Ryan Preece made it in a sense when he signed a contract to race full-time in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series with JTG-Daugherty Racing next season, but a racer like himself was never going to stray too far from his roots.
To that end, the 27-year-old still plans to make sporadic starts in a Tour-Type Modified in 2019 as long as they don’t conflict with his NASCAR obligations.
“I think I already got some approval to go run some Modified races, but there won’t be any interference,” Preece said. “I imagine I might do double-duty at Loudon. That New Hampshire weekend is a big weekend for me. But, there’s a mid-week show that doesn’t conflict with any obligations that I have with these guys or for me being in the shop, where I feel like is going to be pretty important. I’ll try to make some races work.”
Preece also cited the Modified legends of the Northeast for shaping him into the strong-willed racer that made it to the highest level or talent and resolve alone.
“Guys like Reggie Ruggiero, Mike Stefanik, Ted Christopher, Keith Rocco, many names up in the Northeast that won’t give you an inch,” Preece said. “You’ve got to learn to race with the best of them and those guys, week in and week out, make you figure out a way to make it happen.
“That’s the same for my racing career. It’s kind of the way I was brought up. There is never ‘I can’t.’ It’s ‘make it happen,’ no matter what you’ve got to do.”
From that standpoint, continuing to race the likes of Justin Bonsignore, Doug Coby and Matt Hirschman will only make him stronger every time he straps into the No. 47 for JTG-Daugherty next season.
It’s a case or iron sharpening iron.
Preece will compete this weekend in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season finale at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park for the Sunoco World Series 150. He will also race in a Sunoco (SK) Modified before the Tour main event.
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