Christopher Reigns at Stafford
Collects 11th Whelen Modified Tour win at his home track
Stafford Springs, CT — Through his career, Ted Christopher has proved he can win in many different cars at a variety of facilities. But nowhere has he been more dominant than his home track, Stafford Motor Speedway. The Plainville, Conn., driver collected his 41st career NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour victory Friday night in the Town Fair Tire 150.
It was Christopher’s 11th career tour win at Stafford, where he is a seven-time track champion in the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series. He is the track’s wins leader over all divisions with 113 victories.
Christopher took the lead for the final time from Mike Stefanik on Lap 135 Friday and led the rest of the way for his third win of the year in the No. 36 Al-Lee Installations Chevrolet.
“At the end there, you just gotta go,” Christopher said. “It [the car] started to get tight, so I had to run a different line there to hold Michael off. It was a lot of fun.”
When the field pitted on Lap 120, Stefanik won the race off of pit road and led until Christopher’s decisive pass. While he had to settle for second, it was a season-best finish. After a strong start to the season, the seven-time Whelen Modified Tour champion suffered three straight DNFs entering Friday’s race.
“I’ve got to thank the crew for getting me out front, that was a fantastic pit stop,” Stefanik said. “We were just a little too snug getting going to hold it, but it was great to have a car up front like that.”
Bobby Santos, Eric Beers and Eric Goodale’s career-best effort brought home the top five.
Rowan Pennink finished sixth, followed by points leader Ron Silk. Silk leads Pennink by one point after eight races. Between the two, the only finish outside the top 10 through the season’s first half was Silk’s DNF in the season opener.
Erick Rudolph, Doug Coby and Jimmy Blewett completed the top 10. It was the best finish in five starts this year for Blewett.
Earlier in the day, Coby won his second Coors Light Pole Award of the season. Both of Coby’s poles have come at Stafford. He went on to lead a race-high 72 laps before finishing ninth.
The race was green the first 117 laps and featured just two caution periods total, the second time in the last three Whelen Modified Tour races that there have been just two yellows.
The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour returns to the track Saturday, Aug. 13 for the Granite State Classic and the second of three events in 2011 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, N.H.
RESULTS | LAP-BY-LAP | VIDEO: TED CHRISTOPHER VICTORY LANE | AUDIO: POST-RACE INTERVIEW WITH SECOND-PLACE STEFANIK | AUDIO: POST-RACE INTERVIEW WITH THIRD-PLACE SANTOS
Sources: Jason Cunningham/NASCAR WMT PR