Mike Christopher Jr. To Drive For Tommy Baldwin Racing During Tripleheader Weekend at Thompson

Tommy Baldwin Racing announced today that rising Modified driver Mike Christopher Jr. will drive the No. 7NY for all Modified races during Sunoco World Series weekend at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park, October 7-9.

The announcement includes Christopher running the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Sunoco World Series 150 on Sunday, October 9. The race will mark the penultimate stop of the season for NASCAR’s oldest touring series, and the Tommy Baldwin Racing team is in good shape to try and clinch the owners championship entering the race.

The team leads by 38 points in the championship battle over Jon McKennedy’s team, and with a strong run at Thompson, could lock up the title one race early. With 14 races in the books this season, the team has already been to Victory Lane five times on the Whelen Modified Tour.

Christopher, who has one victory with the Baldwin Racing team in NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour racing this season at Jennerstown Speedway, drove to two Open Modified wins at Thompson as well. He knows the track well, and is a proven winner on Thompson’s high-banks. The team is also planning on competing in the Outlaw Open Modified Series Sunoco 100 on Saturday, October 8, worth $10,000 to win, and the Modified Racing Series 75 on Friday, October 7.

“Mike has really been working well with our team and we felt this was a great choice for Thompson to try and lock up the owner's title,” Baldwin said. “Mike has won there before in our cars and also in the Sunoco Modifieds. Having someone in the car who knows the track well and is a proven winner is important. We’ve worked together well this year in a bunch of different races. He won his first Whelen Modified Tour race with us at Jennerstown earlier this year and just continues to grow as a driver.”

Christopher is thankful for the opportunity to return to the high-banks with Baldwin’s No. 7NY and take a shot at locking up the owner’s title. The best way to do it? Go out there and do the job normally and try to win the race.

“I have won there, including this year with Tommy, and I think with the long races, especially on the Whelen Modified Tour, it comes down to finding a different line during the runs and I feel like I’m good at it,” Christopher Jr. said. “You start running the second groove at Thompson but when the tires wear, you have to move around to the bottom and the middle. Tommy’s cars at Thompson and the package he has there have been working, whether it was in the Open Modified shows or the Whelen Modified Tour in 2022… Jimmy had a heck of a car there in August putting it on the pole for the Tour race and I’m confident we will have a great car.”

A full weekend of racing could close in a big way on Sunday for the Baldwin Racing team.

“I’m beyond thankful that Tommy lets me race with him,” Christopher Jr. said. “He’s someone I look up to in racing, not just because of his ability on the track when he drove, but he’s also extremely smart at what he does with the cars. It’s incredible that he trusts me to drive them. The races we have run together, we have performed well. We’ve been following some of the races that pay well and the good shows together… It takes a lot for him to come up to New England and support the racing and he just enjoys it so much. This one will be important.”

Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park’s NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Sunoco World Series 150 will take place on Sunday, October 9. Practice and qualifying will take place on Saturday, October 8. For more information on Tommy Baldwin Racing, visit the team on Facebook.

“We want to go out there at Thompson and put the car in Victory Lane to celebrate the win and hopefully lock up the title all in one.”

-Story by Souza Media
-Photo credit: NASCAR