For Mike Christopher Jr., a return to the New London-Waterford Speedbowl for the Aug. 12 Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series Belltown Motors/Fowler’s Auto Wrecking 100 has him excited.
Though the Wolcott driver is hoping that along with his return to the track comes the return of the old style racing at the track.
Christopher will run the Tri-Track event at the Speedbowl for car owner Tommy Baldwin Jr. It will mark Christopher’s first visit to Waterford in 2023 and his second Tri-Track series start of the season for Baldwin. Christopher finished 10th in the season opening event for the series on May 28 at Thunder Road International Speedbowl in Barre, Vt.
In that event Christopher was on the move toward the front late in the event. With 12 laps remaining Christopher was battling with Doug Coby for second place when he made contact with the backstretch wall and fell back in the field.
“Racing with Tommy is obviously super exciting whenever it does present itself,” Christopher said. “This year it’s not as extensive as a schedule as last year for one reason or another. I think it makes it even more exciting when there’s like one-off shows like this at the Speedbowl. Especially when we showed up to Thunder Road and definitely had the car to beat.”
When the Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series made its return to the Speedbowl in 2022, it was Christopher finishing second to Dana DiMatteo in the event running for Baldwin.
“Looking at last year’s Waterford race, I don’t think we had the best car to win, but we still put on a good show and finished pretty decent,” Christopher said. “I’m looking forward to getting back there with [Badlwin] and that team. It’s always something to put on the calendar and look forward to to go racing with those guys.”
For Christopher, being part of a major event at the Speedbowl brings pride. His family’s history at the track runs deep and it’s where some of his formative years were spent competing locally. Christopher has 25 Legends wins at the Speedbowl. He has also spent time in recent years running regularly in the track’s SK Modified division.
“Waterford has been on a little downhill this year, especially with car count with the SK [Modifieds],” Christopher said. “For them to be able to put on a show and hopefully bring awesome race cars and awesome fans for a nice summer’s night in August, I’m happy to be a part of that. I’m happy to promote the event and bring some recognition to the great race track that it is. I think this race will be one of the biggest Modified events of the year, if not the biggest. It was a sold out crowd last year, so I expect it to have the same amount crowd this year. I think it will have the same hype and vibe around the race. Being a part of any kind of race like that where you have packed grandstands and a full field of race cars, it’s exciting to be part of something like that.”
Christopher is hoping the shoreline oval is ready to allow the Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series field to put on a show. Speedbowl general manager Sean Foster said track officials put down spray treatment less than two weeks ago trying to help bring back a more defined second groove on the bullring.
“The biggest thing I’m thinking about is what the track state is going to be?” Christopher said. “I think it’s very clear to most people who have seen races there the past two years you see that’s it’s now a top dominant race track. You’re able to move around a little better with the [Tour Type Modifed] compared to an SK [Modified] because of the power and setup and all that. But it’s definitely a top dominant race track. I’ve heard that they were willing to spray the bottom [with track treatment] and bring back some of the bottom groove. I really think it needs it. It’s a hell of a race track that for decades has been know for two-wide racing and right now it’s not that. To get the true Waterford Speedbowl back they’ve got to figure that out.”
What’s the deal with DiMatteo? Trying to wreck half the field. And then intentionally running into Bernt after the checkered. Should be a ban for the next few weeks.