Garage stall No. 13 was reserved for World Series of Speedway Racing weekend at Thompson Speedway in memory of Ted Christopher
THOMPSON – On Sept. 10 Ted Christopher took the last checkered flag of his storied career after winning an SK Modified feature at Thompson Speedway.
Sunday the legendary short track racer was honored during pre-race ceremonies at the World Series of Speedway Racing.
Christopher was killed in a plane crash Sept. 16 while travelling to a Whelen Modified Tour event at Riverhead (N.Y.) Raceway.
During the weekend at Thompson the No. 13 garage stall in the paddock was roped off in memory of Christopher. In victory lane the initials “TC” and the No. 99 were painted on the ground, representing Christopher’s 99 career victories at the track.
Before the start of feature racing Christopher was posthumously awarded the 17th Sonny “The King” Richards Award. The award is giving annually as a lifetime achievement honor for an individual in Modified racing.
Christopher’s longtime friend Shawn Waddell accepted the award from Dale Wolbrink, who oversees the annual presentation.
Prior to the start of the SK Modified feature a pickup truck paced the field flying a massive No. 13 flag, Christopher’s longtime favorite number in racing. The field paced under a three-wide formation honoring Christopher.
A No. 13 flag was also flying under the American flag on the infield all weekend.
That’s a great picture.
A lot has been said about Christopher. What surprises me is that rarely have his life choices that contributed toward his success been folded into his narrative. He was a technically oriented guy that learned Allison Transmissions, started a business and was a successful entrepreneur as I understand it. He chose not to have children, got married later in life and used his financial resources to help propel a career almost non stop when sponsorship was unavailable. He seemed physically fit and preferred ice cream to adult beverages. An amazing story of singular dedication to the thing he loved most. I could be wrong on some of the details but as an outsider I’m hoping I got the basics correct.