Stefanik Wins Pole, Leads Most Laps

But Finishes 14th At Martinsville

Martinsville, VA (September 4, 2006): There was no happy ending for Flamingo Motorsports at Martinsville Speedway Saturday night.

The team gave driver Mike Stefanik a car solid enough to set a blistering pace in qualifying and back it up by leading the most laps in the 200-lap rain-shortened event. Stefanik’s near-perfect weekend went bad very fast with rain solidifying their fate and 14th place finish.

“The end result was obviously not what we wanted,” Stefanik said. “But you have to take the bad with the good. What I do know is this: we’ve straightened out the problems we had with the car at the beginning of the season, and for the last five races of the year, we’re going to have a fast, fast car. I think we proved that at Martinsville. We look forward to going to the races, and we’re not wondering if we’re going to be competitive. We can go there with a whole new rejuvenation.”

Stefanik kicked off the weekend by topping the practice charts without ever putting a set of sticker tires on his No. 16 Diversified Metals Chevrolet. He consistently ran times fast enough to belong to the top-three fastest cars. The Coventry, RI-native was third to qualify in a line of 50 cars, but his speed of 100.547 mph (18.333 seconds) was untouchable. Stefanik earned his second NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Bud Pole Award of the 2006 season.

“That pole was not a fluke,” said Stefanik. “The car responded well and the team worked well all weekend. They deserved it.”

Rain-soaked skies delayed the start of the Whelen Made In America 300 to a 10 p.m. start, but Stefanik didn’t mind the wait. The team knew they had a competitive car and were ready.

And it didn’t take long for Stefanik to prove how dominant the Diversified Metals Chevrolet was.

He took the lead from Jerry Marquis at lap 33 and led the next 63 laps before succumbing to Marquis for three circuits. Stefanik reclaimed the top spot at lap 99 and again gave it up, this time to Zach Sylvester, for one circuit before recovering the point. Sylvester was able to get out front one more time, again for a single lap, before Stefanik took command for a 16-lap run. Jimmy Blewett was next to challenge the eight-time champion, but he too, was only out front for a single circuit. Stefanik took the lead for the sixth and final time at lap 173 where he remained until lap 182. Contact in the corner relegated Stefanik to the sixth position.

“I was feeling racey at the time, and I knew there were four fresh tires waiting for me on pit road,” explained Stefanik. “We decided to pit, and it started raining as soon as I got on pit road, and by the time I got to my stall, it was pouring. We went from 6th to 14th and the race was called official.”

It wasn’t their night, but Flamingo Motorsports and Stefanik will return to next week’s Modified Madness at Thompson International Speedway with twice as much determination. After all, in the words of Henry Ward Beecher, “ones best success comes after their greatest disappointments”.