Ted Christopher Wins Coors Light SK Modified 100 to Record 100th Career Feature Victory at Stafford
Stafford Springs, CT — The 35th Annual Coors Light SK Modified® 100 played out perfectly for Ted Christopher in the game of numbers. On Friday, June 13th, Christopher drove car number 13 to his 100th career feature victory at Stafford by winning the Coors Light SK Modified® 100. Other feature winners included Michael Bennett and Dillon Moltz from the Late Model division, Alan Provost in the SK Light feature, Sean Foster in the Limited Late Model feature, and Bill Dunn in the DARE Stock feature.
The 35th Annual Coors Light SK Modified® 100 took the green with Doug Coby leading the first three laps before giving way to Todd Owen on lap-4. While Owen was pacing the field, Ted Christopher was quickly working his way through the field from his 7th place starting position. He took second place from Curt Brainard on lap-19 and closed in on Owen’s bumper by lap-30. Christopher hounded Owen’s back bumper, but couldn’t make a pass stick.
The first caution of the race came out with 38-laps complete, which gave Christopher all the opportunity he needed as he took to the outside groove on the restart and passed Owen for the lead.
The race took on another long green flag run with Christohper, Chris Jones, and Woody Pitkat making up the top-3 cars. The race ran green to lap-89 with the top-3 cars remaining the same. Pitkat got by Jones on the restart and he applied immediate pressure to Christopher in a battle for the race lead. Much like Christopher did earlier in the race to Owen, Pitkat was all over the back bumper of Christopher. Pitkat tried several times to make a run for the lead in the corners, but couldn’t make a pass stick and Christopher had just enough car to keep in front of Pitkat for a one car length victory, the 100th career feature win for Christopher at Stafford Motor Speedway. Pitkat finished second, with Tom Bolles, Keith Rocco, and Frank Ruocco rounding out the top-5.
In victory lane, it was announced that to commemorate Christopher’s 100 career victories at Stafford, Section A of the main grandstand would be named after Christopher, placing him with other modified greats that adorn each section of Stafford’s main grandstand. Christopher was also presented a commemorative plaque, recognizing his 100 career wins.
In the first of two 30-lap Late Model feature events, Michael Bennett drove to an emotional victory, which he dedicated to his late car owner and sponsor, Dave Rowe. Bennett took charge of the race in the early laps and he led the rest of the way to pick up his first feature victory of the 2008 season. Ryan Posocco gave chase to Bennett, but couldn’t find a way around Bennett in the closing laps of the race. Rounding out the top-5 behind Bennett and Posocco was Dillon Moltz, Mike Quintiliano, and Scott Foster, Jr. After taking the checkered flag, Bennett parked his car near the retaining wall in turn 1, got out of his car, and removed the rear deck lid and waved it to the fans. Bennett’s rear deck lid was decaled with a memorial to Rowe.
In the second 30-lap Late Model feature, Dillon Moltz took the lead from Tom Fearn on lap-2 and led the rest of the way to score his first feature win of the 2008 season. Moltz and Corey Hutchings were the class of the field for much of the race, but a late race caution set up a five lap dash to the finish. Moltz took the lead on the restart and pulled away from the field once again. Mike Quintiliano was able to move by Hutchings for second place, but didn’t have enough car to get close to Moltz in the closing laps. Hutchings held on to finish third, with Ryan Posocco and Fearn rounding out the top-5.
In the 15-lap SK Light Modified feature, it was Alan Provost taking down his first feature win of the 2008 season. Heather DesRochers set the early pace before Provost moved out front on lap-4. A plethora of caution periods kept the field in close contact, but Provost was up to the task on each restart and was never seriously challenged for the victory. Joe Allegro, Jr. finished second, with John Walmsley, Adam Skowyra, and Raymond Grassetti rounding out the top-5.
In the 20-lap Limited Late Model feature, defending track champion Sean Foster drove to his first win of the 2008 season. Darrin Havanec took the early race lead and was pulling away from the field, but his large lead was erased when the caution came out with 10-laps complete. Havanec held the lead until lap-13 when Foster made his move to take over the race lead. Foster ran unchallenged to the checkered flag as Havanec spun from second place on the final lap of the race to end his strong run. Andrew Durand finished second, with Ed Charette, Bill Davis, and Kevin Gambacorta rounding out the top-5.
The 15-lap DARE Stock feature event, Bill Dunn cruised to his first feature win of the 2008 season. Dunn took the lead at the drop of the green and he and John Kasper began to distance themselves from the rest of the field. A caution with 10 laps complete erased their large lead. Jeff Jolly and Kasper would duel side by side for second over the final five laps with Jolly edging Kasper at the line by a nose for second place. Peter Bourque finished fourth, with Matt Chiarizio rounding out the top-5.
For more information contact the Stafford Motor Speedway track office at (860) 684-2783, or visit us on the web at www.staffordspeedway.com.
Souces: Scott Running/Stafford Motor Speedway PR