he's a bigger supporter of NASCAR Modified racing," Lia said. "You never see that race car at a non-NASCAR sanctioned race."

All of Garbarino's dedication and desire has paid off in recent seasons as he is now a two-time Whelen Modified Tour champion car owner.