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10/12/2009
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A CASUAL WALK TO
VICTORY LANE FOR THE #66 RACE TEAM
Mike Stefanik Wins His
First Ever TVMRS Race
by
Denise DuPont |
Mike Stefanik made it into the D Anthony
Venditti Memorial 100 race through a consolation race and started the race
twenty-second. But Stefanik showed what champions are made of as he
crossed the finish line taking the checkers and his first ever True Value
Modified Racing Series win. “I enjoyed the competition. I enjoyed the race
and the battle.”
“When you start at the back as the race gets towards the middle,
you have to start racing everybody on every lap,” said Mike Stefanik about
he race run. “I wanted to save my tires until about half way.”
Dwight Jarvis took the lead over on lap 51 and led the race until
lap 85 when Mike Stefanik made his way around him for the first spot on the
track. ”There was a lead change with fifteen laps to go and almost another
lead change coming up to the checker. If he (Dwight Jarvis) was going to
beat us he was going to do it the hard way and he was willing to try to do
it. He was going by me and I said “Oh my God we better get this thing over
with,” said Stefanik reflecting on the race. “I did not want him on my
inside but I want to keep him off my right rear. We had a great race with
Dwight Jarvis. Dwight runs smooth and clean.”
“This series is based on good clean hard racing.” Stefanik said
after the race was over and the victory was his.
“I am very happy for the guys this is a low dollar effort.”
Stefanik said describing the the #66 race team. “But we have a lot of
support from Northeast Race Cars. Brad LaFontaine really puts an effort in
because he is a friend of the owner, Eddy Marceau. It is a bunch of retired
people that basically work on this car. They are all retired and work on the
car during the day. They are not going to run to the car when we win, that
is for sure. They may casually walk to victory lane. They are certainly not
going to run anywhere. It is pretty much an elderly group that does the day
to day chores on this car (#66). I am really excited for them.”
Dwight Jarvis raced as hard as he could
but in the end he was the second driver across the finish line when the 100
laps were over. “I had a good run today. The car was real good and the pit
crew did a good job this weekend. I want to thank Brad LaFontaine for
helping me out with it (the car). I wish that he did not help with his own
car so much! But we had as good of as a car as they had. And another six
inches and we would have been where he is (Mike Stefanik).”
Rowan Pennink started the TVMRS race in third and ended it in the
same position as he was awarded a podium finish during Seekonk ceremonies.
“We had a good car. We got up to the front and led for a while. Just on the
long runs the car was getting a little bit too tight up off the corner and
it hurt our run down the straight away. But we kept it (the car) up there
for third.”
The TVMRS will head to Lee USA Speedway to end their racing season
with a race for the 2009 Championship. The race will be part of Sunday,
October 24th racing competition at the tracks Oktoberfest Weekend.
Seekonk Speedway Race Notes:
Mike Stefanik
“I was not liking 2009 for most of the year because we were
struggling. We had some good runs in the #66 car and then we lost a motor in
the #66 car when we were leading the race. We had some good runs in the #16
Flamingo car in the Whelen Modified Tour and then had some good finishes go
away from us.”
“It has been a very trying season. I am not getting any younger and
I probably get more frustrated than I did earlier in my career. I do not
mind when things are not going great but we had it not going great for a
long time. We had a long streak of not finishing races. You start looking in
the mirror and wondering if you should really continue doing it, especially
when you are not up front battling for the win. But a couple of wins makes
it all worth it. I have got to sign up for another year now.”
“I do not get caught up in all the nostalgic of it. I like the guys
that came before me. I like Bugs Stevens.
I have great respect for Bugsy and Richie Evans and all the guys that came
before me, but I do not get caught up too much in that (Nostalgia).”
Dwight Jarvis
Dwight Jarvis participated in the competition for the TVMRS drivers
at the Seekonk Grand Prix Slick Track on Saturday night after Seekonk
qualifying. Modified supporter, LIModManiac announced after the SlickTrack
race that the highest finishing driver in the TVMRS race who also competed
in the cart race would be awarded a $200 bonus. “LIModManiac came down and
gave me the $200 on the track (during victory lane ceremonies). It surprised
me. I did not realize that he was going to do that. I appreciate it.”
The last race of the season for the True Value Series is at Lee USA
Speedway and a challenging track for some of the series racers including
Jarvis. “Lee is not one of our better ones. But we have learned a few things
at Lee that will help the car out. We made a lot of changes to this car in
the last few weeks. Maybe we will hit it and win won there!”
 Rowan
Pennink
Pennink was one of the many TVMRS drivers that competed in the
Seekonk Grand Prix event and enjoyed it.
“It was real fun getting out there with everybody for a good time without
having to be all serious for once in a long while. We had fun out there it
was a pretty good time.”
Next weekend will be another weekend full of racing for Pennink as
he heads to Thompson for the NWMT last race event. “We had a really good car
the last time we were at Thompson so we are hoping to go back with another
good car. We had a motor problem at the end of the race last time and still
ended up fourth. I think if we did not have that we would have been right
there for the battle for the lead. Hopefully we have a good motor for the
battle for this weekend and we will be up front there.”
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Source: Denise DuPont
/ TheChromeHorn.com
Posted: October
12, 2009 |
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