Ted Christopher (Photo: Getty Images for NASCAR)
Ted Christopher went to Stafford Motor Speedway last Friday staring down an 18-point deficit between himself and then SK Modified division points leader Ryan Preece with three events remaining on the schedule this season.
And then one of those “Anything can happen” moments happened for the Plainville driver.
Preece blew up and finished 20th in the feature that night and Christopher drove to a sixth place finish and right into a 10-point lead at the top of the standings over Preece with two races remaining.
It proved a playing out of circumstances that will help Christopher to take a positive mindset to New Hampshire Motor Speedway this weekend for Saturday’s running of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour F.W. Webb 100.
With three Whelen Modified Tour events remaining this season, Doug Coby goes to Loudon leading the division’s standings by four points over Justin Bonsignore. Christopher is third in the standings, facing down what might seem realistically as an insurmountable 33-point deficit between himself and Coby.
Though Christopher, the 2008 Whelen Modified Tour champion, isn’t quite ready to surrender the title fight to Coby and Bonsignore.
“I just go to the track to win anyways, then we just see what happens,” Christopher said. “I was behind at Stafford last week and the guy blew up so, we’ll see. You’ve got to race the race. You can say everything and do this and do that, but until you race you don’t really know anything. Nothing means a thing until it’s over with on Saturday. Then we’ll reevaluate from there again.”
Christopher goes to Loudon looking to snap a 39-race Whelen Modified Tour winless streak that dates back to the 2011 season. Christopher looked on the verge of snapping that streak on July 12 in Loudon, but Bobby Santos III used a last lap pass to go by Christopher for the lead and the win in the Sunoco 100 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Five of Christopher’s 42 career Whelen Modified Tour wins have come in Loudon. He won four consecutive events there in 2004-2005 and got his last Modified Tour victory at the track in 2008. In 50 career Whelen Modified Tour starts in Loudon he has 20 top-five finishes.
“I’ve run there and won a lot,” Christopher said. “And I was so good there in July. I just sort of zigged when I should have zagged. We’ll see, maybe somebody else will zig and zag and I’ll be alright. … I’ve let a bunch of them get away I guess. You can’t really look at it that way, but I know people look at it that way. There’s a lot of stuff that gets away in life sometimes. We’ll just see what happens.”
As is always the case for Christopher for Loudon race weekends, he’ll be a busy traveler. After Whelen Modified Tour qualifying Friday evening at New Hampshire Motor Speedway he will return to Stafford to run in the track’s penultimate NASCAR Whelen All-American Series SK Modified feature of the season Friday night.
He has one victory this year at Stafford, on June 27, and is the only driver at the track to finish in the top-10 in all 15 events this season.
“We’re not running really that great there, that’s what’s bothered me more than anything there,” Christopher said. “After we won that one race and we ran so good with [Preece] we just haven’t got it back for some reason. It’s not for a lack of effort though.”
After Saturday’s F.W. Webb 100 in Loudon Christopher will head to the Waterford Speedbowl to compete in the 35-lap Whelen All-American Series SK Modified feature.
Dont tell anybody I said this but I am hoping Teddy wins the Stafford championship because I am not a fan of Presence and if Keith Rocco isn’t going to win then go Teddy
Good luck Ted! Would so love to see you take the title…..
Won’t that be an interesting helicopter ride back if preece and teddy go together.
Fred,
Christopher is driving back, Preece is taking a helicopter.