Northern Dominance Continues in Made in America Whelen 300 with Stefanik's win.

Edward Lane
ESPN Radio 1160 AM – Martinsville, VA

The irony of dominance can be found in Michael Stefanik’s victory in the Made in America Whelen 300 Sunday afternoon at the Martinsville, VA. In a race marred by cautions, the Coventry, Rhode Island resident used a little luck and survived two wrecks with fewer than 50 laps remaining, en route to his 5th Martinsville victory, snapping a four-way tie for first.

While carefully avoiding the wrecks which brought out numerous cautions, Stefanik was careful to conserve fuel from the race’s outset. Actually, prior to the race: “I didn’t even start my car when he [Grand Marshall Johnny Bryant] said ‘gentleman, start your engines.’ I just started it, then shut it off. We were in full conservation mode.”

As quirky as the strategy may seem, it worked. Stefanik had plenty of fuel to hold off a late charge from fellow New England resident Todd Szegedy (of Ridgefield, Conn.) on a restart with 14 laps to go, following a red flag in which seven cars crashed on the front stretch. Szegedy actually vaulted from third on lap 187, getting underneath Ryan Preece (Berlin, Conn.) and taking over the runner-up spot. Preece would go on to finish third. Ron Silk (Norwalk, Conn.) came home fourth, while Burt Myers (Walnut Cove, NC) was the top finishing southerner, finishing fifth.

The irony of the race, though came in Stefanik’s run. Rather than dominating Martinsville as he has done in prior races, Stefanik posted a solid race, spending most of the afternoon in the Top 5. Yet as fellow front-runners Rowan Pennink (Huntington Valley, PA) and Chris Pasteryak (Lisbon, Conn.) saw their chances go up in smoke through late wrecks, Stefanik managed to avoid the misfortunes of his fellow front-runners.

So for the fifth time in his career, Stefanik and the #16 team will be taking a Grandfather Clock from Martinsville Speedway, back north to Rhode Island. This time, fortune and strategy played a greater role than sheer dominance. Either way, Stefanik owns a record five checkered-flags in the Whelen Made in America 300, setting into a new class of Modified lore at the South’s most famous paperclip speedway.

Random Bits:
• This indoor smoking ban cannot come soon enough. My sinuses are burned out from the cigarette smoke in the press box.
• Stefanik’s victory in the Made in America Whelen 300 was the 70th of his career.
• No driver made light of the sun/shadow impact on racing, but I’m wondering if that played a role in the caution on lap 186.
• So we’re on lap 25 in the 100-lap heat race (which has been shortened to 50 laps) which follows the 300 and there must have been 5 cautions. Any problems with the lack of sunlight?
• Jimmie Johnson wins at Dover: paint is drying somewhere. At least Mark Martin finished 2nd. Johnson trails Martin by 10 points Denny Hamlin had a bad day, finishing 22nd, a hit to his title hopes as he sits 108 back of Martin. With “the Pope” Juan Pablo Montoya already 65 back in 3rd, one can only hope Martin continues to run well.

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