Young Guns Matt Galko and Joey Cipriano Again in the Thick of SK Light Championship Fight at Stafford Speedway
Stafford Springs, CT — In Stafford’s SK Light Modified division this season, the fight for the track championship is once again all about the young guns. 17-year-old Matt Galko is the defending track champion in the SK Light division and he currently holds the points lead this season, but he is currently only 18 points, or 9 positions on the track ahead of 16-year-old Joey Cipriano. After dueling for the championship last season, along with Tommy Barrett, Jr., Galko and Cipriano are right back at it, fighting for the 2011 SK Light Modified championship.
“I think the experience we gained last year can’t hurt,” said Galko, driver of the #20 Davidson Company Chevrolet. “We know how to race for a championship and how to close out a season, but it’s still going to be very close because Joey is very good. I think it’s better to be where we are leading and have a cushion, we can set our own pace and we can do our own thing.”
“I think we have the easier job than Matt,” said Cipriano, driver of the #84 United Roll-Off Services Chevrolet. “We’re chasing him while he has to protect a lead. I wish it was a little closer than 18 points, but If we can gain 4 or 6 points a week on him, we’ll be all right. As long as after the last race we’re first and Matt is second.”
Galko and Cipriano have posted nearly identical numbers through the first 14 races of the 2011 season. They served notice at the beginning of the season they were going to be championship contenders as they finished 1-2 in each of the first 2 races of the season. They each have posted 4 wins this season, with Galko having 10 top-5’s to Cipriano’s 9 and Galko has 12 top-10 finishes to Cipriano’s 10. Galko’s slightly better consistency has given him an 18-point margin over Cipriano heading into the final 5 races of the 2011 season.
“We’re not going to try anything drastic,” said Galko. “We have setups that work, so we want to stay with what works. You have to finish races and a 5th place finish is better than trying to make a pass for 4th place and you end up wrecking and finishing 19th or something like that. We’ve been fast all season long, but lately we’ve been off just a little. Last week, we were a little too tight to make a pass and two weeks ago the car was off in practice and the heat, but we made the right adjustment for the feature and we went from fourth to first on a green white checkered. Our goal was to win as many races as we did last year and we’ve done that.”
“The past few weeks, we’ve changed some things on the car and we’ve been pretty good,” said Cipriano. “We’ve led in the last 5 races, it’s just the late cautions have been killing us. We know what we have to do to beat Matt and Matt knows what he has to do to beat us. We can run side by side with Matt for 20 laps and we’re not going to touch. We started out good and then it seemed like we were either winning, close to winning, or wrecking. Lately we’ve been getting some good top-5 finishes and we have to race smart and be there at the end.”
As the 2011 season enters into the homestretch, both Galko and Cipriano have their eyes on the prize and hope they can be called champion when the checkered flag falls on the final SK Light race at the CARQUEST Fall Final
“We’ve been there all season long and now we want to win another championship,” said Galko. “Hopefully we can stay where we are. I have to thank the Davidson Company, Tim Rowe, NAPA of Wallingford, and my Dad for all their support this season.”
“There’s always a little bit of pressure racing for the championship,” said Cipriano. “You work hard all year long to try to win the championship. We just have to keep doing what we’ve been doing and however it comes out it will come out in the end. I have to thank United Roll-Off Services, Gunsmoke Stables Racing and Steve and Diana Greer, AVI Pumps, Prospect Street Auto, New Age Designs, New Haven Industrial, Chassis Dynamics, T/A Engines, and everyone on the crew.”
For more information, 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