Ted Christopher

Christopher with Bobby Allison in 2008.

Born

June 5, 1958
Plainville, Connecticut

Achievements

2008 Whelen Modified Tour Champion
48 victories in NASCAR modified competition (42 in Whelen Modified; 6 in Southern Modified)

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series career

6 races run over 5 years

Best finish

64th (1999)

First race

1999 Frontier @ the Glen (Watkins Glen)

Last race

2006 Sylvania 300 (Loudon)

Wins	Top tens	Poles
0	0	0

NASCAR Xfinity Series career

21 races run over 6 years

Best finish

61st (1997)

First race

1996 Meridian Advantage 200 (Nazareth)

Last race

2001 Nazareth 200 (Nazareth)

Wins	Top tens	Poles
0	2	0

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career

2 races run over 2 years

Best finish

88th (1999)

First race

1997 Parts America 150 (Watkins Glen)

Last race

1999 Bully Hill Vineyards 150 (Watkins Glen)

Wins	Top tens	Poles
0	1	0

Statistics current as of September 3, 2014.

Ted Christopher (Born June 5, 1958), occasionally referred to as "Teddy" Christopher, is an American racing driver who has raced and won in many different types of race cars, including Modifieds, SK Modifieds, Camping World East Series, Late Models, Pro Stocks, Midgets, and Supermodifieds. He has also raced in NASCAR's Sprint Cup, Nationwide Series, and Craftsman Truck Series. He is best known for competing in NASCAR's Whelen Modified Tour, where he has over 40 victories and a championship in 2008. He is also well known for his success on the 1.058 mile New Hampshire Motor Speedway where Christopher has won 5 Camping World East Series events and 5 Whelen Modified Tour events.

Christopher is an aggressive driver, known for his infamous "Three Tap Rule" when passing cars in front of him, though his driving style has changed in recent years and has brought more success to his racing career.^[1]

Racing career

Christopher won the NASCAR Weekly Series national championship in 2001 by winning 15 of the 18 races that he entered, clinching it at Thompson International Speedway in Connecticut.^[2]

In 2008, Christopher won the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championship.^[3] Christopher, who is known as one of the most accomplished drivers in the Northeast, had never won the Whelen Modified Tour championship. He did so in fashion, winning both the championship and the final race of the season at Thompson International Speedway. Christopher came into the race leading the championship standings over Matt Hirschman by 31 points. Late in the race, Hirschman suffered an electrical problem, which put him a handful of laps off the pace. Christopher drove on to win the event, with Hirschman finishing 21 laps down in 25th position. It was his 31st career win in his 12th full-time year of competition.

Ironically, three years prior in 2005, Christopher went to the season finale at Thompson holding a 36-point lead over Hirschman's father, five-time tour champion Tony Hirschman, only to lose the championship due to a crash on lap 11.^[3]

The "Three Tap Rule"

Throughout his career, Christopher has employed a physical driving style commonly referred to as the "Three Tap Rule." A combination of intimidation techniques most famously used by Dale Earnhardt in the NASCAR Cup Series as well as the "chrome horn" and "bump-and-run" techniques commonly employed in short track racing, Christopher uses a trio of taps to coerce a slower competitor into moving over or ultimately moving them himself. The initial tap is to inform his competitors that he is there, while the second bump is a warning to commit to a lane to let him by. The third and final tap is the classic bump and run, with Christopher moving the car in front out of his racing groove to mow on by.^[4]

Honors

As part of the 25th anniversary of the NASCAR Weekly Series in 2006, Christopher was named one of the series' All Time Top 25 drivers.^[5]
In 2008 Stafford Motor Speedway named a section of their grandstand for him in honor of his 100th victory at Stafford. Christopher, who currently has 109 victories at the prestigious and storied Connecticut oval, is Stafford's all-time winningest driver.
Christopher was the first driver to win SK modified track championships at all three Connecticut NASCAR Whelen All-American Series asphalt, oval short-tracks (Stafford Motor Speedway, Thompson International Speedway, and the Waterford Speedbowl) during his career. The feat was later accomplished by Keith Rocco in 2010, the year he won his first SK Modified Championship at Waterford after multiple titles at the other two.
His twin brother Mike Christopher won before Ted did at Stafford. Also, the two started out racing go karts around Connecticut and the U.S. They were famous at The Pomfret Speedway in Pomfret, CT. Ted and Mike also racing road racing with enduro karts at Daytona International Speedway, Pocono Raceway, Watkins Glen and many others.

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Sprint Cup Series

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	NSCC	Pts
1999	Ted Christopher Racing	13	Chevy	DAY	CAR	LVS	ATL	DAR	TEX	BRI	MAR	TAL	CAL	RCH	CLT	DOV	MCH	POC	SON	DAY	NHA	POC	IND	GLN 31	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	NHA	DOV	MAR	CLT	TAL	CAR	PHO	HOM	ATL			64th	70
2004	Kirk Shelmerdine Racing	72	Ford	DAY	CAR	LVS	ATL	DAR	BRI	TEX	MAR	TAL	CAL	RCH	CLT	DOV	POC	MCH	SON	DAY	CHI	NHA 36	POC	IND	GLN	MCH	BRI	CAL	RCH											79th	89
2004	Hover Motorsports	80	Ford																											NHA 43	DOV	TAL	KAN	CLT	MAR	ATL	PHO	DAR	HOM	79th	89
2005	Kirk Shelmerdine Racing	27	Ford	DAY	CAL	LVS	ATL	BRI	MAR	TEX	PHO	TAL	DAR	RCH	CLT	DOV	POC	MCH	SON	DAY	CHI	NHA 42	POC	IND	GLN	MCH	BRI	CAL	RCH											76th	74
2005	Mach 1 Motorsports	34	Chevy																											NHA 42	DOV	TAL	KAN	CLT	MAR	ATL	TEX	PHO	HOM	76th	74
2006	Front Row Motorsports	34	Chevy	DAY	CAL	LVS	ATL	BRI	MAR	TEX	PHO	TAL	RCH	DAR	CLT	DOV	POC	MCH	SON	DAY	CHI	NHA DNQ	POC	IND	GLN	MCH	BRI	CAL												73rd	40
2006	Kirk Shelmerdine Racing	27	Chevy																										RCH 41	NHA DNQ	DOV	KAN	TAL	CLT	MAR DNQ	ATL	TEX	PHO	HOM	73rd	40
2009	Kirk Shelmerdine Racing	27	Toyota	DAY	CAL	LVS	ATL	BRI	MAR	TEX	PHO	TAL	RCH	DAR	CLT	DOV	POC	MCH	SON	NHA DNQ	DAY	CHI	IND	POC	GLN	MCH	BRI	ATL	RCH	NHA	DOV	KAN	CAL	CLT	MAR	TAL	TEX	PHO	HOM	NA	-

Busch Series

NASCAR Busch Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	NBSC	Pts
1996	James Lestorti	13	Chevy	DAY	CAR	RCH	ATL	NSV	DAR	BRI	HCY	NZH 41	CLT	DOV	SBO	MYB	GLN	MLW	NHA	TAL	IRP	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	CLT	CAR									94th	67
1996		31																											HOM 32								94th	67
1997		13		DAY	CAR	RCH 18	ATL	LVS	DAR	HCY	TEX	BRI	NSV	TAL	NHA 18	NZH 13	CLT	DOV	SBO	GLN 35	MLW	MYB	GTY	IRP	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH 37	DOV	CLT	CAL	CAR	HOM 34				61st	392
1998	Marsh Racing	13	Chevy	DAY	CAR	LVS	NSV	DAR	BRI	TEX	HCY	TAL	NHA 43	NZH 10	CLT	DOV	RCH DNQ	PPR	GLN 13	MLW	MYB	CAL	SBO	IRP				RCH DNQ	DOV	CLT	GTY	CAR DNQ	ATL	HOM DNQ			104th	86
1998	Lockamy Racing	28	Chevy																						MCH 38	BRI	DAR										104th	86
1999	Marsh Racing	13	Chevy	DAY	CAR	LVS	ATL	DAR	TEX	NSV	BRI DNQ	TAL	CAL	NHA 12	RCH DNQ	NZH 8	CLT	DOV 30	SBO	GLN DNQ	MLW 40	MYB	PPR	GTY 29	IRP	MCH DNQ	BRI	DAR	RCH DNQ	DOV DNQ	CLT	CAR	MEM	PHO			66th	461
1999	Lockamy Racing	28	Chevy																																HOM DNQ		66th	461
2000	Michael Waltrip Racing	7	Chevy	DAY	CAR	LVS	ATL	DAR	BRI	TEX	NSV	TAL	CAL	RCH	NHA 29	CLT	DOV	SBO	MYB	GLN 30	MLW	NZH	PPR	GTY	IRP	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	CLT	CAR					81st	228
2000	Michael Waltrip Racing	99	Chevy																														MEM 28	PHO	HOM		81st	228
2001	Richard Childress Racing	21	Chevy	DAY	CAR	LVS	ATL	DAR	BRI	TEX	NSH	TAL	CAL	RCH	NHA	NZH 19	CLT	DOV	KEN	MLW	GLN	CHI	GTY	PPR	IRP	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	KAN	CLT	MEM	PHO	CAR	HOM	102nd	106

Craftsman Truck Series

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	NCTC	Pts
1997	Roehrig Motorsports	18	Dodge	WDW	TUS	HOM	PHO	POR	EVG	I70	NHA	TEX	BRI	NZH	MLW	LVL	CNS	HPT	IRP	FLM	NSV	GLN 7	RCH	MAR	SON	MMR	CAL	PHO	LVS	94th	146
1999	CJ Racing	17	Ford	HOM	PHO	EVG	MMR	MAR	MEM	PPR	I70	BRI	TEX	PIR	GLN 18	MLW	NSV	NZH	MCH	NHA	IRP	GTY	HPT	RCH	LVS	LVL	TEX	CAL		88th	109

Rolex Sports Car Series

(key)

24 Hours of Daytona

24 Hours of Daytona results
Year	Class	No	Team	Car	Co-drivers	Laps	Position	Class Pos.
2006	DP	59	Brumos Racing	Porsche DP	João Barbosa J. C. France Hurley Haywood	559	54	18
2008	DP	3	Southard Motorsports	Lexus Riley DP	Shane Lewis Bill Lester Alex Barron	527	42	17

References

↑ Courchesne, Shawn. Destiny Finally Finds Ted Christopher , 2008
↑ Schaefer, Paul. Where Stars Are Born: Celebrating 25 Years of NASCAR Weekly Racing. Coastal 181, Newburyport, Massachusetts, USA, 2006. ISBN 0-9789261-0-2. pp. 131-136.
1 2 Courchesne, Shawn. Christopher Earns First Whelen Modified Tour Championship Thompson, Connecticut, USA, 2008
↑ Courchesne, Shawn (May 11, 2003). "Fuller Creates No Passing Zone". The Courant. Waterford Speedbowl: Hartford Courant. Retrieved 3 September 2014.
↑ Schaefer, Paul. Where Stars Are Born: Celebrating 25 Years of NASCAR Weekly Racing. Coastal 181, Newburyport, Massachusetts, USA, 2006. ISBN 0-9789261-0-2. pp. 163-170.

External links

Ted Christopher driver statistics at Racing-Reference
Christopher Ted Christopher owner statistics at Racing-Reference

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