Ryan Preece wants to go out with a bang in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour.
Preece, running his final Tour race before making the move to the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, has already shown speed this weekend, qualifying on the front row alongside polesitter Ronnie Williams.
“We’re gonna try to win,” said Preece on his mindset entering World Series weekend. “Thompson took me so many years to get ahold of.”
Preece has admittedly struggled on the Tour by his standards since cutting back on the schedule to focus on his Xfinity Series ride with Joe Gibbs Racing.
“It’s hurt us as a team to try and keep up with the tires,” said Preece. “When you’re racing week in and week out, you know the next week what the tires are going to do. In the early part of the season we were really freaking good… you just gotta adapt.”
Preece considers himself to be extremely fortunate to have gone from a mid-pack Xfinity Series ride back to the Whelen Modified Tour, and now all the way to the Cup Series.
“It’s a huge opportunity,” said Preece. “You hear ‘opportunity’ and all these other things thrown around so much nowadays, but it’s crazy… The stars lined up. There’s a lot of people with similar stories in a way, and they just don’t work out. I’m lucky to where they have been. It’s just working out to where you’re winning races and contending.”
Some would argue that Preece did the nearly-impossible by making it all the way to the Cup Series without bringing a massive sponsor. But to Preece, it’s something that a dedicated racer can accomplish.
“It’s tough,” Preece said of his journey. “But at the end of the day, I didn’t bring sponsors [to the Xfinity Series] this year… It’s just one of those things where if you do good, it’s possible.”
The best part about Preece’s new Cup ride? The onus isn’t on him to find sponsorship dollars.
“It’s a dream come true because, right now, it’s a two-year contract,” said Preece on the deal with JTG Daugherty Racing. “For the first time in years, I don’t have to worry about bringing money. I don’t have to worry about any of that. The only thing I have to worry about is racing that race car and racing the best I can for that team. That’s gonna be nice. That’s something I’m focusing on.”
Ryan Preece will look to kick off the next chapter of his racing career by closing this one in the sweetest way: in victory lane.
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