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NASCAR Busch North Series Heads for Stafford Motor Speedway

24 July 1997

         NASCAR Busch North Series Round Two Set For Stafford

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

   GARDINER, Me. -- In the case of NASCAR Busch North Series racing at 
Stafford, you can honestly say that nobody has dominated Stafford Motor 
Speedway. As a matter of fact, until Jerry Marquis' win there in June, no 
state could claim more than one winner among its residents.

   Now, Marquis, who is unbeaten in his home state, is headed into the 
Seventh Annual  Stafford 150 set for July 25 with hopes of becoming the first 
two-time NASCAR Busch North Series winner there, but there are others hoping 
to spoil his parade.

   Mike Stefanik of Coventry, R.I. is currently one of the hottest drivers in 
New England, and he picked up his first NASCAR Busch North Series win at 
Stafford in 1991. It was Stefanik's third career start on the NASCAR Busch 
North Series. 

   Tommy Bolles of nearby Ellington, Conn. picked up his first career NASCAR 
Busch North Series win at Stafford in 1996, and he would like to go into the 
record books as the first repeat NASCAR Busch North Series winner at Stafford 
as would Andy Santerre of Cherryfield, Me. the 1996 event winner.

   All of these past NASCAR Busch North Series Stafford winners are still 
active drivers, and all are certainly capable of carving another Stafford 
notch in their steering wheels, but there is a plethora of driving talent 
that is just as likely to score a win at Stafford. 

   Start with 1996 NASCAR Busch North Series champion Dave Dion of Hudson, 
N.H. who has a history of racing for the win everywhere he goes. Add in 1995 
NASCAR Busch North Series champion Kelly Moore of Scarborough, Me. who leads 
the series in race wins, and Brad Leighton of Center Harbor, N.H., the 1996 
Raybestos Rookie of the Year who has already scored a pair of victories this 
year, and you have a list of drivers who are capable. The above three drivers 
finished in the second through fourth positions behind Santerre last year, so 
they are knocking at the door.

   It was Bolles, Santerre, Moore and Stefanik who chased Marquis across the 
stripe last June at Stafford, and you can rest assured that they would all 
like to see the same top-five in the Stafford 150, only in a slightly 
different order. 

   But, given Stafford's history and its tendency to showcase driving talent,
it is just as likely that there will be a fresh face in victory lane on July 
25. 

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by:NASCAR Public Relations