NASCAR Trucks: Austin Hill to honor Hall of Famer Mike Stefanik at Darlington

Austin Hill and Hattori Racing Enterprises (HRE) will honor NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2021 inductee Mike Stefanik when the Camping World Truck Series visits Darlington Raceway in May. Hill’s No. 16 United Rentals Toyota Tundra will be part of the ever-popular Throwback Weekend at the famed track.

Mike Stefanik driving his No. 16. Photo: Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR.

Austin Hill will carry colors at the South Carolina venue that are reminiscent of Stefanik’s when he raced in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour (NWMT) in 2010-11. He won the NWMT title in 1989, 1991, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2002, and 2006. Overall, he had nine championships, two in the Busch Grand National Series, which tie him with Richie Evans for the most in NASCAR history. Evans died at the age of 44 at Martinsville Speedway in a practice run.

“It’s awesome to be going back to Darlington for the second year in a row,” Austin Hill said in an HRE release.

Speaking about Mike Stefanik, Hill said:

“Being able to participate in Throwback weekend by celebrating Mike Stefanik’s career as a Hall of Famer is an honor. We’re working nonstop trying to get our first championship this year, so looking back on his career and him winning seven modified titles and two more in Busch North was incredible. He’s a great example for racers like myself to follow with how dedicated and competitive he was for such a long period of time. Not many drivers are able to keep winning races late in their careers like Mike did in this paint scheme, so it’s cool for United Rentals to allow us to celebrate his career like this.”

Austin Hill will not be able to celebrate with Mike Stefanik

Sadly, Stefanik will not be part of the induction ceremony in 2022. At the age of 61, on Sept. 15, 2019, he passed away from injuries suffered when his ultralight aircraft crashed into the woods.

According to the HRE release, Stefanik significantly impacted numerous team members at HRE, including General Manager Mike Greci. In 1997-1998, Stefanik drove to back-to-back Busch North Series championships in an entry owned by Greci.