10 to Go with Mike Stefanik

Since the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour rolled into Riverhead, we spoke with Mike Stefanik, driver of the No. 22 Modified.

When did you start racing?

Mike Stefanik: I started racing at Stafford Springs (Conn.) Motor Speedway in 1976 in a six-cylinder class they called the Sportsman division.

How many types of cars have you raced? What are they? Which one is your favorite?

Stefanik: Well I’ve pretty much spent most of my career in the open-wheel Modifieds. I’ve driven a lot of different cars, everything from a TQ (three-quarter midget) to a Nextel Cup car for Tommy Baldwin. I did some testing for the Caterpillar car back in the day there a few years ago. But probably the Modifieds I’m the most comfortable in and I’ve spent the most time in.

Is there any track out there that you haven’t raced at that you would really like to get to?

Stefanik: There’s a lot of racetracks that I’d like to get back to like Richmond (Va.). I mean, I pretty much fortunately ran the Truck Series and I got to race a lot of those racetracks that you see on TV. And I think maybe just Winchester (Speedway, Ind). That would be kind of a unique experience because of the high banks and its history.

Do you have any superstitions or routines that you do each week? Lucky charms?

Stefanik: I have really no major superstitions whatsoever, no. Or any lucky charms. No, I just kind of worry about the race and just focus on the race. I’m not superstitious at all.

What is your favorite racing moment?

Stefanik: Probably (winning) Bristol a few weeks ago. That was pretty exciting for our team and for myself. That just seems like the most recent, and that was really a huge win. That has to be right up there with any of the major wins that I’ve been involved with, if not at the top of the list.

What is your most embarrassing moment on the racetrack?

Stefanik: I think it was in 1978 at Monadnock (N.H.) Speedway. I ran an open show Late Model division and our car had big, fat tires on it and it was very fast. I didn’t know any of the competitors. I started last. And it went green-checkered and I thought I had passed everybody and I had pulled in to stop at the start/finish line and there was another car there that I didn’t recognize and didn’t remember passing, so I actually just creeped on through and waved to him. But I actually thought I had won the race when I really didn’t. That was funny. We laughed about that all the way home.

Have you suffered any injuries racing and if so which one is your worst?

Stefanik: I was testing a Craftsman Truck at Greenville-Pickens Speedway in South Carolina and the throttle stuck. It was just a real short, flat track. It wasn’t a very intimidating track at all, but I got hurt pretty bad and ended up in the hospital. Yeah, that was definitely my worst wreck.

Do you have a nickname? If so, how did you earn it? If not, why do you think you don’t have one?

Stefanik: Well, I mean I’ve got a bunch of nicknames. Everything from “Steffy” to “Mighty Mike” which Ben Dodge gave me, which I never really particularly cared for, but he also used it at Riverside Park (Mass. Now closed). He was quite a showman, and he had names for everybody and that was my name. And it kind of stuck with me for a while.

Being that racing can potentially be very dangerous, how has your wife, Julie, handled your racing?

Stefanik: Well, Julie grew up in a racing family. Her father won his first race at Stafford on dirt the day Julie was born. So they have a trophy with her birthdate on it. The year, date, and everything so she’s just kind of accepted it. And I’ve got a psychic sister (laughs) that said I’d never get killed in a racecar, so I think that was, I don’t know, comforting to her, but she grew up in a racing family and I don’t think it bothers her. I think if it bothers her, she doesn’t show it so that’s good.

After the Bristol win you mentioned the possibility of retirement. Could this possibly be the last time Riverhead Raceway Modified fans can expect to see you here?

Stefanik: (Laughs) Yeah it could be. You know, I’ll sit down at the end of the year and we’ll talk about it amongst the team, but yeah I didn’t say that just to throw it out there. Yeah, I’ve been thinking about it and I don’t know. I probably shouldn’t have said anything because I haven’t made up any decisions but it’s definitely on my mind. I’m not getting any younger. This sport is not getting any easier. And I don’t want to be the guy that is holding back anybody. I don’t want to be that guy so I’d like to leave before I am that guy. How close I am to that guy? I don’t know. I’ll worry about that at the end of the year.

I have to ask you about this of course. You uttered two words after the race in Daytona. Did you think afterwards that it would get as big as it did, and what was your reaction when you saw how big that became?

Stefanik: No, I obviously didn’t think it was. When my wife got on the computer the next morning or when I got home whenever that was, it was all over the computer. Actually, Richie Pallai sent it over to us because he had watched it that night. We didn’t see it until the next morning. We laughed, and we are still laughing over it. I mean, if you can’t laugh at yourself. I was pretty upset, and Jay Leno had a lot of fun with it. Hey, what are you gonna do, you know?

 

Source: Rob Blount/LongIslandJam