NASCAR great Mike Stefanik dies in ultralight crash in Sterling

Sep. 16--A successful, well-known stock car racer was killed Sunday in a single-engine airplane crash in eastern Connecticut.

State police did not identify the pilot who died in the crash in Sterling, but NASCAR identified the pilot as Mike Stefanik, 61, of Coventry, R.I.

The crash occurred in a wooded area off Plainfield Pike in Sterling, adjacent to the RICONN Airport, state police at the Danielson barracks said.

The crash was reported about 2 p.m. Sunday. Police said they found that the the pilot of an Aerolite 103 ultralight had taken off from RICONN Airport and was turning to return to the airport when the aircraft crashed.

Stefanik won nine NASCAR series championships to tie Hall of Famer Richie Evans for the record, topping the Whelen Modified Tour seven times and Busch North Series twice. He also raced in what are now called the NASCAR Xfinity and Gander Outdoors Truck series, taking rookie of the year honors at age 41 in the truck series in 1999. A regular on the NASCAR circuit in Connecticut, Stefanik is the all-time winningest Whelen Modified Tour driver at Stafford Motor Speedway with 20 victories.

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"Mike Stefanik was one of the most successful drivers in NASCAR history, but even more so, he was a true representative of our sport," NASCAR Chairman and CEO Jim France said in a statement. "His tough, competitive nature and excellence on the race track won him the admiration of cans and competitors alike."

Stenanik holds the Whelen Modified Tour record with 74 victories from 1985 to 2014. A six-time nominee for the NASCAR Hall of Fame, he had 12 victories the Busch North Series.

An Associated Press report was included in this story.

David Owens can be reached at dowens@courant.com.

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