As part of a season-long celebration of 60 years of Modified
champions, seven-time NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour titlist Mike
Stefanik will be honored at the TSI Harley-Davidson 150 on
Friday, May 23 at Stafford (Conn.) Motor Speedway.
A resident of
Coventry, R.I., Stefanik is the winningest driver in the history
of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour and he was also named to the
“NASCAR All-Time Modified Top 10 Drivers” list in 2003.
Since the tour’s
inception in 1985, Stefanik has experienced unparalleled
success. His seven championships are two more than Tony
Hirschman’s total and his record 68 wins are 24 more than
second-place Reggie Ruggiero’s 44.
“I’m not a big
nostalgic person and into statistics and all of that, but
someday it’s going to be very exciting for me to realize that
[the accomplishments] and enjoy it for what it is,” Stefanik
said. “I’ve had a very nice and rewarding career.”
Stefanik captured
his first NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championship in 1989 when
he edged Ruggiero by just six points, the second-smallest margin
in the division’s history. During the course of the next 12
years Stefanik ran a full schedule nine times and captured the
series title in five of those campaigns (1991, '97, '98, 2001,
'02). His seventh title came in 2006 when he registered just one
victory but finished in the top 10 in 15 of 16 races.
He was also voted
the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour’s Most Popular Driver in 1997,
1998 and 2001.
Although the NASCAR
Whelen Modified Tour is where he has experienced the most
success, Stefanik is an accomplished driver in other series as
well. He has tallied nine poles, 12 wins and 102 top-10s in 164
career starts in the NASCAR Camping World Series East. Stefanik
also made 26 starts in the NASCAR Nationwide Series from
1992-2000 and had the same amount of starts in the NASCAR
Craftsman Truck Series during the 1998-99 seasons. Stefanik
earned Raybestos Rookie of the Year honors in 1999 when he
finished 13th in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series standings.
In one of the more
dominant two-year runs of any driver in the history of NASCAR
racing, Stefanik captured back-to-back titles in both the NASCAR
Whelen Modified Tour and the NASCAR Camping World Series East in
1997 and 1998. In a Modified, Stefanik compiled 22 wins and 30
top-fives in 55 races en route to his third and fourth
championships in that division. During that same time span in
the stock cars of the NASCAR Camping World Series East he
recorded six wins and 31 top-10s in 39 starts to earn
consecutive points titles.
With his seven
NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour titles and two NASCAR Camping World
Series East crowns, Stefanik is currently tied with the late
Richie Evans for the most championships in the history of NASCAR
racing. Evans earned nine Modified titles, including the
inaugural NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championship in 1985.
Stefanik, who will
turn 50 on May 20, has no intentions of slowing down anytime
soon. He finished fourth in the Spring Sizzler at Stafford on
April 27 and is just two years removed from his most-recent
points title.
“I’m thrilled just
to be racing anything, and to be involved with the program that
we have is fantastic,” Stefanik said. “I’m just going to keep
doing it and enjoying the rest of my time behind the wheel
because it’s now more enjoyable than ever.”
NASCAR plans to
honor each of its 31 all-time Modified champions throughout the
season. The celebration began with the recognition of Frankie
Schneider, Donny Lia and Richie Evans at Thompson International
Speedway on April 6. Prior to the Tech-Net Spring Sizzler at
Stafford on April 27 NASCAR honored Ernie Gahan and Red Byron.
With two races in
the books, Stefanik and the rest of the NASCAR Whelen Modified
Tour field will return to the half-mile oval at Stafford for the
first night race of the 2008 season. The one-day show will
feature an afternoon practice session and time trials at 6 p.m.
For ticket information, please visit Stafford’s official Web
site (staffordmotorspeedway.com).
Source: Jason
Cunningham/NASCAR WMT PR
Posted:
May 16, 2008
