Danny Christian hasn’t raced for a points title in more than 10 years.
He didn’t plan to this year, either, but a commitment to run a Street Stock slate at Magnolia Motor Speedway quickly turned into a “can’t miss” schedule when he found himself in the points lead earlier this season.
It’s nothing new for Christian, who, in more than 20 years of racing Limited Late Models, Outlaw Streets and Street Stocks, has won track championships at Columbus Speedway, North Mississippi Speedway, and titles in Memphis and Lexington, Kentucky.
“We should have probably kept up with them better than we should, so there could be some I’m not remembering,” said Christian, a Corinth native.
Christian is second in Street Stock track points at Magnolia, 10 behind Lee Ray and 58 ahead of Tony Silvestri. He has finished second, second, and fourth in his last three races, and is keen to clinch his first win of the season.
He will compete Saturday at Magnolia, where the track will host features for Street Stocks, Limited Late Models, Super Late Models, and Factory Stocks.
“I don’t know if there’s been a repeat winner there this year,” Christian said. “The level of competition we face there each weekend is really good. The class has had a real resurgence over the last couple of years. It’s really different … you see some of the best races in Street Stock down there.”
Christian followed his father, Dan, into racing, beginning in drag racing. Christian’s brother, Tommy, also drag raced and drove an Outlaw car for a short period. The team, which owns a repair shop in Corinth, have been together, with Danny handling the majority of the driving duties, for the past 20 years.
“They’re my right-hand men,” Danny said.
The team also runs a Limited Late Model program, but Danny hasn’t raced in that class at Columbus Speedway or Magnolia this season, opting to stick closer to home in North Mississippi.
Danny spent half of the season driving the No. 15 car of Jessie Barnett until Barnett sold the car, he said. Since then he has bought and switched to the black No. 5 car and has begun to find success in the car after a rough start.
“We’ve purchased it, raced it, and have tried to re-build it at the same time,” Danny said. “First night we ran, we had something break on it. But we’ve done better over the last few races. Just need to get that first win of the year.”
Winning his first race of the year will be difficult because of the increased level of talent, but also because Ray has had a strong season, Danny said.
“He’s always been right there,” Danny said of Ray. “I know he won a feature one night at Magnolia, and then I think he knocked off three in a row at The Bullring (Columbus). We always speak to each other before we leave the track. He’s raced down there all his life — it’s gonna be hard to take the points lead away from him. Me and him seem to finish within one or two spots from him.”
Danny’s grandparents are from Starkville, so he has spent a considerable amount of time racing in Lowndes County. The family ties to the area are part of the reason he decided to run a Street Stock campaign at the track this year. He also had more time on his hands. Danny’s daughter, Haley, played softball the past 10 years, which, for Danny, meant many race weekends were moved to the back burner to travel with his daughter and her team.
Still, he had to pick a track at which to focus a full Street Stock campaign.
“We didn’t have anything that fit at Magnolia, and I wanted to race there,” he said. “The facility, the quality … they’re hard to match. (Owner) Johnny Stokes’ program was always impressive at The Bullring, when he was out there. I raced off and on there when they’d have a limited show there.
“Magnolia, the track itself, I always favored a roomier racetrack. The quality of the facility and track there, and the dirt there tends to be a bit different. It’s like going to a whole different state. It’s like tracks in the Midwest.”
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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