Christopher Continues To Roll With Spring Sizzler Victory
Plainville, Conn., Racer Has Won Both NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Races In 2009
Stafford, CT — Ted Christopher, the dominant car for the first half of Sunday’s 200-lap NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour race, survived a cut tire and an accident in the second 100 to earn his second trip in a row to Victory Lane in the Tech-Net Spring Sizzler presented by CARQUEST at Stafford Motor Speedway.
Christopher, of Plainville, Conn., piloted the No. 36 Al-Lee Installations Chevrolet from mid-pack with 70 laps to go to earn his 33rd career NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour victory. The Coors Light Pole Award winner on Saturday, Christopher led 82 of the first 100 laps and appeared early to be the dominant car for the second week in a row. While under caution, Christopher had to come to pit road on Lap 121 with a cut tire and surrendered the lead on to Mike Stefanik. After rejoining the field, seven laps later he was skidding through the grass on the backstretch after getting caught up in an accident and a second-consecutive victory seemed unlikely.
All that didn’t deter the defending series champion from returning to Victory Lane, however, as he quickly moved up through the field and finally got by Todd Szegedy on Lap 182. The result was his fourth NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Spring Sizzler win and his ninth career tour triumph at the Connecticut half mile.
Szegedy (No. 2 Wisk/Snuggle Ford) finished as the runner-up and led three-different times for 33 laps in the race. Ryan Preece (No. 3 Mizzy Construction/Logan Steel Chevrolet) posted a third-place finish while Stefanik (No. 16 Diversified Metals/Sanderson-MacLeod Pontiac) and Chris Pasteryak (No. 52 Furnace & Duct Supply Chevrolet) rounded out the top five.
The rest of the top 10 finishers on Sunday included Donny Lia, Woody Pitkat, Ron Silk, Jimmy Blewett and Ed Flemke Jr.
The third race on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour schedule will also take place at Stafford Motor Speedway. The TSI Harley-Davidson Classic, the first race under the lights in 2009, is schedule for Friday, May 22.
Sources: Jason Cunningham/NASCAR WMT PR
NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour-Tech-Net Spring Sizzler pres. by CARQUEST Unofficial Results
Sunday
At Stafford Motor Speedway
Stafford, CT
Lap length: 0.5 miles
(Start position in parentheses)
1. (3) Ted Christopher, Plainville, Conn., Chevrolet, 200 laps, 59.416 mph, $9,200.
2. (6) Todd Szegedy, Ridgefield, Conn., Ford, 200, $4,500.
3. (1) Ryan Preece, Kensington, Conn., Chevrolet, 200, $3,500.
4. (2) Mike Stefanik, Coventry, R.I., Pontiac, 200, $3,000.
5. (7) Chris Pasteryak, Lisbon, Conn., Chevrolet, 200, $2,750.
6. (8) Donny Lia, Jericho, N.Y., Dodge, 200, $2,400.
7. (16) Woody Pitkat, Stafford, Conn., Chevrolet, 200, $2,200.
8. (15) Ron Silk, Norwalk, Conn., Pontiac, 200, $2,100.
9. (10) Jimmy Blewett, Howell, N.J., Chevrolet, 200, $1,900.
10. (20) Ed Flemke, Jr., Southington, Conn., Chevrolet, 200, $1,700.
11. (29) Eric Goodale, Riverhead, N.Y., Chevrolet, 200, $2,650.
12. (24) Jamie Tomaino, Howell, N.J., Chevrolet, 200, $1,575.
13. (4) Eric Berndt, Cromwell, Conn., Chevrolet, 200, $1,150.
14. (33) Kevin Goodale, Riverhead, N.Y., Chevrolet, 200, $1,079.
15. (25) Bobby Grigas, III, Marshfield, Mass., Chevrolet, 200, $1,450.
16. (17) Eric Beers, Northampton, Pa., Chevrolet, 200, $1,540.
17. (28) Glenn Tyler, Hampton Bays, N.Y., Chevrolet, 200, $1,425.
18. (11) Glen Reen, Wilbraham, Mass., Chevrolet, 200, $1,575.
19. (21) Ken Heagy, Calverton, N.Y., Chevrolet, 200, $950.
20. (27) Tommy Farrell, III, Neptune, N.J., Chevrolet, 200, $925.
21. (12) Matt Hirschman, Northampton, Pa., Chevrolet, 200, $900.
22. (30) Wade Cole, Riverton, Conn., Chevrolet, 198, $1,275.
23. (9) Carl Pasteryak, Lisbon, Conn., Pontiac, 197, $850.
24. (22) Richard Savary, Canton, Mass., Chevrolet, 195, $1,225.
25. (32) Jake Marosz, Middletown, Conn., Chevrolet, 193, $1,200.
26. (5) Rowan Pennink, Huntingdon Valley, Pa., Chevrolet, 176, accident, $1,300.
27. (26) Joe Hartmann, Calverton, N.Y., Chevrolet, 164, engine, $1,200.
28. (13) Doug Coby, Milford, Conn., Chevrolet, 160, engine, $800.
29. (18) Rob Summers, Vernon, Conn., Chevrolet, 103, overheating, $1,200.
30. (14) Erick Rudolph, Ransomville, N.Y., Chevrolet, 38, suspension, $1,300.
31. (31) Tom Abele, Jr., Norwich, Conn., Chevrolet, 31, suspension, $1,200.
32. (23) Renee Dupuis, Glastonbury, Conn., Chevrolet, 22, accident, $1,200.
33. (19) Reggie Ruggiero, Rocky Hill, Conn., Ford, 2, accident, $1,200.
Race Statistics
Time of Race: 1 hour 40 minutes 59 seconds
Margin of Victory: 1.120 seconds
Fastest Qualifier: T.Christopher (99.174 mph, 18.15 seconds)
Caution Flags: 10 for 63 laps.
Lead Changes: 10 among 5 drivers.
Lap Leaders: R. Preece 1-9; T. Christopher 10-92; R. Pennink 93-99; T. Christopher 100-122; M. Stefanik 123-133; T. Szegedy 134; M. Stefanik 135-148; T. Szegedy 149-174; M. Stefanik 175; T. Szegedy 176-181; T. Christopher 182-200.
Standings: 1. T. Christopher, 360; 2. T. Szegedy, 325; 3. R. Preece, 325; 4. D. Lia, 315; 5. J. Blewett, 308; 6. M. Stefanik, 306; 7. R. Silk, 292; 8. W. Pitkat, 252; 9. B. Grigas,III, 252; 10. J. Tomaino, 251.