In a late-night Facebook post on Tuesday, reigning NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion Jon McKennedy announced that his race team is shutting down immediately, leaving McKennedy without a ride currently. 

FloRacing attempted to reach McKennedy late Tuesday and early Wednesday for comment, but efforts were unsuccessful. 

McKennedy was racing for a team owned by Tim and Sheryll Lepine on the Tour since the start of the 2022 season. The pairing began initially in ISMA Supermodified competition, before eventually transitioning to Tour-type competition with the Tri-Track Open Modified Series before they made their way to the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour in 2022.

The Chelmsford, Massachusetts native posted seven top five finishes and 13 top 10 finishes with one victory at the Claremont Motorsports Park in a 2022 season that culminated with McKennedy coming out on top of an absolutely thrilling four-driver championship fight at Martinsville Speedway last October.

McKennedy’s title defense didn’t start off as strong as he would have hoped with a 24th-place finish at New Smyrna Speedway to open the season. After a ninth-place run at Richmond Raceway, McKennedy rattled off three straight podium finishes, including a pair of runner-up runs, and McKennedy has not finished outside the top 10 since the season opener. He currently sits fifth in points, 33 points behind points leader Ron Silk.

Watch: McKennedy Goes In-Depth After Winner NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Championship

McKennedy posted on Facebook Tuesday night that the team would be closing its doors. The short post read: “Due to unforeseen circumstances, the 79 team is closing its doors. Just want to thank my car owners Tim and Sheryll Lepine, my crew, and Middlesex Interiors for everything.”

The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour is back in action this Saturday night at Riverhead Raceway with the running of the Miller Lite Salutes Mike Ewanitsko 200 live on FloRacing.