Mike Stefanik

Mike Stefanik
Stefanik in 2000
Born (1958-05-20) May 20, 1958
Wilbraham, Massachusetts, U.S.
Achievements 1989, 1991, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2006 Whelen Modified Tour Champion
1997, 1998 Busch North Series Champion
Awards 1999 Craftsman Truck Series Rookie of the Year
1997, 1998, 2001 Featherlite Modified Series Most Popular Driver
1995, 1997, 1998, 2004 Busch North Series Most Popular Driver
Named one of the "NASCAR Modified All-Time Top 10 Drivers" (2003)
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
26 races run over 9 years
Best finish 56th (2000)
First race 1992 Budweiser 300 (Loudon)
Last race 2000 Miami 300 (Homestead)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 1 0
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career
26 races run over 2 years
Best finish 13th (1999)
First race 1998 Sam's Town 250 (Las Vegas)
Last race 1999 NAPA Auto Parts 200 (Fontana)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 10 0
Statistics current as of March 25, 2013.

Michael Stefanik (born May 20, 1958) is a former American professional stock car racing driver. He competed mainly in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, but also made appearances in the Busch Grand National series and the Craftsman Truck Series. A seven-time champion in the Modified series, Stefanik was named the second greatest NASCAR Modified driver of all-time in 2003.[1] His nine total championships (two in the Busch North Series) tie him with Richie Evans for most in NASCAR history.[2]

Racing career

Whelen Modified Series

Stefanik ran his first full Whelen Modified Tour season in 1987.[3] He recorded his first championship in 1989, winning in seven of his 26 starts.[4] He continued to be a major player in the 1990s, winning the 1991 series championship, finishing out of the top ten just once that season.[5] After not running a complete schedule for a few years, Stefanik finished fifth in 1995[6] and won the 1997[7] and 1998[8] titles while simultaneously racing full-time and winning the championship those same years in the Busch North (Now K&N Pro East) Series. Taking the 2000 season off to run full-time in the Camping World Truck Series, Stefanik won the championship his first two years back, not winning too many races but consistently placing in the top ten.[9][10] Again pursuing other interests (this time K&N series), Stefanik did not contend in 2003, 2004, or 2005 but won the 2006 season opener, completed every lap that season and only was out of first place for one week, winning the championship.[11] Steadily trending downward from there, Stefanik's first full winless season came in 2010.[12] He won his last race at Bristol Motor Speedway in 2013,[13] and started his last race in 2014.[14]

In 2013, Stefanik competed in the inaugural UNOH Battle at the Beach at Daytona International Speedway. On the final lap, he was leading until he was turned by Eric Goodale; he finished 13th in the race.[15] Afterwards, when Speed reporter Ray Dunlap arrived to interview him, Stefanik angrily stated he is "that freaking pissed. This is just bullshit."[16] The interview was subsequently aired on The Jay Leno Show.[17]

K&N Pro Series East

Stefanik won in only his third start, which came in 1991.[18] He ran his first full season in 1993[19] while racing Modifieds and won the 1997 and 1998 championships, pocketing over $100,000 for each season.[20][21] In doing so, he became the first driver to win two NASCAR championships in consecutive years; Lee Petty is the only other person to have won two championships in one year. Stefanik raced full seasons in 2003, 2004 and 2005 while stepping away from Modifieds, but did not have the same amount of success.[22]

Craftsman Truck Series

Stefanik moved up to the Craftsman Truck Series, racing for Phelon Motorsports and finishing in the top ten nine times during 1999,[23] achieving Rookie of the Year honors.[24] After that, though, Phelon's team left the series, and Stefanik was without a ride.

Stefanik was nominated for the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2015 and 2016.[25][26]

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Busch Series

NASCAR Busch Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 NBGNC Pts
1992 74 Chevy DAY CAR RCH ATL MAR DAR BRI HCY LAN DUB NZH CLT DOV ROU MYB GLN VOL NHA
8		 TAL IRP ROU MCH 67th 260
14 NHA
15		 BRI DAR RCH DOV CLT MAR CAR HCY
1993 Ling Racing Enterprises 6 Pontiac DAY CAR RCH DAR BRI HCY ROU MAR NZH
15		 CLT DOV MYB GLN
29		 MLW TAL IRP MCH NHA
39		 BRI DAR RCH DOV ROU CLT MAR CAR HCY ATL NC2 0
1994 Rexrode Galiano Motorsports 1 Ford DAY
44		 CAR RCH
33		 ATL
DNQ		 MAR DAR HCY BRI ROU 73rd 192
11 Chevy NHA
41
14 NZH
16		 CLT DOV MYB GLN MLW SBO TAL HCY IRP MCH BRI DAR
1 RCH
22		 DOV CLT MAR CAR
1995 Mountain Racing 09 Chevy DAY CAR RCH ATL NSV DAR BRI HCY NHA
41		 NZH
41		 CLT DOV MYB GLN MLW TAL SBO IRP MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV CLT CAR HOM NC2 0
1996 H & H Motorsports 51 Chevy DAY CAR RCH ATL NSV DAR BRI HCY NZH
14		 CLT DOV SBO MYB GLN MLW NHA TAL IRP MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV CLT CAR HOM NC2 0
1997 DAY CAR RCH ATL LVS DAR HCY TEX BRI NSV TAL NHA NZH
33		 CLT DOV SBO GLN MLW MYB GTY IRP MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV CLT CAL CAR HOM NC2 0
1998 Andretti-Laird Racing 96 Pontiac DAY CAR
35		 LVS
32		 NSV
DNQ		 DAR
DNQ		 BRI TEX HCY TAL NHA 92nd 125
H & H Motorsports 51 Chevy NZH
39		 CLT DOV RCH PPR GLN MLW MYB CAL SBO IRP MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV CLT GTY CAR ATL HOM
1999 Prime Performance Motorsports 05 Chevy DAY
DNQ		 CAR
22		 LVS ATL DAR TEX NSV BRI TAL CAL NHA RCH NZH CLT DOV SBO GLN MLW MYB PPR GTY IRP MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV CLT CAR MEM PHO HOM 109th 102
2000 GTS Motorsports 90 Chevy DAY CAR
DNQ		 LVS ATL DAR
23		 BRI
20		 TEX NSV TAL CAL RCH
DNQ		 NHA CLT
39		 DOV
DNQ		 SBO MYB GLN
31		 MLW NZH
13		 PPR GTY IRP MCH BRI
20		 DAR
DNQ		 RCH
DNQ		 DOV
41		 CLT
DNQ		 CAR
DNQ		 MEM
DNQ		 PHO HOM
18		 56th 689

Craftsman Truck Series

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 NCTC Pts
1998 Phelon Motorsports 66 Ford WDW HOM PHO POR EVG I70 GLN TEX BRI MLW NZH CAL PPR IRP NHA FLM NSV HPT LVL RCH MEM GTY MAR SON MMR PHO LVS
8		 49th 142
1999 HOM
2		 PHO
13		 EVG
24		 MMR
14		 MAR
12		 MEM
11		 PPR
11		 I70
7		 BRI
22		 TEX
28		 PIR
13		 GLN
11		 MLW
13		 NSV
8		 NZH
8		 MCH
7		 NHA
13		 IRP
16		 GTY
6		 HPT
10		 RCH
16		 LVS
32		 LVL
9		 TEX
31		 CAL
9		 13th 3074

2 Competed only in companion events with Busch North Series as BNS driver and ineligible for Busch Series points

References

  1. ↑ "News & Media". Retrieved 2017-04-05.
  2. ↑ "All-Time Top 10 Modified Drivers | NASCAR Home Tracks". hometracks.nascar.com. Retrieved 2017-04-05.
  3. ↑ "Driver Mike Stefanik 1987 NASCAR Winston Modified Tour Results - Racing-Reference.info". racing-reference.info. Retrieved 2017-04-05.
  4. ↑ "Driver Mike Stefanik 1989 NASCAR Winston Modified Tour Results - Racing-Reference.info". racing-reference.info. Retrieved 2017-04-05.
  5. ↑ "Driver Mike Stefanik 1991 NASCAR Winston Modified Tour Results - Racing-Reference.info". racing-reference.info. Retrieved 2017-04-05.
  6. ↑ "Driver Mike Stefanik 1995 NASCAR Winston Modified Tour Results - Racing-Reference.info". racing-reference.info. Retrieved 2017-04-05.
  7. ↑ "Driver Mike Stefanik 1997 NASCAR Winston Modified Tour Results - Racing-Reference.info". racing-reference.info. Retrieved 2017-04-05.
  8. ↑ "Driver Mike Stefanik 1998 NASCAR Winston Modified Tour Results - Racing-Reference.info". racing-reference.info. Retrieved 2017-04-05.
  9. ↑ "Driver Mike Stefanik 2001 NASCAR Winston Modified Tour Results - Racing-Reference.info". racing-reference.info. Retrieved 2017-04-05.
  10. ↑ "Driver Mike Stefanik 2002 NASCAR Winston Modified Tour Results - Racing-Reference.info". racing-reference.info. Retrieved 2017-04-05.
  11. ↑ "Driver Mike Stefanik 2006 NASCAR Featherlite Modified Tour Results - Racing-Reference.info". racing-reference.info. Retrieved 2017-04-05.
  12. ↑ "Driver Mike Stefanik 2010 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Results - Racing-Reference.info". racing-reference.info. Retrieved 2017-04-05.
  13. ↑ "Driver Mike Stefanik 2013 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Results - Racing-Reference.info". racing-reference.info. Retrieved 2017-04-05.
  14. ↑ "Driver Mike Stefanik 2014 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Results - Racing-Reference.info". racing-reference.info. Retrieved 2017-04-05.
  15. ↑ "Steve Park wins at Daytona in Modifieds race". SBNation.com. Retrieved 2017-04-05.
  16. ↑ Ley, Tom. "Adult Race Car Driver Turns Into Pouty Baby During Post-Race Interview". Deadspin. Retrieved 2017-04-05.
  17. ↑ "National Sensation: TV Outburst In Daytona Takes Mike Stefanik All The Way To Hollywood". racedayct.com. Retrieved 2017-04-05.
  18. ↑ "Driver Mike Stefanik 1991 NASCAR Busch North Series Results - Racing-Reference.info". racing-reference.info. Retrieved 2017-04-05.
  19. ↑ "Driver Mike Stefanik 1993 NASCAR Busch North Series Results - Racing-Reference.info". racing-reference.info. Retrieved 2017-04-05.
  20. ↑ "Driver Mike Stefanik 1997 NASCAR Busch North Series Results - Racing-Reference.info". racing-reference.info. Retrieved 2017-04-05.
  21. ↑ "Driver Mike Stefanik 1998 NASCAR Busch North Series Results - Racing-Reference.info". racing-reference.info. Retrieved 2017-04-05.
  22. ↑ "Driver Mike Stefanik 2004 NASCAR Busch North Series Results - Racing-Reference.info". racing-reference.info. Retrieved 2017-04-05.
  23. ↑ "Driver Mike Stefanik 1999 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Results - Racing-Reference.info". racing-reference.info. Retrieved 2017-04-05.
  24. ↑ "Where are they now? – Mike Stefanik". Motorsport.com. Retrieved 2017-04-05.
  25. ↑ "NASCAR HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2015". NASCAR Hall of Fame. Retrieved February 26, 2016.
  26. ↑ "NASCAR HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2016". NASCAR Hall of Fame. Retrieved February 26, 2016.
Sporting positions
Preceded by
Dave Dion		 NASCAR Busch North Series champion
1997, 1998		 Succeeded by
Brad Leighton
Preceded by
Tony Hirschman		 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion
2006		 Succeeded by
Donny Lia
Preceded by
Jerry Marquis		 NASCAR Featherlite Modified Series champion
2001, 2002		 Succeeded by
Todd Szegedy
Preceded by
Tony Hirschman		 NASCAR Featherlite Modified Series champion
1997, 1998		 Succeeded by
Tony Hirschman
Preceded by
Jamie Tomaino		 NASCAR Winston Modified Tour champion
1991		 Succeeded by
Jeff Fuller
Preceded by
Mike McLaughlin		 NASCAR Winston Modified Tour champion
1989		 Succeeded by
Jamie Tomaino
Achievements
Preceded by
Greg Biffle		 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Rookie of the Year
1999		 Succeeded by
Kurt Busch
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