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9/22/2010 |
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MIKE STEFANIK
MAKING LATE SEASON CHARGE INTO CHAMPIONSHIP
CONTENTION AS WHELEN MODIFIED TOUR HEADS TO STAFFORD |
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the Whelen Modified Tour makes its penultimate stop of the 2010
season at Stafford Motor Speedway for the 38th Annual CARQUEST Fall
Final Weekend on Oct. 1-Oct. 3, Mike Stefanik has charged back into
championship contention on the strength of 5 consecutive top-5
finishes. The seven-time Whelen Modified Tour champion comes to
Stafford, a track that he has won at 20 times in his career, only 7
points adrift of championship leader Bobby Santos, III.
“Racing is a crazy game,” said Stefanik. “I don’t really follow the
points, I usually find that out from Julie or the media. All I know
is that we are 7 points behind Bobby Santos. I couldn’t tell you if
we had 600 points, 800 points, or 1200 points. We’ve had some real
strong finishes and we’re just happy to be in contention again, we
haven’t been in the championship the last couple of seasons.”
While Stefanik and the #16 Flamingo Motorsports / Sanderson-MacLeod
team have climbed the ladder back into championship contention, they
have yet to reach victory lane this year. Stefanik’s best finish of
the 2010 season has been a second place at both Bristol and
Stafford, and he says the team is focused on winning.
“We’re not coming to Stafford to race for points, we’re coming to
win the race,” said Stefanik. “I feel more pressure to win a race
this year than the championship. We haven’t been in the championship
race all year long until the last couple of races, so I would say
that the championship is Bobby’s to lose and all the pressure is on
the 4 team. I’ve been in that boat before, the first championship I
won was nerve wracking, but now there’s no stress at all. Like I
said, we’re just happy to be in it, but if we should be in position
to win the championship this year, it would certainly be
disappointing not to win a race.”
What better place for Stefanik to end his winless drought, which
dates back to Martinsville of last season, than Stafford Motor
Speedway? Stefanik has recorded 20 of his 70 career Whelen Modified
Tour wins at the Connecticut half-mile facility, and he is also a
former Late Model Sportsman as well as Modified track champion at
Stafford. But the two drivers he is dueling with for the
championship, Bobby Santos and Ted Christopher, also have stellar
records at Stafford.
“It would be nice to get another win at Stafford, but the other two
guys run well at Stafford too,” said Stefanik. “I think Bobby has
been the class of the field this year at Stafford and Teddy is
always good at Stafford, so it’s going to be a fun battle for sure.
We’re coming to win and I’m sure those guys are coming to win. In
the end, it could all come down to luck. We’ve been close to winning
this year, but look at what happened to Tony Stewart at Loudon. If
he had another half gallon of gas in the tank, he probably wins that
race. We can’t do anything other than what we have been doing all
year long to enhance our chances, so we’ll show up with a fast and
well prepared race car, which the Flamingo guys always give me, and
we’ll see what happens.”
Race fans can meet and greet with the three Whelen Modified Tour
championship contenders as well as the rest of the Whelen Modified
Tour competitors and Stafford’s NASCAR Whelen All-American Series
drivers at the CARQUEST Belts and Hose Pit Party on Sunday, starting
at 11am.
The Whelen Modified Tour cars hit the track for the first time
during CARQUEST Fall Final weekend on Saturday October 2nd with a
practice session from 11:00am-12:30pm. Time trials to set the field
will begin at 2:15pm on Saturday and the 150-lap race will take the
green flag at approximately 3:15pm on Sunday.
Tickets for the 38th Annual CARQUEST Fall Final Weekend are now on
sale at the Stafford Motor Speedway Box Office. Tickets are priced
at $35.00 for adult general admission tickets, $5.00 for children
ages 6-14, $38.00 for reserved seats, and free for children ages 5 &
under. Tickets are good for admission to the Saturday, October 2nd,
and Sunday, October 3rd portions of the Fall Final. As always,
Stafford Motor Speedway offers plenty of free parking with overnight
weekend parking available.
For more information, contact the Stafford Motor Speedway track
office at 860-684-2783 or visit us on the web at
www.staffordspeedway.com. |
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Source: Scott Running / Stafford Motor Speedway
Posted: September
22, 2010 |
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