Thompson PR (October 30, 2005)
Contact: Penny Aicardi
(508) 234-8684
Stefanik Closes Out Season With Runner-Up Finish In Race And Title Bid
Thompson, CT (October 30, 2005): Mike Stefanik closed out a successful 2005 season with a second place finish in the New England Dodge Dealers 100 at Thompson International Speedway Sunday evening, and fell short in his title bid to teammate Andy Santerre to also finish second in the final point standings.
“I’m as happy for them as I could possibly be for another team winning the championship,” Stefanik said. “Knowing that Steve and Peg will receive the championship car owner trophy along with the rest of the team just makes it pretty cool. This is their program, and I’m glad that we were able to muscle out a second place finish so they could get a 1-2. We are still a part of that championship effort even though we are not really on the 44 team – it is all under one umbrella.”
Stefanik started the No. 55 Burnham Hydronics Chevrolet from the sixth position after posting a qualifying lap of 20.760 seconds (108.382 mph) Saturday afternoon. Stefanik survived a wild practice session that saw more torn up racecars then one would expect to see during warm-ups. The time spent cleaning up the wrecks took away from teams getting ample practice time for the race.
“What little time everyone had as a series on the racetrack with practice made it tough. I don’t think anybody had a fair shot as to how to set up their cars for today,” said Stefanik.
But crew chief Jerry Babb gave Stefanik a nearly perfect set-up.
From the drop of the green, Stefanik was on a tear. After three laps, Stefanik was able to muscle his way by Mike Olsen for fifth. By lap 25, Stefanik was running fourth as the race ticked off in a long green flag run.
Stefanik made it to third by lap 33, when he drove into the corner too high and had to let off the throttle to avoid going into the wall. The two-time Busch North Series champion never lost a spot.
“We were a little free all night,” Stefanik said.
Stefanik ran in third for much of the race, but moved into second at lap 74. When racing resumed at lap 79, Stefanik jumped to the lead and led the 30-car field around Thompson for three circuits before eventual race-winner Eddie MacDonald reclaimed the top spot.
“We were fortunate to get the lead on the restart with the 77, but he didn’t make that same mistake on the last restart. He had a good car and he showed it all day.”
A red flag condition came out on lap 93 when three cars tangled in turn three. Stefanik only had two laps to get his No. 55 Burnham Hydronics Chevrolet by MacDonald for the win. This time, however, MacDonald was ready for Stefanik. MacDonald held him off when the green dropped and instantly pulled out to a two-carlength advantage. Stefanik didn’t have anything for the winner and finished the race in second.
“We had a good today, and this team finished 1-2 in the points. Congratulations to Andy Santerre and everyone on the 44 team. It’s pretty awesome. I’m also real proud of my guys. We finished every lap of every race with no lucky dogs, and we were never outside of the top-10. That says a lot right there about this team. We just didn’t have enough for Andy. He was a little stronger than us too many times. I’m very happy and proud to be a part of this program,” Stefanik concluded.