08/04/06

Strong Third Place Finish Keeps Stefanik In
Thick Of Points Battle

    Mike Stefanik drove the Diversified Metals Chevrolet to a solid third place finish in the Whelen Modified Tour’s Paul Graff Trucking 100 at Holland International Speedway. Stefanik led the first 10 laps of the event and charged back up to Ted Christopher’s bumper to make a run for second in the closing laps. Stefanik ran out of time in his bid, but crossed the checkers with a solid third place finish.
   “The faster car won the race tonight. We were right there, but we had to settle for third,” Stefanik said. “It was a little frustrating, but the racing was pretty good. Teddy and I had a pretty epic battle. We swapped the spot a few times -- Teddy got by me and I got back by him. Then the caution came out and there was some confusion about how many laps were left in the race because there was something wrong with the scoreboard.”
    Stefanik started the event from the pole after qualifying fourth fastest and redrawing the coveted front row position. Todd Szegedy drove by Stefanik for the lead at lap 11 using the bottom groove. “He just drove to the front,” Stefanik said of Szegedy.
    Stefanik wasn’t about to use up the car early in the event and settled in the top-five. He remained a factor up front throughout most of the race distance, but hoped to make a final bid following a lap 90 restart.
   “Our car was really tight for like two laps and Teddy just drove right by us and we fell back to a distant third,” he explained.
    The finish was Stefanik’s fifth top-five of the season, and keeps him on top in the point battle for the championship. Stefanik currently leads race-winner Tony Hirschman by 21 points.
    A lot can happen. This season is not quite half way over. To only have a 21 point lead is miniscule,” the eight-time NASCAR Champion said. “There’s a lot of racing left to do. I know we can gain or lose a hundred points in a night. Tony and I are even – that’s how I look at it.”
    The Whelen Modified Tour heads to Riverhead Raceway on August 5th for the next event on the 2006 schedule.

Source:  Penny Aicardi/NASCARTouring.com/WMT PR
Posted:  August 4, 2006