Stefanik Soars To Fifth Place Finish In Toyota All-Star Showdown

Irwindale, CA (November 9, 2003): Mike Stefanik, driver of the No. 55 Burnham Boilers Chevrolet from the Busch North Series, overcame the adversity from a wreck in the qualifying heat and soared from a 23rd place starting position to a fifth place finish in the inaugural Toyota All-Star Showdown at Irwindale Speedway.

"I can't say enough about this crew," Stefanik said. "They worked their tails off today. The Burnham Boilers Chevrolet received a ton of cosmetic damage in that qualifying race. They spent all day rebuilding the rear of that car so that we could go out there and not be at any kind of disadvantage. This finish is a credit to their hard work."

In the 50-lap qualifying race, Stefanik had powered to the top-five when the 08 of Scott Lynch tangled with the Burnham Boiler Chevrolet and sent them both spinning to the infield. The crew had to fabricate the entire rearend on race day.

"The 08 apologized to me, and he really didn't mean to get into me. Bo from Bodies by Bo was here to help and that was a tremendous asset," Stefanik said. "The car looked great when they were done with it."

Stefanik was on a mission when green flag action kicked off on Saturday night. Within the first three laps, Stefanik was racing four wide in his progression to the front.

"You can't race like that anywhere back at home and make it out alive," Stefanik said. "It was incredible, but it sure was a lot of fun."

Stefanik passed 10 cars by the time the race reached the 25-lap mark, and broke into the top-10 by the lap 100 mandatory break.

"We came from deep in the field. We spent so much time getting this thing back together let alone making improvements for the race. The thing just kept getting better and better and better the longer we ran."

The final 25 laps proved to be a dash to the checkers with Stefanik moving through the field with ease. The Coventry, RI-native came out of the invitation-only event after wheeling his way to a fifth place finish by using every groove available on the ½-mile oval.

"Knowing that this car - with the new front snout that we changed last month - was our future, I'll tell you the future is looking bright."

The GRIZCO crew had a victory of their own Wednesday night when they participated in a pit stop contest. The top-three Busch North Series teams and two of the top-three Winston West Series teams participated with GRIZCO averaging a speed of 16.3 seconds. Their victory in the contest earned the crew racing gear provided by sponsor Ringer Gloves and a $2500 prize.