STRAIGHT AWAY: Christopher Keeps Rolling
Connecticut Modified Ace Shows No Sign Of Slowing At 52
Ted Christopher doesn’t spend a whole lot of time checking his rearview mirrors. Not when it comes to driving his race car, and not when it comes to his career.
He doesn’t spend time thinking about his legacy in Modified racing, despite the fact that he’s the winningest driver in the history of Connecticut’s Stafford Motor Speedway — where he has an entire grandstand named after him. He doesn’t spend time thinking about the fact that he’s won more races in the history of New England’s largest speedway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, than any other driver.
And he certainly isn’t spending time thinking about what a second NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championship could mean to his resume.
“I’m not done winning yet, hopefully,” Christopher said matter-of-factly. “But it’s nice to have those. If someone tells you they don’t think about it, they’re lying. Somebody always brings those kinds of things up.
“I don’t outwardly think of stuff like that — I’m not that type of person. But if people ask about it or want me to comment on it, I will.”
Most notably — and to borrow from an old, worn-out cliche — Christopher can let his driving do the talking. His Whelen Modified Tour resume alone is sparkling, with 37 career wins and 22 career poles on everything from bullring quarter-miles to road courses to speedways. The 52-year-old Christopher has finished in the Top-5 of the final Modified Tour standings in each of the last nine seasons, and it’s highly likely he’ll make it 10 straight this year.
With just three races remaining, Christopher trails Bobby Santos by just 32 points for the tour lead.
“The first one’s always the most special because you tried for so long,” said Christopher, who won that elusive first title in 2008. “But over the last 10 years, I’ve been up close to that deal for most of the time. We’ve run well this year, tied for most amount of races won (three). It would be pretty special.
“This would be pretty neat, because it’s with a different crew chief. It would be great to win with Richie Niemic.”
But glossing over Christopher’s Modified Tour resume doesn’t do the driver any justice whatsoever, and astute racing observers know that it’s only the tip of the iceberg.
Christopher is one of the throwbacks. One of the drivers who will, quite literally, race anything anywhere.
“You can throw out there that he’s one of the best Modified drivers of his generation,” said veteran motorsports writer Shawn Courchesne of the Hartford (Conn.) Courant, who has covered Christopher for more than 15 years. “Anyone who is honest will say that about him.
“But the most amazing thing about Teddy is when he gets in something he’s never been in before. He just adapts to it. I’ve seen it with Midgets, Supermodifieds, Super Late Models — you name it.”
To wit: In June of this year, Christopher hopped into a Dirt Modified on the road course at New Jersey Motorsports Park.
And won.
How does he do it?
“That’s a good question,” Christopher said. “A lot of people have asked me that. When I got married, they said, ‘Oh, that’s it. He’s not going to be any good anymore.’ Then when I hit 50 (years old), they said, ‘That’s it. He’s done.’
“I would say I’m just not your average 50-year-old. I still work hard every day at work. And I’m the same with my racing. I have that drive at work to work hard and do a good job, and I still have that drive when I go racing.”
2010 RANK STARTS WINS TOP 5s TOP 10s
Whelen Modified Tour 2 11 3 7 7
Whelen All-American Series 6 33 11 22 26
Christopher won the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series championship in 2001, winning 15 of 18 SK Modified races at Thompson (Conn.) International Speedway that season. This year, he’s won 10 races at Thompson already, leading the division point standings there while competing for the track championship at Stafford, too. He’s won five championships at Stafford to go with his 108 career feature wins there and three more titles at Thompson.
But even before he really rose to prominence on the Modified Tour — where he’s won at least one race in every season since 1999 (and multiple races in 10 of those 11 seasons) — he was gaining regional recognition for his efforts in a full-bodied stock car. Christopher has 10 career wins in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East.
That’s right. As hard as it is to believe, a driver whose name has become synonymous with Modified racing, has double-digit wins in the K&N Series, including five victories at New Hampshire. The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour will make its second trek of the season to the “Magic Mile” next weekend.
“There are just certain places that somehow they suit your style or whatever,” said Christopher, who has a total of 10 New Hampshire wins, with five more in a Modified. “New Hampshire’s like that for me. I like it because it’s fast. You can drive it into those corners just as deep as you can, and that’s the way I like to drive the car there.
“People ask me all the time about that place. There like, ‘Where do you lift?’ I don’t know — I don’t look for any markers or anything. I lift when I feel like I want to lift.”
And that could be the secret to what makes Christopher so good. It’s a feel thing.
“He’s become one of the best short-track racers of the last decade,” Courchesne said. “I think it gets forgotten, probably because of his age, that he hasn’t been doing this for 35 years. But you could make the case that he’s been the absolute best out there over the last 15 years.”
Thirty-seven Whelen Modified Tour wins. More than 150 wins between Thompson, Stafford and the Waterford Speedbowl in various divisions over his career. K&N Pro Series cars, Supermodifieds, Midgets, Super Late Models, dirt cars and multiple starts in both the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and NASCAR Nationwide Series. He’s piled up a resume like few others have.
“I don’t know,” Christopher said of when he might actually begin to slow down. “Probably when I don’t feel like I have that drive to do it anymore.”
Which likely won’t be anytime soon.
Sources: Travis Barrett, Special to NASCARHomeTracks.com