Rainout Clinches Division Titles for Christopher & Rogers
Thompson, CT — Mother Nature handed NASCAR Whelen All-American division championships to Sunoco Modified driver, Ted Christopher and Mini Stock driver, Chuck Rogers. When Thompson management pulled the plug on their final Thursday Night Thompson Thunder race due to forecasts of severe weather, both Christopher and Rogers had built up enough track points to clinch their crowns before the final points race on September 26th.
Christopher had an exceptional 2010 season at Thompson. He started his remarkable season with a win on Icebreaker weekend and went on to claim nine more victories. His 2010 record shows fourteen finishes in the top five. To date, he has managed to secure 732 track points. Even if Christopher did not start the race on September 26th, his nearest competitor, Woody Pitkat could pick up, at most, fifty points which would be six points shy of a tie with Christopher. The 2010 crown for the Plainville, CT driver is his third Sunoco Modified title in the past ten years.
Chuck Rogers of Quaker Hill, CT claimed his first Thompson championship by being both fast and consistent. Rogers did not visit victory lane but he secured twelve top ten finishes with five of those in the top five. That effort enabled him to gather enough points to put himself sixty makers ahead of his nearest competitor, Jeff Moffat. This division title is a first for Rogers at the Thompson International Speedway. He has been a long-time competitor in the Mini Stock division, but 2010 has proven to be his most successful by far.
Even though the top spots have been claimed in these two divisions, there will be a lot on the line for race teams looking to secure a top five or a top ten finishing position in the Sunoco Modified and Mini Stock divisions. All of this will be finalized on Sunday, September 26th.
With two track titles settled, four more remain to be determined. The Super Late Model division is far from settled with Derek Ramstrom holding onto a slim two points advantage over both Larry Gelinas and Mike O’Sullivan who are tied in points.
Five drivers are still in the race for the title in the Thompson Modified division which is lead by R. J. Marcotte and the top four drivers in the Late Model division are all within thirty points of the division’s leader, Rick Gentes. Scott Sundeen still has the opportunity to upset Limited Sportsman points leader, Larry Barnett.
A total of fifty points are awarded to a race winner with a drop of two points per position when the finish of a race is made official. All of this will be settled and championships awarded after the running of the final track points event on September 26th.
Sources: Russ Dowd/Thompson International Speedway PR