Leading Modified Racing Series Rookie Dylan Kopec Excited About Chances in Shark Cycle 80 at Stafford
Stafford Springs, CT — As the Valenti Modified Racing Series makes its way to Stafford Motor Speedway for the Shark Cycle 80 on August 30th, one driver who will be looking forward to the race is Dylan Kopec. Kopec spent the past two seasons in Stafford’s SK Light division and he nearly won the 2012 SK Light championship with 8 feature victories. After a rough start to his rookie VMRS campaign, Kopec is ready to improve on his best finish of 2013, which to date has been an 11th place finish behind the wheel of his #66 Northeast Racecars / Ceric Fabrication machine.
“I’d have to give us a 6 or 7 out of 10 so far,” said Kopec. “It takes a lot of time to get used to new tracks, drivers, and especially double the horsepower from the SK Lights. We ran the first Stafford race and it’s the same but it wasn’t the same. I drove the MRS car just like I drove the SK Light car and your eyes definitely get a lot bigger. I’m ready to roll at Stafford, I’ve been waiting for this race ever since the first Stafford race back in June. I feel pretty confident, I’d love to get a top-5. A top-10 is what we’re aiming for at the moment and we’ve finished 11th three times so far this year. If everything goes well for us at Stafford maybe we could get a top-5 finish.”
In preparation for his move into the VMRS ranks this season, Kopec got his year started off with some modified experience down in New Smyrna, Florida in February with the #79 Hillbilly Racing team. That experience combined with Kopec seeing some of the VMRS tracks for the second time this season have him feeling good about where he is with his learning curve.
“Some of the biggest challenges this season are just getting comfortable in the car and learning about the new tracks and drivers,” said Kopec. “The first few races I had I wasn’t too comfortable. I went down to New Smyrna in February with the 79 crew and David Hill let me drive the car and I got a feel for a tour car. I practiced for the first three or four nights and they let me race the car on the last night. Going into the season, I was expecting to ride around and get the feel of the car. I think maybe I’m a little ahead of where I expected to be. We’re knocking on the door of a top-10 and I have a lot of seat time. At the beginning of the season we didn’t have the right motor in the car, we had a super late model engine in the car and we were down about 80 horsepower. We didn’t qualify for the first couple of races, but we’re right up there now.”
In his first trip to Stafford this season, Kopec qualified 17th and finished on the lead lap in 14th place. As Kopec’s experience and confidence have continued to build since that race, Kopec is excited about his prospects in the Shark Cycle 80.
“I’ve been looking forward to this since the first Stafford race and I have more seat time since that first race and I’ve got more comfortable in the car and I think we have a pretty good setup for Stafford. We tried a few things during that first Stafford race and we were used to running 20-lap features and now we’re running 80-lap races. It’s a combination of all those little things of me getting comfortable and having a good setup in the car. It’s a team effort and I think we’ll have a good run this time around.”
Kopec is currently the leading rookie driver on the VMRS tour and a good finish at Stafford would go a long way in helping him take home Rookie of the Year honors at season’s end.
“I’d be honored to win Rookie of the Year,” said Kopec. “You have to finish all the races and I’ll be trying my best. I’ve never won a Rookie Of The Year award before except for maybe once in go karts, so it would be pretty cool to win rookie of the year and the MRS is an awesome series.”
Tickets for the August 30th Shark Cycle 80 are available and on sale now at the Speedway Box Office. Tickets are priced at $27.50 for adult general admission tickets, $5.00 for children ages 6-14, and children ages 5 and under are admitted free of charge when accompanied by an adult. Reserved seating will be priced at $30.00 for all ages. All ticket prices include 10% CT Admission Tax.
For more information on the Shark Cycle 80, 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