Joey Cipriano Takes Home 2013 Spafco SK Modified® Rookie of the Year Honors at Stafford Speedway
Stafford Springs, CT — Waterbury native Joey Cipriano, III found success and gained confidence in earning the 2013 SPAFCO SK Modified® Rookie of the Year title. The accomplishment did not come easy for Cipriano as he began the year behind the wheel of the Steve Greer #19 car but a mutual decision found them parting ways after the first four races of the season. After a 5-race absence, Cipriano returned to the SK Modified® ranks in his family owned #84 AVI Pumps machine in competitive style and he nearly won his first feature.
“Those five weeks were the worst weeks I’ve had in a while having to sit in the grandstands,” said Cipriano. “We knew we wanted to come back but we weren’t sure how long it was going to be. We were hoping it was going to be this season but we weren’t sure. We had a lot of people step up and help us out so that we were able to get a motor and get the car together as an SK. I really have to thank Andy and Louise Brockway, my Grandfather who owns the car, Tony from T/A Engines, Tom and Sandy Welch, and AVI Pumps for all their help and support.”
After recording two top-10 finishes in Greer’s number 19 car, Cipriano picked up right where he left off with his #84 car by posting five consecutive top-10 finishes. In 10 races with his #84 car, Cipriano posted 2 top-5 and 8 top-10 finishes to leapfrog him above Zach Aszklar in the chase for the SPAFCO Rookie of the Year points standings. The highlight of Cipriano’s season came in the final Friday night race of the season that saw Cipriano lead for much of the race before settling for second behind Dan Avery.
“When we first came back we were strong and we were really surprised by that,” said Cipriano. “The car was a new chassis and we were really happy with a top-5 in our first race back. Then I don’t know if it was the track changing or with the weather but we lost grip and we struggled for four or five weeks. We really couldn’t get the car to do what we wanted it to do. We finally hit it with about three weeks left in the season and we almost won on the last Friday night. I was really frustrated with myself for about a week after that race for leading as many laps as we did that night and then to lose the race on a restart the way we did. I was frustrated but it was also a big confidence booster for me to know that we had what it took to run up front and win. We had been a top-5 car before that but we didn’t have that little edge to get us into the lead and possibly win a race.”
With nearly a full season of experience under his belt and a near victory, Cipriano is confident about his prospects for the 2014 season.
“I feel confident we can be a contender in the SK Modified® division for the championship. Once we got the car figured out and the way we finished the season off, there’s no reason why we can’t win races. As long as I do my job and we have the car right each week our outlook is looking positive.”
One area that Cipriano feels helped his development throughout the year was the use of GoPro cameras in his #84 car. Cipriano was able to review his race performances and see the strong and weak points of his car in order to make setup changes for the next race on the schedule.
“Every Saturday morning I set my camera up on the computer and I’ll rewatch the race probably 5 or 6 times to go through it and pick up little things,” said Cipriano. “I had one camera looking out the front of the car and then one camera focused on me so I could see my hand movements on the steering wheel. The one out the front really helped because if I was behind someone like Ryan Preece or Ted Christopher I could see where they were beating me and where I was beating them to come back the next week and make some changes on the car. Having those cameras in the car definitely helped me out.”
Although Cipriano missed 5 races during the season, he still recorded 2 top-5 and 10 top-10 finishes for an average finish of 9.7 in 13 starts. Cipriano will be officially crowned the 2013 SPAFCO SK Modified® Rookie of the Year at the 44th Annual Stafford Motor Speedway Champions Awards Ceremony on Friday, November 22 at Maneeley’s in South Windsor.
Tickets to the 44th Annual Stafford Motor Speedway Champions Awards Ceremony are $45 per person and can be ordered by calling the Stafford Motor Speedway track office at (860) 684-2783, or by downloading an order form from www.staffordspeedway.com and returning the form to the track office.
Sources: Scott Running/Stafford Motor Speedway PR