NASCAR Featherlite Modifieds Tour Stafford 150 Preview
27 August 1997
NASCAR Featherlite Modified Tour Stafford 150 Stafford Motor Speedway STAFFORD SPRINGS, CT - The 18th NASCAR Featherlite Modified Tour race of the season, the 8th Annual Stafford 150, is scheduled for Friday, Aug. 29, at the Stafford (CT) Motor Speedway. - Posted awards for the 150-lap race are $49,420. - Qualifying is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. The top-26 cars will advance to the feature with the remaining four positions available for provisional starting positions. The fastest qualifier will draw to determine the redraw of the top 6, 8 or 10 qualifiers. - This will be the 44th series race at Stafford since 1985. - The Stafford 150 will be the third of four series races at Stafford in 1997. Mike Stefanik of Coventry, R.I., won the Carquest Spring Sizzler in April at Stafford. He also won the Connecticut Classic in May. - Stefanik is the defending champion of the Stafford 150. He also won this race in 1990. When the distance was 125 laps. Reggie Ruggiero is the only other current series driver with a victory in this event (1992). - Tim Connolly holds the track series qualifying record at 95.969 mph (18.756 seconds), set May 23, 1997. The 150-lap race record is 75.125 mph, (59 minutes, 54 seconds) established in May of 1992 by Reggie Ruggiero. - In the three previous NASCAR Featherlite Modified Tour races this season, (Riverhead 8/9, NHIS 8/17 and Watkins Glen 8/24) the race winners, (Mike Ewanitsko, Jan Leaty and Mike Stefanik) have also won the Busch Pole Award for being the fastest qualifier. - As of Aug. 25, 37 drivers had filed entries for the Stafford 150. - Since the beginning of the season, 95 different drivers have attempted to qualify for at least one NASCAR Featherlite Modified Tour race. By NASCAR Public Relations