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TED CHRISTOPHER WINS VMRS 80 IN JOE BRADY'S
FAMOUS #00 MODIFIED AT STAFFORD MOTOR SPEEDWAY
Christopher
wanted the Win More Than Anybody So He Did It His Way
by Denise
DuPont |
The
Valenti Modified Racing Series (VMRS) headed to
Stafford Motor Speedway on Friday, June 24th for 80
green laps of competitive racing and that it sure
was. The event started off with flare as honorary
starter Ryan Briscoe, threw the green flag. Briscoe,
the Australian professional racing driver from
Sydney has raced both open wheel and sports cars in
Europe and America. Soon he was not only the
honorary starter but also a spectator for the night.
He sat on the end of his seat through the entire 80
laps of real hard modified racing with the look in
his eye that he wished he was part of it.
There were ten lead changes and five cautions with a
lot of aggressive racing as drivers took to the
track as though it was for a championship run. Joe
Brady must have been on the sidelines watching and
rooting on as Christopher piloted the #00 to his
second modified victory in one night after a two
year drought at Stafford. “I am glad that I could
win for Joe it has been tough every year trying to
keep that thing running through the races that I
want to run with it. This win means a lot and it
just was a good night and it is nice to have those.”
Stated Christopher in VMRS victory lane.
Earlier in the evening Christopher held off the hard
charges of Ryan Preece of Berlin, CT. to capture the
SK Modified special 44 lap feature run in honor of
veteran car owner Mario Fiore who lost his battle
with cancer this week. “We built a brand new car
this year and that made a big difference. The car is
great. It goes fast from lap 1 to lap 40 in the SK
feature. We now have a really good consistent car
and it runs good. Like a lot of deals you have to
have the right horse to ride. And this is a good
deal. Ryan is good to race with. I missed a shift
and he good by me and I was able to come around and
get back by him.” Christopher confessed highlighting
his first Stafford SK win this year.
When
the green flags flew for the VMRS race Christopher
wasted no time taking the lead on lap one. His
adrenaline was still pumping from the SK modified
victory and he was ready for more. Christopher
continued dog-eat-dog racing as he swapped the lead
back and forth with Dave Etheridge, Keith Rocco,
Woody Pitkat and Jon McKennedy.
The laps continued to click off until lap 56 when
Christopher went under Woody Pitkat from Sturbridge,
MA. to take what he wished would be the last pass
for the lead. But Jon McKennedy of Chelmsford, MA.
hot off an Oxford Plains Speedway victory was not
ready to concede the victory. Running in the top
five, he quickly moved in to second on lap 66 and
was ready to challenge Christopher.
Christopher held off McKennedy’s many attempts to
pass him until the right combination allowed
McKennedy to make a move under Christopher for the
lead on lap 77. But as we all know, the race is not
over until it is over. The two leaders raced hard
into the next lap. When it appeared that Christopher
had almost backed off when he came to the lapped car
of Roy Seidell, he used his famous crossover move to
pass McKennedy in turn two.
Christopher
charged forward and never looked back to take the
win. “He (Jon McKennedy) was just a little bit
better through the middle I guess, but we still did
a great job with this car (Joe Brady’s #00). We
usually loose the drive in it but tonight the car
had tremendous drive. Every spot where I ran on the
track it was great. Jon was a little bit better and
he got inside of me, but you could see you wanted it
more,” acknowledged Christopher. “This win is for
Joe Brady and his memory and Mario Fiore. We lost
two good guys in racing that have been around a long
time. It is good to get a win for the hard efforts
of the crew, who put a lot of effort in the car. It
was a good weekend and sometimes you have those.”
Two wins in a single night at Stafford in a modified
is an honor that very few drivers have on their
resume and Christopher now has his name in the
books. “It feels real good. It is not that I have
not run fast enough to win but it is a tough game. I
tell everybody that this is one of the most humbling
sorts that you will ever be in because there are
just so many things that can go wrong. There are no
reruns, It is what it is while you are racing and
you hope you finish however many laps that you have
to run and you are in a good position. Racing is a
tough sport.”
McKennedy
definitely had a strong car and if the race had ran
a few more circuits the outcome for the finish may
have been different. “We had a real good car. With a
couple of laps to go there I had the lead,”
expressed McKennedy. “I caught the lapped car going
into turn one and sometimes eight wheels go better
than four. But it was hard racing and I knew it was
coming. I did the best that I could but we ended up
just a little short. With an overall second is real
good night. I want to thank my crew, all my sponsors
and all my fans for coming out tonight.” And yes
second is a great finish but when you can taste the
win it is not always what you want in the end.
And what happened when McKennedy rounded the track
into turn one after having the lead? “I felt that I
went into one and was drove into the side and was
pushed up on the track into the third groove. It is
racing and I kind of knew it was coming but what am
I supposed to do. Second overall it was a good
night. This would have been nice to win, but there
are plenty of races in the future.” And yes it in
only June and the race season has more opportunity
for McKennedy to rethink his strategy and plan for
his next victory.
Dave Etheridge from Portland, CT had one of the
strongest cars in tonight’s competition. He was very
dominant from race start and bounced back from at
least sixth to a podium third place in the end. A
man of few words, Etheridge summed up his night
while recognizing his crew and the great car they
gave him to race: “Everything came together and it
was a rocket ship tonight.”
The VMRS teams leave Stafford Motor Speedway with
some real good racing in the books and head to the
high banks of Monadnock Speedway for 100 green laps
of racing on Saturday, July 2nd.
Notes from
Stafford Motor Speedway:
What are your thoughts on
the VMRS feature race?
The race had many lead changes as drivers swapped
the top position back and forth as momentum built
and the competition rose a notch.
Ted Christopher
“It was a pretty cool race. You have to conserve
your tires and get a balance with the car. In this
race there was no pit for tires. We are getting
better with running in this series. The car was the
best that it ran. “
With the laps going by quickly Christopher had a
strategy and he stuck to it waiting for the right
time to charge for the top position. “I saved the
car for a while. I did not want to lead but towards
the end I said this is it – if I can win, I can win
and I drove it as hard as I could the last 20 laps.”
Can you describe what
happened going into turn one and the turn two pass
for the lead?
Ted Christopher
“I think that I had a good run because I was able to
get underneath him,” stated Christopher post-race.
“But more importantly I think that was more that we
got together and I was able to run him up which gave
me the distance to get away from him for a while. We
were just not rolling in the center as good as he
was. We had a great drive off. In the end it was
fun. I have used lapped cars for many years and I
have a little bit more experience at that than he
does.” And using that experience and talent,
Christopher was able to prove why he is the racer he
is.
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Source:
Denise DuPont /
TheChromeHorn.com
Posted:
June 25, 2016 |
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