Mike Stefanik Kicks Off 2004 Season With Fifth Place Finish

Lee, NH (April 25, 2004): Mike Stefanik kicked off the 2004 season with a solid fifth place finish in the Lee 150 at Lee USA Speedway. The driver of the No. 55 Burnham Boilers Chevrolet survived a late-race tangle that got the car sideways with only 10 laps to go. Stefanik gathered up the Burnham Boilers machine without losing his ground and held off Bobby Dragon at the checkers.

“I was happy until I found out the times that Andy (Santerre) were running at the end of the race,” Stefanik commented. “That’s a little discouraging. He’s just the class of the field right now and he’s raised the bar for everybody. We’re working on meeting him there, and I think this race is a good step towards that.”

Stefanik started the race from the eighth position after posting a qualifying lap of 15.691 seconds (86.037 mph) in time trials. From the drop of the green, Stefanik kept his nose right on the tail of Matt Kobyluck’s #40 machine. The duo eased their way through traffic, but it wasn’t until lap 60 that Stefanik got the opportunity he was waiting for to pass for the position.

Caution emerged on the speedway at lap 69 giving teams the opportunity to pit for fresh Goodyear rubber. Following the cue of leader Andy Santerre, Stefanik pulled the Burnham Boilers Chevrolet down pit road where the crew executed a flawless stop. Stefanik re-entered the race in the sixth position.

The Lee 150 went back to green flag action at lap 81 with three cars leading the next five circuits. Stefanik moved into fourth and set his sights on the 8 of Joey McCarthy, but several caution periods slowed any progress for the Coventry, RI-native. With only ten laps to go, Stefanik found himself in the middle of a situation that could have turned his night upside down.

“The 40 was under the gun by the 17,” Stefanik explained. “So the 40 ran into the back of me and turned me sideways. He lifted for me, but the 17 took a chance to pass us both and ran into the right front pretty hard.”

Despite the damage, Stefanik kept his foot in the throttle and took the checkers in the fifth position.

“Fortunately we were able to finish fifth with the way the thing ended up,” Stefanik said. “It got real rough there near the end We’re happy with the finish though. It’s a good start to the year, and we hope to build on it.”