Joey Cipriano To Run Whelen Mod Tour Event At NHMS With Kevin Stuart Motorsports

Joey Cipriano (Photo: Jim DuPont/RaceDayCT)

Last year NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour team owner Kevin Stuart offered Joey Cipriano the chance to start the Musket 200 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. 

Cipriano knew going into the event that the team wasn’t going to run the full event, but he wasn’t any less elated to turn laps in competition for the first time at the 1.058-mile oval. 

“I watched my first [Whelen Modified] Tour race there when I was probably 15 or 16 and I was just like ‘Man, I just want to be able to make it here as a driver one day.’” Cipriano said. “Last year Kevin called me on Friday morning and was like ‘Can you get here for practice because we’re going to bring the backup car out to start the race tomorrow?’ I flew up there and got in the car. That was the coolest thing to just to have a shot to go run there.” 

Cipriano ran 71 of the 200 laps in last September’s event in Loudon. 

“Last year when I put him in the car he was like a kid in a candy store,” Stuart said. “He was like: ‘I can’t believe I’m running Loudon.’ He did a really good job, we just didn’t have enough help to keep him out there. I wish I could have because I think he would have had a good finish.” 

Saturday Stuart will give Cipriano another chance in Loudon and this time the team is ready to run the full way in the Whelen 100 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Cipriano will be a teammate to Ron Silk, the primary driver for Kevin Stuart Motorsports. 

It will mark Cipriano’s fifth career Whelen Modified Tour start. Outside of last year’s Musket 200 he made three series starts at Stafford Speedway in 2019 for team owner Steve Greer’s Gunsmoke Stables operation. 

“I just think he’s a good kid,” Stuart said of Cipriano. “He’s never really had a good shot, a fair shot. And he goes with us every weekend for no money just to help us. No matter where we go he tries to be there. At the beginning of the year I told him if everything works out when we go to Loudon and we’re in good shape with everything else that I’d put him in the car. I just hope he can stay out of trouble and have a decent finish.” 

Said Cipriano: “I’m super excited just to have the shot to go run there. And it’s a [NASCAR Cup Series] weekend. You have all those drivers from the Cup Series and Xfinity Series all sharing the same infield, that’s really cool to get to be a part of that.” 

The Whelen Modified Tour Whelen 100 is scheduled for a 12:45 pm green flag on Saturday with practice and qualifying taking place Saturday morning at NHMS. 

Comments

  1. Good Luck Joey. Your past Stafford tour starts were impressive with strong competitive runs. Bad luck late in the race prevented top finishes in a number of events. He clearly has the ability to be a front runner on the tour in good equipment.
    He had the same bad luck as a weekly SK racer with great runs and possible wins ruined by mechanical issues late in races he was leading.
    The kid is way overdue for a streak of good luck from the racing gods

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