Former NASCAR driver killed in single-engine airplane crash

STERLING, Conn. (AP) — Modified inventory automobile nice Michael Stefanik has been killed in a single-engine airplane crash. He was 61.

State police say the crash occurred Sunday afternoon in Sterling close to the Rhode Island state line. They are saying the single-engine, single-seat Aerolite 103 took off from the Riconn Airport in Coventry, Rhode Island, and had been turning again towards the airfield when it crashed right into a wooded space close to the airport. NASCAR confirmed that Stefanik was killed within the accident.

Stefanik received 9 NASCAR sequence championships to tie Corridor of Famer Richie Evans for the document, topping the Whelen Modified Tour seven occasions and Busch North Sequence twice. He additionally raced in what are actually known as the NASCAR Xfinity and Gander Outside Truck sequence, taking rookie of the yr honors at age 41 within the truck sequence in 1999.

”Mike Stafanik was one of the crucial profitable drivers in NASCAR historical past, however much more so, he was a real consultant of our sport,” NASCAR Chairman and CEO Jim France mentioned in a press release. ”His powerful, aggressive nature and excellence on the race observe received him the admiration of cans and rivals alike.”

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