Ted Christopher Wins Record 9th SK Modified® Championship at Stafford Motor Speedway
Stafford Springs, CT — The 2014 SK Modified® season at Stafford Motor Speedway was a season full of excellent competition on the track and the race for the championship came down to an ultra-tight race between Ted Christopher and Ryan Preece. Preece was the more dominant car with 6 wins and 4 second place finishes over the 17-race schedule, while Christopher was able to win just once. Preece also had 12 top-5 finishes while Christopher had 8, but the difference in the final points table showed up where Christopher’s worst finish of the season was 9th while Preece had 3 finishes outside the top-10.
Both Christopher and Preece established themselves as championship contenders right away and they spent the majority of the 2014 season swapping the point lead back and forth between themselves with neither driver opening up a commanding lead over the other. The largest lead either driver held during the season over the other was 28 points, or 14 positions on the track. Preece began the season strong, accumulating 4 wins, a second, and an eighth place finish in the first 6 races of the season to firmly establish his championship credentials. Although not as dominant, Christopher was not far behind as he racked up top-9 finishes in each of the first 6 races along with his lone victory of the year on June 27.
Christopher took the point lead for the first time with his #13 Freightliner of Long Island / CWPM / JVIII Construction Chevrolet following the NAPA SK 5k on July 25th, finishing second while Preece finished 19th. Preece slowly chipped away at Christopher’s lead and by August 15th, only 3 races later, he was back into the point lead. Preece would then hold the point lead until Sept. 12th where he encountered engine issues midway through the race that relegated him to a 20th place finish while Christopher finished 6th. Christopher then finished 9th and 3rd in the last 2 races while Preece finished 7th and he won the NAPA Fall Final feature, but it was not enough as Christopher claimed his 9th championship by the narrowest of margins, 2 points or one position on the track.
“It feels great,” said Christopher. “I remember I said during the middle of the year that I first had to get to 9 and now we’ve got to 9 so we have to try for 10. I won in 07, 09, 12, and 14, so it’s been pretty good for us in the 2000’s. We didn’t finish outside the top-10 all year and they always say that’s how you win championships.”
While Christopher ended up being the championship winner, he had to work his way back through the field during the NAPA Fall Final feature event after a penalty on lap-10 for making contact with Eric Berndt left him with only 30 laps to go from the back of the pack up to the championship clinching position of third place.
“At first I thought, ‘this sucks, I’ll never be able to get back to the front’,” said Christopher. “But then it went back to the never say day attitude and it ended up being pretty interesting. Usually a couple of guys will wave you by but I had to go all the way to the back. The best part was we got back to third and although it wasn’t a lot of fun for me having to pass all those cars, it was fun for the fans to watch. My friends told me that every time I made a pass people were standing up and cheering in the stands, so that’s always nice to hear after the race.”
Another very special aspect for Christopher winning the championship was his crew chief, Mike O’Sullivan, was back at the track and in the pits for the first time after suffering a stroke midway through the 2014 season.
“It was really special because Mike built this car and he built my Tour car as well,” said Christopher. “This is his team, he’s been the guy behind all of this and hopefully he can come back and be just like he was before. The best part of it was he was here at the track to be able to see everything.”
With the 2014 season concluded, this year’s SK Modified® championship race proved true the old adage that consistency can prevail over being the dominant car over the course of a season. It was a truly epic season of open wheel modified competition at Stafford and the 2015 season should prove to be just as exciting and thrilling.
For more information, contact the Stafford Motor Speedway track office at 860-684-2783 or visit us on the web atwww.staffordspeedway.com.
Sources: Scott Running/Stafford Motor Speedway PR