STERLING, Conn. -- Modified stock car great Michael Stefanik has been killed in a single-engine plane crash. He was 61.
State police said the crash happened Sunday afternoon in Sterling, Connecticut, near the Rhode Island state line. They said the single-engine, single-seat Aerolite 103 took off from the Riconn Airport in Coventry, Rhode Island, and had been turning back toward the airfield when it crashed into a wooded area near the airport. NASCAR confirmed that Stefanik was killed in the accident.
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.