Holland Press Release (June 25, 2005)
Contact: Penny Degre
(508) 234-8684
Stefanik Ends Winless Drought With Flag-To-Flag Win At Holland
Holland, NY (June 25, 2005): Mike Stefanik held off GRIZCO Racing teammate Andy Santerre to win the Fuccillo Auto Park HUGE 150 at Holland International Speedway Saturday night after leading all 150 laps. Stefanik’s win ends a winless drought that began after returning to the Busch North Series in 2003 from a five-year hiatus.
“This is why I race,” Stefanik said. “If there wasn’t any feelings like this in racing, it would never be worth all the heartache, the aggravation, and the anguish that comes in racing. Through every one of these good feelings there are so many bad feelings. People always ask me why I race, and this is why I race. Winning feel so good!”
Stefanik wheeled the No. 55 Burnham Hydronics Chevrolet to a speed of 92.491 mph (14.596 seconds) in qualifying and earned the Busch Pole Award after setting fast time in practice earlier in the afternoon.
“I knew we had a shot at it,” Stefanik said. “I thought we had a shot at Stafford, but I know it comes down to the game of thousands. All you can do is stay focused and run your line the best you can. We did that today, and it paid off.”
Stefanik and Santerre paced the field to green with Stefanik jumping out front by the time the duo reached turn three. A yellow at lap four slowed the Burnham Hydronics Chevrolet briefly, but horsepower and set-up were on Stefanik’s side when green flag action returned. Stefanik again jumped out front and began putting the tail end of the field a lap down by the 20th circuit. When the second caution fell at lap 66, only 12 of the 26-car field remained on the lead lap.
“I have to thank (crew chief) Jerry Babb and this entire Burnham Hydronics team,” Stefanik said. “They gave me a good, solid car.”
The second half of the race proved to be a nail-biter for fans and team members alike. Matt Kobyluck came up through the field and began pressuring Santerre for second. The trio ran nose-to-tail for much of the remainder of the race.
“In the early going, the car was really a rocket. Andy was kind of hanging with me, and we were just driving away from the field,” Stefanik explained. “I look back and I see Matt coming up a little bit. We had a restart and Matt started battling Andy. I was thinking ‘this isn’t good!’ We just had just enough grip to keep Andy and Matt off.”
Stefanik credits several late-race cautions for aiding in the trip to victory lane.
“The cautions did help, and I was happy to see them come when they did,” admitted Stefanik. “We were all battling pretty hard. I think we just had a strong car. It was a lot of fun racing out there with Andy and Matt tonight. Everyone used their heads and showed each other a lot of respect. That’s what makes racing fun.”
And, of course, a trip to victory lane doesn’t hurt either.