Family Affair: David Arute Wins TC 13 SK Modified Shootout At Stafford

STAFFORD – When it comes to short track racing in Connecticut two historic names of the game that go together like peanut butter and jelly are Arute and Christopher.

The late Ted Christopher is the all-time winningest driver at Stafford Motor Speedway and the late Jack Arute Sr. considered him to be like a son in his family.

Friday at Stafford it was the Arute family celebrating on the night that honors Christopher’s memory at Stafford.

David Arute scored his first victory in an SK Modified in winning the TC 13 SK Modified Shooutout special event at Stafford.

“We’re taking a trophy home,” Arute said. “Do you believe that? That’s awesome.”

The annual 13-lap event takes the top-13 finishers from the night’s 40-lap feature to run the event. Arute’s eighth place finish in the 40-lap feature qualified him into the show.

“This car is great,” Arute said. “Especially to win this race. This is the big race for the SK [Modified] division. Just to get in the top-13 to get in this race is a big deal. To think that I was going to be sitting here to take the trophy home, I don’t even know. I’m kind of speechless here. My crew worked hard. We had to replace a whole right front ty-rod. It was bent after that 40-lap feature. Got a little roughed up. Man what an awesome car. Hopefully we can take this back week in and week out and maybe we get a win come the end of the year.”

Todd Owen of Somers was second and Troy Talman of Oxford, Mass. third.

Arute held off Owen in a green-white-checkered finish to win the event. Owen was the 2020 TC Shootout winner. Arute and Owen work out of the same shop in Somers.

“I was just thinking two of the best cars in the whole class are sitting on the front row and we were going to battle it out between the shop and see who would take the trophy home and we’re bringing it back to the shop for the second year in a row,” Arute said. “It’s just awesome.”