Christopher Captures 10th Win At New Hampshire
Third Win Of Season For Points Leader
Loudon, NH — Ted Christopher reached Victory Lane at New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the fifth time in his NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour career, and 10th time overall, Saturday evening in the New Hampshire 100.
Christopher, who finished second to Chuck Hossfeld by just .001 seconds in the New England 100 at New Hampshire in June, garnered his third win of the 2008 season and extended his points lead in the process.
“Last time – to lose by inches – it was definitely hard to take, but this thing today was really good,” Christopher said. “My car was rolling through the center so much better, and came off real good, it was a really good car.”
With the win, Christopher (No. 36 Al-Lee Installations Chevrolet) also extended his own track record for victories to double digits. It was the 30th win of his NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour career, fifth most all-time.
Jimmy Blewett (No. 19 United Crane/Ling Trucking Chevrolet) led seven times in the race but had to settle for a runner-up finish. Ryan Preece (No. 3 FJ Hubeny/Reynold’s Auto Wrecking Chevrolet) tied his career best finish by placing third.
Rob Summer is officially credited with a fourth place finish although it was Donny Lia that piloted the No. 1 Frasco Fuel/Hook & Ladder Chevrolet to the finish line. Summers drove the first 62 laps prior to a red flag.
Danny Sammons came home fifth for his best finish of the season. He was followed in the top 10 by Matt Hirschman, Erick Rudolph, Woody Pitkat, Jamie Tomaino and Eric Beers.
Hirschman placed fourth in the NASCAR Camping World Series East’s Heluva Good! Fall 125 earlier in the day.
With the win, Christopher now has a 99-point lead on Hirschman in the season standings with four races to go on the schedule.
The New Hampshire 100, which originally went green at 1 p.m., was red flagged with 62 laps complete due to extensive damage to the guard rail on the backstretch caused by an accident. The race resumed at just before 6 p.m., following the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race.
All told, the race had 15 lead changes between five drivers.
The Made In American Whelen 300 will be the 13th of 16 races on the 2008 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour schedule. A combination race with the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour, the green flag is set to drop in Martinsville on Saturday, Sept. 20 and 3:30 p.m. For ticket information please visit Martinsville’s official Web site (martinsvillespeedway.com).
NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour-New Hampshire 100 Results
Saturday
At New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Loudon, N.H.
Lap length: 1.05 miles
(Start position in parentheses)
1. (12) Ted Christopher, Plainville, Conn., Chevrolet, 100 laps, 70.549 mph, $15,600.
2. (3) Jimmy Blewett, Howell, N.J., Chevrolet, 100, $12,200.
3. (34) Ryan Preece, Kensington, Conn., Chevrolet, 100, $9,350.
4. (25) Rob Summers, Vernon, Conn., Chevrolet, 100, $6,200.
5. (15) Danny Sammons, Hamilton, N.J., Chevrolet, 100, $4,600.
6. (20) Matt Hirschman, Northampton, Pa., Chevrolet, 100, $4,050.
7. (17) Erick Rudolph, Ransomville, N.Y., Chevrolet, 100, $3,750.
8. (23) Woody Pitkat, Stafford, Conn., Chevrolet, 100, $3,100.
9. (37) Jamie Tomaino, Howell, N.J., Chevrolet, 100, $3,400.
10. (4) Eric Beers, Northampton, Pa., Chevrolet, 100, $3,350.
11. (30) Tommy Farrell, Neptune, N.J., Chevrolet, 100, $2,650.
12. (35) Ken Heagy, Calverton, N.Y., Chevrolet, 100, $2,950.
13. (8) Todd Szegedy, Ridgefield, Conn., Ford, 99, $2,950.
14. (26) Glenn Tyler, Hampton Bays, N.Y., Chevrolet, 98, $2,825.
15. (24) Billy Pauch, Jr., Frenchtown, N.J., Dodge, 96, $2,700.
16. (14) Ed Flemke, Jr., Southington, Conn., Chevrolet, 93, $2,675.
17. (33) Jake Marosz, Middletown, Conn., Chevrolet, 91, accident, $2,250.
18. (5) Bobby Grigas, III, Marshfield, Mass., Chevrolet, 88, accident, $2,625.
19. (22) Ronnie Silk, Norwalk, Conn., Pontiac, 87, $2,700.
20. (1) Ryan Newman, South Bend, Ind., Chevrolet, 86, accident, $2,643.
21. (16) Richard Savary, Canton, Mass., Chevrolet, 82, $2,625.
22. (29) Rowan Pennink, Huntingdon Valley, Pa., Chevrolet, 75, $2,500.
23. (28) Renee Dupuis, Glastonbury, Conn., Chevrolet, 73, ignition, $1,850.
24. (38) Gary McDonald, Ronkonkoma, N.Y., Chevrolet, 69, accident, $1,825.
25. (21) Reggie Ruggiero, Rocky Hill, Conn., Ford, 65, transmission, $1,800.
26. (7) Anthony Sesely, Matawan, N.J., Chevrolet, 57, accident, $1,800.
27. (13) Mike Stefanik, Coventry, R.I., Pontiac, 56, $2,300.
28. (27) Tom Abele, Jr., Norwich, Conn., Chevrolet, 54, engine, $2,200.
29. (2) Chuck Hossfeld, Ransomville, N.Y., Dodge, 52, accident, $2,300.
30. (9) Kevin Goodale, Riverhead, N.Y., Chevrolet, 51, accident, $2,200.
31. (31) Joe Hartmann, Calverton, N.Y., Chevrolet, 32, engine, $2,200.
32. (10) Donny Lia, Jericho, N.Y., Chevrolet, 31, overheating, $1,800.
33. (32) Wade Cole, Riverton, Conn., Chevrolet, 23, overheating, $2,200.
34. (11) Doug Coby, Milford, Conn., Chevrolet, 4, suspension, $2,300.
35. (36) Glen Reen, Wilbraham, Mass., Ford, 0, accident, $2,200.
36. (6) Rick Fuller, Auburn, Mass., 0, accident, $2,200.
37. (18) Charles Pasteryak, Lisbon, Conn., Chevrolet, 0, accident, $1,800.
38. (19) Bobby Santos, Franklin, Mass., Chevrolet, 0, accident, $1,800.
Race Statistics
Time of Race: 1 hour 29 minutes 18 seconds
Margin of Victory: 0.095 seconds
Fastest Qualifier: R.Newman (127.453 mph, 29.658 seconds)
Caution Flags: 6 for 36 laps.
Lead Changes: 15 among 5 drivers.
Lap Leaders: R.Newman 1-7; C.Hossfeld 8-19; J.Blewett 20-21; R.Newman 22-42; J.Blewett 43-49; C.Hossfeld 50-52; J.Blewett 53-64; R.Preece 65; J.Blewett 66-75; T.Christopher 76; J.Blewett 77-79; T.Christopher 80; J.Blewett 81-82; T.Christopher 83-95; J.Blewett 96; T.Christopher 97-100.
Sources: Jason Cunningham/NASCAR WMT PR