STEFANIK RETURNS TO
MARTINSVILLE VICTORY LANE
Made In America Whelen 300 Is Fifth Win At Martinsville Speedway
As the most successful competitor in the 25 years of the
NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, there are few milestones that Mike
Stefanik has yet to attain. On Sunday in the Made In America
Whelen 300 at Martinsville Speedway, Stefanik crossed two more
off the list.
Stefanik wrestled the lead away from Todd Szegedy on Lap 180 and
kept it through two late restarts to earn the 70th victory of
his illustrious career in the combination race with the NASCAR
Whelen Modified and Whelen Southern Modified Tours. A seven-time
Whelen Modified Tour champion, and the winningest driver in Tour
history, Stefanik also notched his fifth career win at the
0.526-mile oval on Sunday, a Tour record at the historic
facility.
With the victory, Stefanik became the eighth driver in NASCAR
history to reach the 70-win plateau in a series, and the first
driver to do it outside of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.
Following Stefanik and Szegedy in the top 10 were Ryan Preece,
pole winner Ron Silk, Burt Myers, Kevin Goodale, George
Brunnhoelzl III, Donny Lia, Eric Goodale and Jamie Tomaino.
By virtue of being the highest-finishing car from the Whelen
Southern Modified Tour in the race, Myers earned a victory for
that Tour.
Ted Christopher, the Whelen Modified Tour points leader coming
into the race, suffered mid-race engine troubles and settled for
a 30th-place finish, 67 laps down. His finish, combined with
Lia’s eight-place effort, closed Lia to within just one point of
the championship lead with two races remaining in the season.
Preece is just 12 back of Christopher, and Szegedy is fourth, 37
points out of first.
Brunnhoelzl increased his lead in the Whelen Southern Modified
Tour standings to 140 points over Andy Seuss, who finished 21st
on Sunday, 20 laps off the pace. Two races also remain in the
Whelen Southern Modified Tour’s 2009 campaign.
The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour runs its second-to-last race
Sunday, Oct. 4 with the CARQUEST Fall Final at Stafford (Conn.)
Motor Speedway, while the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour
holds its penultimate race with the Lighting Fast 150 at Ace
Speedway in Altamahaw, N.C., Friday, Oct. 2.
NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour/Whelen Southern Modified Tour
Combination Event
Made In American Whelen 300 Unofficial Results
Sunday At Martinsville Speedway, Martinsville , Va.
Lap length: 0.526 miles
(Start position in parentheses)
1. (6) Mike Stefanik, Coventry , R.I. , Pontiac , 200 laps,
68.091 mph, $9,534.
2. (19) Todd Szegedy, Ridgefield , Conn. , Ford, 200, $6,284.
3. (8) Ryan Preece, Berlin , Conn. , Chevrolet, 200, $4,534.
4. (4) Ron Silk, Norwalk , Conn. , Chevrolet, 200, $5,634.
5. (3) Burt Myers, Walnut Cove, N.C., Ford, 200, $3,250.
6. (12) Kevin Goodale, Riverhead, N.Y., Chevrolet, 200, $2,611.
7. (9) George Brunnhoelzl, III, West Babylon , N.Y. , Ford,
200, $2,150.
8. (5) Donny Lia, Jericho , N.Y. , Dodge, 200, $2,634.
9. (18) Eric Goodale, Riverhead, N.Y., Chevrolet, 199, $2,734.
10. (23) Jamie Tomaino, Howell , N.J. , Chevrolet, 198, $2,409.
11. (22) Frank Fleming, Mount Airy, N.C., Pontiac , 197, $2,200.
12. (15) Ed Flemke, Jr, Southington , Conn. , Chevrolet, 197,
$2,284.
13. (11) James Civali, Meriden , Conn. , Pontiac , 196, $2,259.
14. (31) Jake Marosz, Middletown , Conn. , Chevrolet, 189,
$2,784.
15. (10) Chris Pasteryak, Lisbon , Conn. , Chevrolet, 186,
$3,777.
16. (2) Rowan Pennink, Huntingdon Valley , Pa. ,
Chevrolet, 185, $2,209.
17. (17) Jason Myers, Walnut Cove, N.C., Ford, 185, accident,
$1,650.
18. (33) Johnny Bush, Huntington Station , N.Y. , Chevrolet,
182, accident, $2,059.
19. (40) Gary McDonald, Ronkonkoma , N.Y. , Chevrolet, 182,
$2,034.
20. (25) Woody Pitkat, Stafford , Conn. , Chevrolet, 181,
ignition, $2,109.
21. (16) Andy Seuss, Hampstead , N.H. , Dodge, 180, accident,
$1,550.
22. (28) Glen Reen, Wilbraham , Mass. , Chevrolet, 180, $2,134.
23. (13) Eric Beers, Northampton , Pa. , Chevrolet, 175,
accident, $2,009.
24. (24) John Smith, Mount Airy , N.C. , Chevrolet, 172,
accident, $1,450.
25. (20) Jonathan Brown, Winston-Salem , N.C. , Chevrolet, 172,
accident, $1,425.
26. (30) Jay Foley, Stuart , Va. , Chevrolet, 161, steering,
$1,400.
27. (21) Buddy Emory, Petersburg , Va. , Chevrolet, 160, engine,
$1,375.
28. (27) Ken Heagy, Calverton , N.Y. , Chevrolet, 138, $1,784.
29. (1) Brian Loftin, Lexington , N.C. , Chevrolet,
138, brakes, $1,700.
30. (14) Ted Christopher, Plainville , Conn. , Chevrolet, 133,
$2,484.
31. (29) Glenn Tyler, Hampton Bays , N.Y. , Chevrolet, 133,
$1,784.
32. (35) Brad Robbins, Winston-Salem , N.C. , Chevrolet, 129,
$1,350.
33. (38) Wade Cole, Riverton , Conn. , Chevrolet, 124, $1,784.
34. (26) Gene Pack, Walkertown , N.C. , Chevrolet, 78, accident,
$1,350.
35. (34) Bryan Dauzat, Midland , N.C. , Chevrolet, 33, accident,
$1,350.
36. (7) Erick Rudolph, Ransomville , N.Y. ,
Chevrolet, 33, accident, $1,784.
37. (37) J R Bertuccio, Centereach , N.Y. , Chevrolet, 29,
accident, $1,350.
38. (32) Zach Brewer, Winston-Salem , N.C. , Chevrolet, 27,
accident, $1,350.
39. (39) Thomas Neal, Walkertown , N.C. , Chevrolet, 27,
accident, $1,350.
40. (36) Greg Butcher, Mocksville , N.C. , Chevrolet, 27,
accident, $1,350.
41. (42) Tim Brown, Cana , Va. , Dodge, 7, steering, $1,350.
42. (43) Jeremy Stoltz, Winston-Salem , N.C. , Pontiac , 7,
handling, $1,350.
43. (41) Jamie Tomaino, Howell , N.J. , Chevrolet, 2, steering,
$1,350.
Race Statistics
Time of Race: 1 hour 32 minutes 42 seconds
Margin of Victory: .197 seconds
Fastest Qualifier: R.Silk (99.695 mph, 18.994 seconds)
Caution Flags: 10 for 60 laps.
Lead Changes: 4 among 5 drivers.
Lap Leaders: B. Loftin 1-3; R. Pennink 4-80; C. Pasteryak
81-165; T. Szegedy 166-179; M.
Stefanik 180-200.
NWMT Top 10 Driver Points: 1. Christopher, 1681; 2. Lia, 1680;
3. Preece, 1669; 4. Szegedy, 1644; 5. Pennink, 1562; 6.
Stefanik, 1405; 7. Beers, 1390; 8. Pasteryak, 1386; 9. Pitkat,
1372; 10. Flemke, 1357.
NWSMT Top 10 Driver Points: 1. Brunnhoelzl, 2025; 2. Seuss,
1885; 3. B. Myers, 1818; 4. Loftin, 1788; 5. Fleming, 1742; 6.
J. Myers, 1696; 7. Smith, 1653; 8. Pack, 1612; 9. Emory, 1602;
10. Miller, 1457.
Next Race:
NWMT: CARQUEST Fall Final – Stafford ( Conn. ) Motor Speedway ,
Oct. 4;
NWSMT: Lighting Fast 150 – Ace Speedway , Altamahaw , N.C. ,
Oct. 2.
Source: Jason Cunningham /
NASCAR
Posted: September
27, 2009
