Ted Christopher, a legendary driver in NASCAR’s modified division ranks and an occasional competitor on the NASCAR national series level, died in a plane crash in his home state of Connecticut on Saturday, Sept. 16. He was 59.
According to Speed 51, Christopher died in a crash in Guilford, Conn., while on his way to a race at Riverhead Speedway in Riverhead, N.Y., where the 2008 Whelen Modified Tour champion was scheduled to compete Saturday night.
Christopher won more than 40 Modified races in a long-running career and added 10 wins in the K&N Pro Series East between 1996 and 2005.
He briefly made a foray into the top three series of NASCAR, making 29 starts between the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, XFINITY Series and Camping World Truck Series from 1996 to 2006. Christopher had two top 10s in NXS and one in CWTS, last making a race 11 years ago at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in the Cup Series.
The Plainville, Conn., native was known for an aggressive style of racing and the three-tap rule maneuver.
Michael Massie joined Frontstretch in 2017 and has served as the Content Director since 2020.
Massie, a Richmond, Va., native, has covered NASCAR, IndyCar, SRX and the CARS Tour. Outside of motorsports, the Virginia Tech grad and Green Bay Packers minority owner can be seen cheering on his beloved Hokies and Packers.