Matt Galko Wins Reliable Welding and Speed SK Light Modified Rookie of the Year Honors at Stafford Speedway
Stafford Springs, CT — For the second consecutive season, Stafford’s SK Light Modified division saw a rookie driver win the track championship as well as the Reliable Welding and Speed Rookie of the Year title. Matt Galko followed Michael Gervais, Jr. in turning the feat, giving car owner Tim Rowe his first championship as a car owner at Stafford. Galko was locked in a season long duel with fellow rookie competitors Tommy Barrett, Jr. and Joey Cipriano, III for both the track championship as well as the rookie title.
“You can only be Rookie of the Year once, so it was nice to win that award,” said Galko. “Our goal at the beginning of the season was to win Rookie of the Year, but we never figured that we would be able to win the championship in our first season. Towards the middle of the season, Joey and Tommy were both up there in the points, so we figured that we would have to win the championship in order to win the Rookie of the Year.”
Galko started the season strong with a top-5 in the season opening Spring Sizzler and he picked up his first feature victory in only his fifth start. Galko moved into the points lead midway through the season, but Barrett caught fire during the summer, winning 9 out of 12 races to overtake Galko heading into the season ending CARQUEST Fall Final in the chase for both the track championship and the Rookie of the Year title.
“We led for a while, but we went into that last race 6 points behind and it was definitely a shock that we were able to win with how good Tommy was finishing,” said Galko. “It feels amazing, I still can’t put it into words. I’ve always wanted to race at Stafford and to give Tim [Rowe] his first championship after he gave me the opportunity to drive his car this year makes it really special. We knew that we couldn’t be worse than second so we set out to win that last race.”
With the Reliable Welding and Speed Rookie of the Year title and a track championship under his belt, Galko plans to return to the SK Light ranks with the #20 Davidson Company team.
“We have to see what Tim wants to do for next year, but the plan is to come back and defend our championship,” said Galko. “There’s a lot of good drivers so it’s going to be tough next year, but we feel pretty confident that we can pick up where we left off this season and try to come out and win the Spring Sizzler.”
For the season, Galko posted 4 wins, 13 top-5, and 16 top-10 finishes in 21 starts. Galko will receive his 2010 SK Light Modified Rookie of the Year award at the 41st Annual Stafford Motor Speedway Champions Awards Ceremony on Friday, November 19 at the La Renaissance Banquet Facility in East Windsor.
For more information about the Champions Awards Ceremony, or to order tickets, contact the Stafford Motor Speedway track office at 860-684-2783 or visit us on the web at www.staffordspeedway.com.
Sources: Scott Running/Stafford Motor Speedway PR