Mike Stefanik
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| status | not active | ||||||||
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| Best placement | 56th - (2000) | ||||||||
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| NASCAR Camping World Truck Series statistics | |||||||||
| Best placement | 56th - (2000) | ||||||||
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Mike Stefanik (born May 20, 1958 in Wilbraham , Massachusetts , † September 15, 2019 in Sterling , Windham County , Connecticut ) was an American NASCAR driver. He was considered one of the best drivers in the history of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour and was also active in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series .
Career
In the period from 1989 to 1998 Stefanik won the championship in the Whelen Modified Tour four times, including two consecutive titles in 1997 and 1998. He was also very successful in the NASCAR Busch North Series, today's NASCAR K&N Pro Series East . There he also won the title in 1997 and 1998. This makes him the only driver to win the championship twice in a row in two different NASCAR series.
After the successful years in the Whelen Modified Tour and the Busch North Series, Stefanik got a place in a Craftsman Truck Series team. In 1999 he drove there for the full season. However, he never made his big breakthrough. He came in a total of ten times in the top 10 and only once in the top 5. His best result was a runner-up in the season opener of the 1999 season at Homestead-Miami Speedway . The average arrival position at the finish was 13.8. He was named Rookie of the Year , Newbie of the Year , with a 13th place overall .
Furthermore, Stefanik drove a few races in the NASCAR Busch Grand National Series from 1992 to 2000 . There he was not very successful and only got a top 10 placement in 1992 on the New Hampshire International Speedway . During all of his appearances in the Busch Grand National Series and Craftsman Truck Series, Stefanik only led three laps.
He then returned to the Whelen Modified Tour, where he again won the championship in 2001 and 2002. In 2003 Stefanik was elected to the group of the best Whelen Modified Tour riders of all time due to his six titles. In 2006 he won the championship again, and together with Jerry Cook he has the most titles that a driver could ever win in the Whelen Modified Tour, namely seven. He is also in the list of all NASCAR titles from all NASCAR racing series on a par with the late Richie Evans. Both have won nine championships in NASCAR series.
Stefanik died 61-year-old in September 2019 in the crash of an ultralight aircraft of type Aero-Works Aerolite 103 in rural Connecticut.
Web links
Driver statistics on racing-reference.info
Individual evidence
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↑ Shawn Courchesne: Nine-Time NASCAR Champion, Modified Racing Legend Mike Stefanik Killed In Plane Crash. In: RaceDayCT. September 15, 2019, accessed on September 16, 2019 . NASCAR Modified legend Mike Stefanik dies in plane crash. In: nascar.com. September 15, 2019, accessed on September 16, 2019 . Dustin Long: Nascar Champion Mike Stefanik killed. In: Yahoo! September 16, 2019, accessed on September 16, 2019 .
| personal data | |
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| SURNAME | Stefanik, Mike |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American racing driver |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 20, 1958 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Wilbraham |
| DATE OF DEATH | 15th September 2019 |
| Place of death | Sterling , Connecticut |