Mods @ Bristol on Tee Vee

I'll be there to see it live but I'm glad to see that it will be seen on TV. You'll get to see some of the southern boys run their cars.

Two weeks ago Ted Christopher planned to run at the Bowman Gray Stadium and did qualify and did fairly well for someone who's never been there. However, the race was postponed due to rain and was run the following week. Instead of Christopher driving the Hillbilly Racing car, another NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour regular, Ronnie Silk stepped in and did very well with a 4th place finish. Silk was very impressed with what he saw in the stands, totally filled to over 17,000 people at that bull ring. Tony Stewart was also impressed when he was at the stadium earlier this year. Just wondering if the tracks up north get this kind of fan attendance on a weekly basis? I'm anxious to see how many people attend the race at Bristol, even though it will be coupled with a truck race.
 
Hey Buck
Christopher isn't making friends.

Ted Christopher Public Enemy No. 1 For Competitors After Whelen
Modified Tour Race At New Hampshire
By Shawn Courchesne on June 27, 2009 6:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
LOUDON, N.H. - In a moment of quiet in the infield media center at New
Hampshire Motor Speedway, Ron Silk spoke the words that seemingly set
off a firestorm of criticism against reigning Whelen Modified Tour
champion Ted Christopher.
"Everybody should be mad at Teddy for the way he drives this place,"
Silk said prior to the start of the press conference following the
Whelen Modified Tour New England 100 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Historically at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Christopher is one the
drivers often at the center of some of the best Whelen Modified Tour
events at the track. That was the case again Saturday when Christopher
recovered from what seemed like it might be a race ending issue on the
first lap.
Christopher, who started third in the race, quickly moved to second at
the start of the race, but smoke was pouring from his car before the
end of the first lap and he spun in turn 4 on the second lap.
Christopher went to the pits where his team did the necessary repairs
on a loose oil line. The issues caused Christopher to fall a lap down
from the leaders, but he rallied back to the lead lap and he was up to
ninth on lap 81. On a lap 87 restart Christopher went from ninth to
third to put himself in contention for victory.
Two laps later Christopher went to second past Silk and then by Donny
Lia on lap 90 for the lead. Christopher lost and then regained the
lead before coming to the decisive final lap when Christopher, Lia,
Silk and Todd Szegedy set off a melee out of the final corner with Lia
eventually taking the victory.
Silk, Lia and second place finisher Flemke Jr. all criticized
Christopher using "dive bomb" moves into corners, driving aggressively
low into the corners and then drifting up into the car on the outside.
"He did it to me about two or three times in the last few laps," Lia
said. "A few years ago people tried to set people up and pass them.
Now you just dive bomb and let it just go right up the racetrack and
let [the side of the car] do the job. We need to get away from that
because somebody is going to get hurt. [On the last lap] I had enough
and I said 'I'm keeping my foot in it.' How many times can you just
roll out of it and let somebody just take the spot? It's like a game
of chicken. That's just not racing."
Said Silk: "He's willing to drive right into the side of a person he's
alongside of pretty much. He doesn't care if he knocks them into the
wall. That's what you're dealing with."
Lia said Christopher was using his car the nerf bars on the side of
his car as "weapons".
"[At Thompson International Speedway and New Hampshire], there's a
couple places where its just out of control. We're all out there doing
something that's extremely dangerous and one of these days somebody is
going to get hurt again."
Said Flemke: "What's wrong in racing today is that you're rewarded for
doing the wrong thing. If you go in there and knock the guy out of the
win and go on to win, good job. You get the trophy, you get the girl,
you get the money. If you lift for a guy, you don't even get a pat on
the back. So we need to change the merit system somehow. This ain't at
Teddy. All racers, right from the top down to Quarter Midgets. You've
got to start getting rewarded for doing the right thing.
". . . There's nothing wrong with doing what he's doing. He gets the
trophies. That's the problem. You're rewarded for doing the wrong
thing in this sport. I love Teddy, he's a lot of fun to race with when
things are right. But sometimes you hate to race with him."
Christopher has 10 career victories at New Hampshire Motor Speedway,
the most of any driver, with five of them coming in Whelen Modified
Tour events. He scoffed at the criticism.
"With two laps to go everybody [dive bombs] here," Christopher said.
"I dive bombed but I stayed in my line pretty good. You rub a little
bit, that's the way it goes. Why don't you ask Donny, Ron and Ed how
many races they've won [at New Hampshire]?"
Lia, who won at New Hampshire in 2007, is the only winner among the
trio.
 
Yep, I've watched Teddy many times when he's come down here to race with the southern boys. One of the threads on our local board was about whether the boys would treat Teddy with kid gloves when he races here. I'm sorry I didn't get to see what might have happened. He has been not all that bad when he comes down here, but everyone knows of his reputation.
 
This will be the must see racing event of the year, mods at Thunder Valley.

How exciting!!!
 
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