Category Archives: NASCAR drivers
Mike Stefanik Austin Texas
Most people are aware of Mike Stefanik and his achievements in the world of NASCAR car racing. His brilliant jubilant presence still radiates in NASCAR Whelen car races. As per the current statistics, he has won 71 races at Whelen tours.
Today at 53, he stands unshakable and confident over the young drivers, who fall short to match his expertise and experience. In fact, the year of 1999 brought a special charm to his NASCAR career.
Interestingly, he won ‘best Rookie of the year’ award for participating with excellence in National NASCAR race events. This award was just another reason to rejoice for a 41 year old, who was already participating in NASCAR Whelen tours way back from 1985.
Most of his fans must be aware of headlines, which spur on two occasions in the same year of 1991 reading ‘Mike Stefanik Austin Texas.’ Most people find it obnoxious to relate these two words. However, historians may not refrain to do so.
Most NASCAR lovers are aware that it was twice near Austin, Texas that Mike Stefanik suffered crash and suspension during his peak time in NASCAR career. These misfortunate events took place twice during the same year itself. What sticks about them the most is that they took place in the year when most people expected him to add more accolades to his fame.
A summation of 1997 and 1998 performances in NASCAR Whelen tour shows a record of 23 wins, which were his highest number of wins in straight rows in his 26 years of Whelen career history.
The story of Mike Stefanik Austin Texas goes like this. It was the year of 1999 O’Reilly 300 event with 36 participants who took part in the race. The race took place at Fort Worth, Texas 3 hours driving from Austin, Texas.
There were a total 125 laps however, Mike Stefanik’s Ford truck suspended in 77th lap leading him to his termination from the race. It was sad news for his followers, who expected much from him. In fact, he was not leading in any of his 76 laps during the race. With this, Mike Stefanik suffered a whopping 652 points of loss.
In a similar event that took place in 1999 and again at Fort Worth, Texas just 3 hours from Austin, Texas, Mike Stefanik crashed his car at Pronto Auto Parts 400k. There were 37 participants in the race and seven cars crashed during the race. It was very misfortunate for Mike Stefanik’s stardom, as he again lost 386 points over the race. In fact, he crashed his car in 64th lap along with B.A.Wilson, who was also riding in another Ford truck.
Mike Stefanik Career
Mike Stefanik made his debut at the Whelen Modified Tour in the year 1985. He succeeded in possessing four top 10s and two top 5s in six races. Born in Wilbraham, Massachusetts on 20th May 1958, Mike’s only ambitions from the start was to make it big in the world of car racing.
By 1998, Stefanik won four NASCAR Whelan Modified Tour championships. He has also won the 1997 and the 1998 Busch East Series Championship. Mike Stefanik is the first driver to win NASCAR championships consecutively for two years. He has to his name the Camping World East Championship as well as the Modified championship.
Mike Participated in the Craftsman Truck Series in the year 1999. He succeeded in finishing 9 times in the top 10s. Moreover, the same year, he also received the ‘Rookie of the Year’ award.
During this time, he was with Dave Phelan’s team. The following year Mike left the team and again started to concentrate on the Whelen Modified Tour and the Bush North Tours.
He further went on to win the 2001 and 2002 NASCAR Modified Tour championships. In the 2006 Modified tour, he had to share the first spot with Richie Evans. By this time, Mike had won an overall nine NASCAR competitions. Winning the NASCAR K&N Pro East Championship in 1997 and 1998 added another feather to his cap.
In 1997, 1998 and 2001, NASCAR named Mike Stefanik as the Whelen Modified tour most popular Driver. Further, he also succeeded in winning the Coors Light Pole Award. This was not all. Again, in 2007 and 2008, Mike won ‘The Coca-Cola Power Move of the Race’ Award.
Before Mike started his NASCAR career, he already had the limited sportsman track championship and the most prestigious Pro Stock track title to his name. He is the only driver to have registered 70 wins in the overall NASCAR history.
No doubt, Mike Stefanik career went through a few rough phases, but he soon managed to pull himself up right at the top of the list. However, he holds his wife, Julie responsible for the major part of his success. He presently lives at Coventry, Rhode Island with his wife and two daughters. Julia is Mike’s toughest critic and this according to Mike inspires him to perform well in his upcoming races. Further, he adds up saying that his wife and children are an irreplaceable part of his life.
Mike Stefanik Whelen Modified Tour
Presently, residing at Coventry, Rhode Island, Mike Stefanik has made his place in the list of Whelen Modified Tour’s 10 greatest Drivers of all times. Mike happens to be the only driver in the history of NASCAR to have won an astounding 70 races.
After Late Richie Evans, Mike Stefanik is the only driver to win nine NASCAR championships. Listed below are detailed statistics of Mike Stefanik Whelen Modified Tour.
1985 to 1990
In the year 1985, Mike witnessed two top five positions and four top ten positions. In all, he competed in six races, however failed to record a win. His overall ranking was 30th.
In the following year out of the 18 races, he managed to achieve two pole positions and registered his first win. Again, in the year 1987 with eight top five spots and thirteen top ten spots, he succeeded in winning one race out of the 27 he competed.
However, 1989 turned out to be a spectacular year for him, as he ranked number one with seven wins. In 1990, he won five races and ranked second.
1991 to 1995
Soon in 1991, Mike Stefanik once again ranked first with five wins out of 23 races with 16 top 5s and 22 top 10s. However, 1994 seemed to be a very dull year in his career, as he participated in only four races and could not register a win. He ranked 42nd. Again, the year 1995 bought him some relief where he managed to fetch five wins out of 20 races. He ranked fifth during this year.
1996 to 2005
In 1997 and 1998, he ranked first with 23 wins in all out of 44 races. Again, Mike encountered a rough phase where he ranked 50th. However, he won one out of the two races he participated. 2001 and 2002 turned out to be amazing as Mike consecutively was ranked first. Although in 2005, Mike participated in 17 races, he failed to register a win.
2006 to 2011
From 2006 to 2011, Mike succeeded in registering one win each year except in the year 2010. In all Mike has participated in 418 races and has registered 71 wins, achieved 46 pole positions, 215 top 5s, and 281 top 10s.
Mike Stefanik throughout his entire Whelen Modified Tour carrier went through a couple of highs and lows. However, his sheer dedication towards the sport is what makes him one of the top NASCAR drivers of all times.
Mike Stefanik Greg Zipadelli
Almost everyone is aware of the fact that the world of NASCAR keeps on changing each year. However, the things that have remained consistent from the start are the No. 20 Home Depot Team and certainly Crew Chief Greg Zipadelli.
One of the toughest jobs that Zipadelli has taken up is to guide rookie drivers, which according to him is a very huge challenge. He was primarily responsible for guiding Tony Stewart towards winning the Rookie of the Year award in 1999.
Under the guidance of Greg Zipadelli, the team managed to build Home Depot cars. These cars driven by Tony Stewart fetched him 2 NASCAR Sprint Cup Championships, 10 poles, 33 wins and of course the Rookie of the year award. Zipadelli was also highly committed towards Joe Gibbs’s NASCAR championship team and his driver.
Greg Zipadelli happens to be the most respected crew chief in the history of NASCAR. His leadership and highly sophisticated mechanical skills make him one of the most popular names in the world of car racing.
- In the year 1996, Greg Zipadelli started working for Mike Stefanik. With the assistance of Zipadelli, Stefanik succeeded in achieving nine top 10 and eight top 5 finishes. Soon under Zipadelli’s guidance, Mike won the Camping World Series East Championship with fourteen top 5 finishes and 2 wins in the year 1997. At the same time, Zipadelli too won his second touring series title. Without a doubt, Greg Zipadelli has played a major part in the success of Mike’s career.
- In 1998, Zipadelli soon joined the NASCAR Sprint Cup Operation and worked for team No. 99 as a chassis specialist along with driver Jeff Burton. Zipadelli turned out to be very lucky for Burton as he succeeded in finishing fifth in 1998 in the Cup standings, where he scored 18 top 5s and 23 top 10s with 2 wins.
In 2003-2004, Zipadelli along with the Home Depot Team managed to score 37 top 10s and win four races. They finished in the top-10 for the sixth year consecutively. The Home Depot team in all has tasted victory nine times, scored 50 top 10s and 36 top 5s and all of this was possible just because of the sheer dedication and hard work of Greg Zipadelli.
In 2008, the most popular pair (Zipadelli and Stewart) earned their final win at Talladega Superspeedway in a 500-mile race. No doubt, Greg Zipadelli is highly responsible for bringing about a positive transformation in the world of car racing.
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