Ted Christopher
Christopher in 2001
Born	(1958-06-05)June 5, 1958 Plainville, Connecticut, U.S.
Died	September 16, 2017(2017-09-16) (aged 59) North Branford, Connecticut, U.S.
Achievements	2008Whelen Modified Tour Champion 48 victories inNASCAR modified competition (42 in Whelen Modified; 6 inSouthern Modified)
NASCARCup Series career
6 races run over 4 years
2009 position	75th
Best finish	64th (1999)
First race	1999Frontier @ the Glen (Watkins Glen)
Last race	2006Sylvania 300 (Loudon)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 0 0
NASCARO'Reilly Auto Parts Series career
21 races run over 6 years
2001 position	102nd
Best finish	61st (1997)
First race	1996Meridian Advantage 200 (Nazareth)
Last race	2001Nazareth 200 (Nazareth)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 2 0
NASCARCraftsman Truck Series career
2 races run over 2 years
1999 position	88th
Best finish	88th (1999)
First race	1997 Parts America 150 (Watkins Glen)
Last race	1999Bully Hill Vineyards 150 (Watkins Glen)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 1 0
Statistics up to date as of September 3, 2014.

Theodore Christopher (June 5, 1958 – September 16, 2017) was an American professional racing driver and business owner who raced and won in many different types of race cars, includingModifieds, SK Modifieds,ISMA,Camping World East Series, Late Models, Pro Stocks, and Midgets. He also raced inNASCAR's now namedMonster Energy Cup Series,Xfinity Series, andCamping World Truck Series. He is best known for competing in NASCAR'sWhelen Modified Tour, where he has over forty victories and a championship in 2008. He was also well known for his success on the 1.058 mileNew Hampshire Motor Speedway where Christopher has won five Camping World East Series events and 5 Whelen Modified Tour events.

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

2001 NASCAR Weekly Series national champion, winning fifteen of the eighteen races that he entered, clinching it at Thompson International Speedway in Connecticut.^[2]

2008 NASCARWhelen Modified Tour champion.^[3] Christopher, who is known as one of the most accomplished drivers in the Northeast, won both the championship and the final race of the season at Thompson International Speedway. Christopher came into the race leading the championship standings overMatt 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 twelfth 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 championTony Hirschman, only to lose the championship due to a crash on lap 11.^[3]

NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour: . . . 48 Victories (third all-time). Three times voted Most Popular Driver (2008,09,10)

NASCAR K&N Pro Series East: . . . 10 victories.

Stafford (CT) Speedway . . . 131 Feature Race victories (all-time track record). 9 time SK Modified Champion. Only active driver to ever have a Stafford grandstand named for him.

Thompson (CT) Int'l Speedway . . . 99 Feature Race victories (all-time track record). 4 time SK Modified Champion.

Waterford (CT) Speedbowl . . . 47 Feature Race victories (17th all-time). 1992 SK Modified Champion^[4]

In addition to his racing in the Modifieds and Busch North/K&N East, Christopher also attempted numerous Winston/Nextel Cup, Busch Series, and Craftsman Truck Series races in the 2000s. He attempted and qualified for his first Cup race at Watkins Glen in 1999. His last Cup race came in the 2006 Sylvania 300 and last attempt in the 2009 Lenox Industrial Tools 301 forKirk Shelmerdine.

In the NASCAR Busch Series, Christopher competed part-time in 1998 withMarsh Racing, competing in three races for the team. Driving the No. 13Whelen Engineering Chevrolet, Christopher posted the best finish of tenth atNazareth. In 1999, the team attempted twelve races, again with Christopher driving the car. The team would make five races and posted the best finish of eighth atNazareth.

Christopher also competed for the then new team ofMichael Waltrip Racing, competing in three races with the team at Loudon, Watkins Glen, and the inaugural race at Memphis. The last race he competed in was at Nazareth in 2001 withRichard Childress Racing in the All-Star car 21Rockwell Automation Chevy. He finished nineteenth two laps down from the winnerGreg Biffle.

The three NASCAR-sanctioned tracks in Connecticut use a handicap lineup system that starts the fastest cars deep in the field. A thirty green flag lap feature gives drivers little time to be courteous if they want to win. Throughout his career, Christopher employed an aggressive driving style he referred to as the "Three Tap Rule." A combination of intimidation techniques most famously used byDale Earnhardt in theNASCAR Cup Series as well as the "chrome horn" and "bump-and-run" techniques commonly employed inshort track racing, Christopher uses a trio of taps to coerce a slower competitor into moving over or ultimately moving them himself. The initial tap informs his competitor that he is there, while the second bump is a warning to commit to a lane to let him by. If needed, the third and final tap is the classic bump and run, with Christopher moving the car in front out of his racing groove to move on by.^[5]

Christopher was killed in a plane crash inNorth Branford near theGuilford, Connecticut, town line on September 16, 2017, while en route fromRobertson Field inPlainville, Connecticut, toFrancis S. Gabreski Airport inWesthampton Beach, New York, to compete in a Whelen Modified Tour race that evening at theRiverhead Raceway, inCalverton, New York, onLong Island. Christopher and Charles "Pat" Dundas, the pilot and family friend fromHauppauge, New York, who also died, were the only occupants of theMooney M20C that went down in a wooded area.^[6] An NTSB report released in 2019 attributed the crash tofuel starvation due to pieces of towel cloth obstructing a fuel line. The aircraft impacted pine trees 1,500 feet away from an open field where investigators believed the aircraft may have been attempting an emergency landing.^[7]

He was born to William Christopher and Lucy Graziano. He had a wife, Quinn Wazorko Christopher, and had no children with her. Christopher also had a twin brother,Mike, who also raced Modifieds, and Mike's sonMike Jr., has also begun racing Modifieds. Christopher was a 1976 graduate ofPlainville High School and was a captain of the school's wrestling team. In 2013, he was inducted into the Plainville Sports Hall of Fame. He also owned and operated M&T Enterprises, which rebuilds transmissions for heavy trucks.^[8]

• 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.^[9]
• In 2008 Stafford Motor Speedway named a section of their grandstand for him in honor of his 100th victory at Stafford. Christopher, who had 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 he 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. The two also road raced with enduro karts at Daytona International Speedway, Pocono Raceway, Watkins Glen and many others.

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

¹ Christopher was killed in a plane crash near the North Branford and Guilford, Connecticut, town line, while en route toRiverhead Raceway.^[6] He was officially credited with a "did not start" status and a 24th-place finish.^[71]

(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position, Results areoverall/class)

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

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

• 1958 births
• 2017 deaths
• Accidental deaths in Connecticut
• NASCAR drivers
• People from Plainville, Connecticut
• Sportspeople from Hartford County, Connecticut
• Racing drivers from Connecticut
• Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in the United States
• Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 2017
• 24 Hours of Daytona drivers
• Michael Waltrip Racing drivers
• Richard Childress Racing drivers
• SMART Modified Tour drivers
• Sportspeople killed in aviation accidents or incidents

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata