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Last year Joey Cipriano and Gunsmoke Stables team owner Steve Greer dabbled with some Tour Type Modified racing with Stafford Speedway’s Open shows and the Valenti Modified Racing Series.
This year they want to take that dabbling to the furthest heights possible.
Cipriano and Greer will team up to run a part-time schedule in 2019 with the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour.
The 24-year old Cipriano, who runs full-time in the SK Modified division at Stafford Speedway, has never made a Whelen Modified Tour start.
“We’re not 100 percent nailed on a schedule yet,” Cipriano told RaceDayCT. “We are going to run a select number of races, mostly in Connecticut is what we plan right now.
“We ran last year in the Open shows [at Stafford Motor Speedway] and some [Valenti Modified Racing Series] races and we ran well and we worked really well together. We sat down after the season and we talked a little bit about what we wanted to do this year. It had been mentioned about maybe running some Tour stuff. We talked to the guys and we were able to put a deal together to run some races.”
Cipriano will make his Whelen Modified Tour at the NAPA Spring Sizzler 200 at Stafford on April 28.
“For me a it’s a dream come true,” Cipriano said. “Since I started racing SK Light [Modifieds], you watch the races and see all those guys at that end of the pit area and it’s where you want to get to. For me to be able to have that opportunity to be one of those drivers and to go knowing that I have a great team behind me and we’re going to go and run some races at tracks that I know, I’m really excited about that. It’s a dream come true.”
In addition to running the part-time schedule on the Whelen Modified Tour, Cipriano will return full-time to the SK Modified division at Stafford. After some time away from the track running weekly, Cipriano returned in 2018 teaming his family team up with longtime owners Jean and Brigitte Poulin.
Cipriano finished eight in the SK Modified standings at Stafford in 2018, recording his first career victory in the division, along with 13 top-10 finishes in 21 events.
“We had a decent year last year,” Cipriano said. “We were able to win a race which was a big weight off everybody’s shoulders. We didn’t finish out the year as consistent as we would have liked, but we showed speed every week. We just need to carry that into this year.”
Kids come a long way from go-karts at Poughkeepsie Speedway! Good Luck JC
From the stands he looks like one of the good guys, the steady and clean guys.
Congratulations Joey C. ! 👍. Good luck.
Joey seems to have talent
Joey seems to have taken the, and Steve Greer always supplies front running cars. The kid may surprise some of the tour regulars.
Joey Cipriano was missed when he went to dirt the year before last. Then last year came back to Stafford showing great speed. Glad to see he’s moving up to do some Whelen racing. He’s a fun driver to watch.
Where are my manners ? I forgot to say “Congrats Joey !! “