Bob Garbarino

Car Builder, Car Owner
CLASS OF 2010

Bob Garbarino began his career as a car owner-builder in 1959 at the Waterford Speedbowl. He and Butch Midgett build a Bomber car and were immediately hooked. By 1961, the were competing in the Modified division. The signature V-4 Mystic Missile won the Connecticut State Modified title in 1965 before moving up to the NASCAR Modified division in 1966 and capped off the year with a win in the season ending World Series at Thompson Speedway. Garbarino constructed a team car which was the first Modified of record to use a big block Chevy for power.

By the 1980s the era of the backyard mechanic, where the car owner built everything from chassis to motor, was all but over. Garbarino bought a Troyer Chassis and a professionally built motor when Bugsy Stevens came on board. More wins came as Stevens wound down his driving career in Modifieds, running his last race in Garbarino’s Mystic Missile in 1987.

After 46 years of fielding Modifieds, Garbarino won his first NASCAR Modified Tour Championship in 2007 with Donny Lia. The duo won the title again in 2009. The following year, Bobby Santos III took over the driving duties and helped Bob win his 3rd series title in 4 seasons.

The Mystic Missile team fielded some of the most competitive cars and successful drivers in the history of the NASCAR Modifieds. Garbarino’s cars have won races at Seekonk Speedway, Thompson Speedway, Stafford Motor Speedway, Waterford Speedbowl, The Race of Champions at the Pocono Raceway, Jennerstown Speedway, Watkins Glen International, Holland Speedway, Martinsville Speedway, New Hampshire International Speedway, Monadnock Speedway and Bristol Motor Speedway.

Garbarino fielded cars for the NASCAR Modified Tour for the first 32 seasons of the series existence. Bob shut down the team after the 2016. Jimmy Blewett was the last driver who drove the Mystic Missle on a regular basis.