Christopher Finds Way Back To Victory Lane
Stafford Springs, CT — With a motor that overpowered clutch problems, Ted Christopher broke a year-long winless streak on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour by holding off Todd Szegedy to win the the New England Dodge Dealers 150 Saturday night at Stafford Motor Speedway.
It was Christopher’s seventh win at the track where he is the all-time winningest driver and the points leader in the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series’ SK Modified Division. But it was his first trip to Victory Lane on the Whelen Modified Tour since Aug. 17, 2006 at Thompson (Conn.).
Christopher (No. 36 Al-Lee Installations Chevrolet) battled runner-up Szegedy (No. 2 Wisk/Snuggle Ford) and third-place finisher Mike Stefanik (No. 16 Diversity Metals Pontiac) during several restarts over the final 38 laps. Christopher said that his clutch was slipping on each restart.
“I had to start in fourth (gear),” Christopher said. “I figured if I stayed on the bottom, if (Szegedy’s) going to go to the outside, he can go outside.”
Christopher led 58 laps before pitting on lap 76. He quickly worked his way back up front and retook the lead on lap 114.
“It was fun,” Christopher said. “I passed a lot of cars and had a lot of fun.”
Doug Coby, making his first start of the season for the No. 77 Race Against Cancer Foxwoods/Subway Pontiac, finished fourth. Donny Lia (No. 4 Dodge), who won the first two Whelen Modified Tour stops of the season at Stafford, was fifth.
Matt Hirschman, Jerry Marquis, Eric Beers, Jimmy Blewett and Woody Pitkat rounded out the top 10. Pitkat, the national leader in the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series standings, won his fourth straight SK Modified feature at Stafford earlier in the night and was the Whelen Modified Tour’s Sunoco Rookie of the Race.
Szegedy took the lead briefly on restarts on lap 126 and 138, and each time Christopher was able power back in front.
“I was really strong on every restart,” Szegedy said. “But Teddy, the motor he’s got in that thing – he’s got power. I could have blocked him, but there was no sense. He would have gotten by eventually.”
NASCAR WHELEN MODIFIED TOUR-New England Dodge Dealers 150 Results
Saturday At Stafford Motor Speedway, Stafford Springs, CT
Lap length: 0.5 miles
(Start position in parentheses)
1. (8) Ted Christopher, Plainville, Conn., Chevrolet, 150 laps, 51.311 mph, $7,300.
2. (2) Todd Szegedy, Ridgefield, Conn., Ford, 150, $4,000.
3. (21) Mike Stefanik, Coventry, R.I., Chevrolet, 150, $4,850.
4. (20) Doug Coby, Milford, Conn., Pontiac, 150, $2,600.
5. (4) Donny Lia, Jericho, N.Y., Dodge, 150, $2,850.
6. (6) Matt Hirschman, Northampton, Pa., Dodge, 150, $2,500.
7. (25) Jerry Marquis, Broad Brook, Conn., Chevrolet, 150, $2,150.
8. (12) Eric Beers, Northampton, Pa., Chevrolet, 150, $2,050.
9. (16) Jimmy Blewett, Howell, N.J., Chevrolet, 150, $2,250.
10. (19) Woody Pitkat, Stafford Springs, Conn., Pontiac, 150, $1,850.
11. (10) Dick Houlihan, Bridgewater, Mass., Chevrolet, 150, $2,400.
12. (5) Tony Hirschman, Northampton, Pa., Chevrolet, 150, $2,175.
13. (29) Billy Pauch, Jr., Frenchtown, N.J., Dodge, 150, $1,500.
14. (26) Eric Berndt, Rocky Hill, Conn., Pontiac, 150, $1,075.
15. (27) Jamie Tomaino, Howell, N.J., Ford, 150, $2,000.
16. (13) Renee Dupuis, Glastonbury, Conn., Chevrolet, 150, $1,025.
17. (3) Danny Sammons, Trenton, N.J., Chevrolet, 150, $1,850.
18. (24) Wade Cole, Riverton, Conn., Chevrolet, 150, $1,675.
19. (28) Rowan Pennink, Huntingdon Valley, Pa., Chevrolet, 150, $1,800.
20. (7) Ronnie Silk, Norwalk, Conn., Chevrolet, 150, $1,875.
21. (23) Charlie Pasteryak, Lisbon, Conn., Chevrolet, 138, accident, $900.
22. (11) Richard Savary, Canton, Mass., Chevrolet, 134, $1,575.
23. (1) Bobby Grigas, Marshfield, MA, Chevrolet, 132, electrical, $1,250.
24. (30) Glen Tyler, Hampton Bays, N.Y., Chevrolet, 130, accident, $1,225.
25. (17) James Civali, Meriden, Conn., Chevrolet, 129, $1,950.
26. (15) Reggie Ruggiero, Rocky Hill, Conn., Chevrolet, 117, accident, $1,164.
27. (22) Kevin Goodale, Riverhead, NY, Chevrolet, 115, accident, $1,450.
28. (14) Eddie Flemke, Southington, Conn., Chevrolet, 114, $1,550.
29. (32) Jake Marosz, Middletown, Conn., Chevrolet, 114, $750.
30. (18) Ryan Preece, Kensington, CT, Chevrolet, 84, $1,450.
31. (31) Joseph Hartmann, Calverton, N.Y., Chevrolet, 72, radiator, $1,150.
32. (9) Bobby Santos, III, Millis, Mass., Chevrolet, 6, accident, $750.
Race Statistics
Time of Race: 1 hour 27 minutes 42 seconds
Margin of Victory: .430 seconds
Fastest Qualifier: T.Hirschman (98.966 mph, 18.188 seconds)
Caution Flags: 13 for 73 laps.
Lead Changes: 11 among 5 drivers.
Lap Leaders: B.Grigas pole; T.Szegedy 1-14; D.Lia 15-18; T.Christopher 19-76; D.Lia 77-85; B.Grigas 86-111; M.Stefanik 112-113; T.Christopher 114-125; T.Szegedy 126; T.Christopher 127-137; T.Szegedy 138-140; T.Christopher 141-150.
Standings: 1. D.Lia, 1439; 2. M.Hirschman, 1347; 3. T.Szegedy, 1310; 4. R.Silk, 1232; 5. J.Civali, 1226; 6. T.Christopher, 1220; 7. Ji.Blewett, 1216; 8. M.Stefanik, 1186; 9. J.Tomaino, 1099; 10. J.Marquis, 1066.
Sources: Jason Christley/NASCAR WMT PR.