Stefanik Captures Fall Final At Stafford For Record Eighth Time

By admin October 12, 2008 NASCAR WMT, Stafford

First Win Of Season For Tour’s Winningest Driver

Stafford Springs, CT — Mike Stefanik capped off a dominating weekend at Stafford Motor Speedway by reaching Victory Lane in the CARQUEST Fall Final for the eighth time in his illustrious career.

Stefanik (No. 16 Diversified Metals/Ace Moldings Pontiac) won the Coors Light Pole Award on Saturday and used the front row starting position to his advantage as he led 129 of the 150 laps in Sunday’s race.

The win Stefanik’s eighth in the Fall Final, Stafford’s traditional season-ending race. It was also his 20th all-time win at track and the 69th in his career overall. All three totals are NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour records.

Matt Hirschman (No. 59 Ed Bennett Properties Chevrolet) came home second to Stefanik on Sunday. With the runner-up finish, Hirschman now trails series leader Ted Christopher by just 35 points with one race remaining on the schedule. Christopher (No. 36 Al-Lee Installations Chevrolet) finished sixth.

Chuck Hossfeld (No. 4 Mystic Missile Dodge) was third, while Todd Szegedy (No. 2 Xtra Mart/Wisk-Snuggle Ford) and Eric Beers (No. 46 Reynold’s Auto Wrecking/Sunoco Chevrolet) rounded out the top five finishers.

The rest of the top 10 consisted of Christopher, Rowan Pennink, Anthony Sesely, Glenn Tyler and Kevin Goodale. It was the best finish of the season for Sesely and Tyler.

Prior to the race NASCAR legend Bobby Allison was honored for his 1964 and 1965 NASCAR Modified division titles as part of the celebration of 60 Years of Modified Champions.

The 2008 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championship will come down to the season finale at Thompson (Conn.) International Speedway on Sunday, Oct. 19. For Xtra Mart World Series ticket information, please visit Thompson’s official Web Site.

Sources: Jason Cunningham/NASCAR WMT PR

NWMT Stafford 10/12/08 Unofficial Results

Whelen Modified Tour

Race: NWMT Oct. 12, 2008 Stafford


Fin	Str	Car	Driver	Team	Laps	Points	Total Award	Status
1	1	16	Mike Stefanik	Diversified Metals/Ace Moldings Pontiac	150	180	$7,600	Running
2	13	59	Matt Hirschman	Ed Bennett Properties Chevrolet	150	170	3,300	Running
3	6	4	Chuck Hossfeld	Mystic Missile Dodge	150	165	2,900	Running
4	12	2	Todd Szegedy	Xtra Mart/Wisk-Snuggle Ford	150	160	2,700	Running
5	4	46	Eric Beers	Reynold’s Auto Wrecking/Sunoco Chevrolet	150	155	2,900	Running
6	2	36	Ted Christopher	Al-Lee Installations Chevrolet	150	150	2,200	Running
7	22	93	Rowan Pennink	Monk Mechanics Hand Cleaner Chevrolet	150	146	2,850	Running
8	19	11	Anthony Sesely	A-1 Auto Center Chevrolet	150	142	1,500	Running
9	20	8	Glenn Tyler	Sypher Const./Financial Fed. Credit Chevrolet	150	138	1,750	Running
10	21	50	Kevin Goodale	Riverhead Building Supply Chevrolet	150	134	1,250	Running
11	14	10	Ed Flemke, Jr.	Ron Bouchard Auto/Premier Kitchens Chevrolet	150	130	1,550	Running
12	5	1	Rob Summers	Frasco Fuel/Hook & Ladder Chevrolet	150	127	1,118	Running
13	15	19	Jimmy Blewett	TS Haulers Chevrolet	150	124	1,600	Running
14	26	77	Rick Fuller	Toyota Certified Used Vehicles	150	121	1,075	Running
15	16	79	Ronnie Silk	Hill Enterprises/Coors Light/Sunoco Pontiac	150	118	1,550	Running
16	9	0	Danny Sammons	aarn.com/Cliff Nelson Chevrolet	150	115	1,410	Running
17	23	06	Billy Pauch, Jr.	Greenfield Dodge Dodge	150	112	1,385	Running
18	11	09	Bobby Grigas, III	Triple-G Scaffold Services Chevrolet	150	109	1,360	Running
19	29	58	Eric Goodale	Riverhead Building Supply Chevrolet	150	106	1,335	Running
20	3	17	Glen Reen *	Reen Orthodontics/Pep Boys Chevrolet	150	103	1,610	Running
21	8	28	Doug Coby	Ramar-Hall/Genesis Shocks Chevrolet	149	100	1,280	Running
22	30	12	Ken Heagy	Buoy One Seafood/TS Haulers Ford	149	97	1,250	Running
23	28	90	Renee Dupuis	UIG/SFI/Featherlite Chevrolet	148	94	825	Running
24	31	05	Joe Hartmann	WMS Const./Charlie’s Collision Chevrolet	148	91	1,225	Running
25	27	33	Wade Cole	Performance Engines/Kendall Oil Chevrolet	147	88	1,225	Running
26	7	99	Jamie Tomaino	J Co./Clean-Up Supply Chevrolet	147	85	1,225	Running
27	32	32	Tom Abele, Jr. *	Synergyn/Crystal Auto Body Chevrolet	147	82	1,225	Running
28	10	3	Ryan Preece	Davidson Co./Reynold’s Auto Wrecking	116	79	1,325	Timing Chain
29	17	14	Reggie Ruggiero	Atlantic Sprinkler Ford	87	76	825	Suspension
30	24	00	Frank Ruocco	Earth Technology/Sherm’s Towing Chevrolet	80	73	825	Drive Shaft
31	18	64	Eric Berndt	North End Auto Parts/Cos Central Auto	71	70	825	Engine
32	25	21	Richard Savary	Superior Oil/Pine Hill Service Chevrolet	62	67	1,425	Caliper
33	33	9	Jake Marosz	Middlesex Auto Center Chevrolet	51	64	1,225	Handling

Fastest Qualifier: Mike Stefanik, Time: 18.158 Seconds, Speed: 99.130 MPH
Time of Race: 1 hrs., 0 mins, 53 secs Average Speed: 73.912 mph Margin of Victory: 0.165 Seconds
COORS LIGHT POLE AWARD: Mike Stefanik, 16 Diversified Metals/Ace Moldings Pontiac
FEATHERLITE MOST IMPROVED DRIVER AWARD: Eric Beers, 46 Reynold’s Auto Wrecking/Sunoco Chevrolet
POWERADE POWER MOVE OF THE RACE AWARD: Rowan Pennink, 93 Monk Mechanics Hand Cleaner Chevrolet
SUNOCO ROOKIE OF THE RACE AWARD: Glen Reen *, 17 Reen Orthodontics/Pep Boys Chevrolet
WHELEN WINNER OF THE RACE AWARD: Mike Stefanik, 16 Diversified Metals/Ace Moldings Pontiac
Caution Flags: Laps 60-66; 80-84; 88-92; 136-140; 141-145. 5 for 27 laps.
Lap Leaders: Mike Stefanik 1-62, Rob Summers 63-82, Mike Stefanik 83-91, Ryan Preece 92, Mike Stefanik 93-150.
Total Laps Led: Mike Stefanik 129, Rob Summers 20, Ryan Preece 1. 4 changes involving 3 drivers.
Top 10 Driver Points: Ted Christopher 2261, Matt Hirschman 2226, Todd Szegedy 2118, Chuck Hossfeld 2081, Mike Stefanik 2011, Ronnie Silk 1993, Eric Beers 1981, Rowan Pennink 1889, Jimmy Blewett 1851, Ryan Preece 1827
Next Race: Xtra Mart World Series – Thompson (Conn.) International Speedway – Sunday, Oct. 19
* Denotes Rookie of the Year Contender