By Phil Whipple,Staff Writer

LOUDON, N.H. – Mike Stefanik took the lead for the second and final time on lap 52 and drove to victory in the New England 125 in the NASCAR Busch North Series on Friday at New Hampshire International Speedway.

The Coventry, R.I., native outraced polesitter Matt Kobyluck into Turn 1 and led the first 19 laps until the first round of pit stops. Stefanik earned a healthy $12,500 for his efforts, while the race took a little more than 90 minutes to complete.

It was Stefanik’s 12th career Busch North Series victory and second of the 2005 season. He led every lap in Holland, N.Y., earlier this season en route to his first victory.

“This was probably the best car I’ve ever had here,” Stefanik said. “This can be a hard place to run up front, and track position is so critical here. We had the right setup for the track conditions today, and were able to hold them off.

“I owe it all to this Grizco Racing organization, they have a great team in place and I’m just thrilled to be driving the Burnham Hydronics Chevrolet.”

Grizco Racing now has a three-car “superteam” in Busch North, with Stefanik, Andy Santerre and former champion Brad Leighton making up the stable.

Vermont’s Brian Hoar shadowed Stefanik for much of the event and settled for second, while Scarborough’s Ryan Moore finished third. Moore’s father Kelly, the all-time leading winner in Busch North, finished fourth in his first race of the year. Cherryfield native and three-time and defending champion Santerre placed fifth.

Finishing sixth through 10th in the New England 125 were Sanford’s Mike Gallo, Mike Olsen, Eddie MacDonald, Mike Johnson and rookie James Civali. Seven cautions slowed the pace, while 16 of the 36 starters finished on the lead lap.

Hoar, a former pole award winner here at New Hampshire, led 20 laps in the early going and was satisfied with his runner-up performance.

“We gave it everything we had this afternoon,” Hoar said. “Mike was real strong, I knew when he got back by us, he would be tough, and he was. The Goss Dodge entry was fast today, just not quite fast enough. We’ll happily take a top three at New Hampshire and go on to the next one.”

Ryan Moore had a busy day bouncing between his Busch Series and Busch North Series cars.

“The car was really tight all day,” he stated. “We had a lug nut jam on our first pit stop, then we got a bad set of tires and I had to fight the car until the finish. It was great to race so close to my Dad there, he’s not racing much this year so I’m happy he ran in the top five with me. It feels good to have earned a solid finish here today.”

The victory puts Stefanik on top of the points standings, with Santerre now second and former leader Kobyluck third. Kobyluck faded in the midstages of the race and finished 19th, a tough pill to swallow for the Uncasville, Conn., driver.

The Busch North Series now moves to the Waterford Speedbowl in Waterford, Ct., next Saturday night for a 150-lap contest.