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(Stafford Springs, CT)—For the fourth consecutive season the Ted Christopher Safety Initiative will support local driver’s safety at Stafford Speedway. Established prior to the start of the 2020 season by Quinn Christopher, the Ted Christopher Safety Initiative will provide five Stafford drivers with a brand new Leaf Racewear Firesuit. On the night of September 8, following the conclusion of each weekly series feature event, a drawing will be held in NAPA Victory Lane to determine whether the 1st place, 3rd place, or 13th place finishing driver will receive a new fire suit.
“I’m excited to be able to do this and I can only do this because of the donations made to the TC Safety Initiative Fund after Teddy passed away,” said Quinn Christopher. “I’m still getting donations and it’s so heartwarming that people are still thinking of Teddy and appreciating what I’m doing with the fund to honor him. Stafford was basically like a second home for Teddy so to be able to do this at Stafford and to work with the Arute family, Teddy loved them and I’m happy to do this. I know the SK Modified® division was where Teddy drove but I wanted to do something for each division rather than just focusing on the SK division. We decided to do positions one, three, and thirteen since thirteen was Teddy’s number and one and three make thirteen as a way to honor his memory.”
The Leaf Racewear fire suits continue the tradition of awarding new safety equipment to Stafford drivers through the Ted Christopher Drive for Safety Initiative. In 2020, over 100 drivers in total received either a new Nomex undershirt, helmet skirt, or head sock with all drivers who participated entered into a drawing for a new Leaf firesuit, which was won by Meghan Fuller. The 2021 season saw the TC Safety Initiative award a brand new Bell helmet to one driver from each of Stafford’s five weekly divisions with Tyler Hines, John Blake, Paul French, Mike Hopkins, and Frank L’Etoile, Jr. all winning new helmets. Last season saw The Joie of Seating provide three new racing seats for the 13th place finishing driver in the Sept. 9 SK Modified® feature, which was Keith Rocco, the winner of the TC 13 Shootout, which was Michael Christopher, Jr., and a random winner drawn from all drivers who were signed in for competition that night, which was SK Light driver Casey Vogt.
“I remember David Arute telling me a story about how he didn’t have a fireproof undershirt and Teddy came up to him one day and told him he needed a fireproof undershirt and the very next week he had one,” said Christopher. “Teddy always made a point of having the best safety equipment because he didn’t want to get hurt in the car and his was a voice that other drivers respected, especially the younger drivers. I think that Teddy was a lot nicer person than a lot of people realized. It’s still easy to be sad but this helps keep things positive and I hope everyone is excited from each division. It feels good to be working with Leaf Racewear because they loved Teddy and everywhere you turn it’s all about doing something for Teddy.”
For more information, visit staffordspeedway.com, follow Stafford Speedway on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or contact the track office at 860-684-2783.
