Motor Problems Don’t Hinder Stefanik; Finishes 6th At Stafford

Stafford Springs, CT (August 11, 2005): Motor problems early in a race are usually a sign that a driver will have to park it. Fortunately for Mike Stefanik, driver of the No. 55 Burnham Hydronics Chevrolet, an unidentified exhaust problem during the TSI Harley Davidson 150 at Stafford Motor Speedway Wednesday night wasn’t so bad as to cut his day short. Instead, the team motored on to a sixth place finish and maintained the Busch North Series, Grand National Division point lead.

“I think handling-wise we were okay, but the motor just wouldn’t rev up on the straightaway. I’m not sure if it was a broken exhaust or a broken header. We can’t seem to find a crack in the pipe. The motor was lacking a couple hundred of rpm’s though,” Stefanik explained.

Stefanik was on top of his game from the moment the team unloaded the Burnham Hydronics Chevrolet. The Coventry, RI-native turned the second fastest time in practice before turning a lap of 20.362 seconds (88.400 mph) in qualifying. The effort earned the team a 12th place starting position.

Stefanik barely had time to get a feel for the car when caution erupted on the first lap due to the front-runners getting tangled up in their bid for the lead. Racing resumed at lap seven with Stefanik sixth, where he immediately began to develop a rhythm. On lap 14, Stefanik maneuvered underneath the 5 car of Sean Caisse for fifth. Shortly after, the problems began.

“At the start of the race the car felt fine, and when it started losing power I tried switching boxes. The exhaust had a totally different tone to it, and we thought we’d immediately find something wrong with the exhaust,” Stefanik explained.

But a long green flag run prevented the team from pitting until lap 67. Still, the crew was left scratching their heads.

“We’ll have to take a look at it when it gets back to the shop,” Stefanik said after the race. “We couldn’t find an obvious problem with the exhaust. We just don’t know exactly what it was at this point.”

Stefanik resumed the race at lap 75 in the 14th position, and wheeled his way to a sixth place finish before the checkers fell.

“I’m happy to get out of here with a sixth with a motor that’s not up to full song. We tried a whole new handling package and program. The car drove good, so it was a shame that the motor wasn’t running great. I’m pretty happy with it, but it leaves you guessing to how well you could have ran,” the driver concluded.