RYAN PREECE, DRIVER OF OLD BLUE #3
By Dave Meredith
When school started this fall, Ryan Preece from Kensington, CT,
began his senior year at Xavier High School in Berlin, CT. At the
same time, he was eleventh in the point standings in the NASCAR
Whelen Modified Tour. The Preece family has supported Ryan
throughout his racing career since he started racing in quarter
midgets at the age of seven. Dad Jeff, and Mom Jodi, as well as
brothers Sean and Matthew, have all supported him and been involved
in racing for a while.
In interviewing Ryan, I came away with a sense of a young man who
wants to race, but who also knows the value of an education. He
stated that he wasn’t sure where he was going to continue his
education. He is trying to decide whether to choose a business
degree or technical training. I’m sure his parents will help him
decide.
In 2007 Preece Racing ran their own race car. In fifteen starts
they had three top-ten finishes and finished 19th in the
championship standings. Preece Racing was looking to improve upon
their last season’s efforts. In order to do so, they had to seek a
joint venture with an existing team.
As luck would have it, the Boehler racing team was looking for a
driver as their pilot of last year, Jerry Marquis, retired from
racing opening up the seat in “Ol’ Blue”. It looks like Ryan was a
perfect fit for the famed modified.
Preece just missed a win at Stafford Motor Speedway in Stafford,
CT, when he was disqualified for rough driving when he spun Todd
Szegedy on the last lap. He was moved from first to 16th after the
officials imposed the penalty.
In ten races prior to today’s event, he has two top-5’s and ten
top-10 finishes. Preece credits his crew chief, Scott Richard, with
the improvement in team finishes. He also credits Mike Boehler and
the entire Boehler Racing team. “I can say that when you have a
great team with you, it is a lot easier to race with confidence.”
Today, Preece added another top-five finish to his resume when he
finished third behind Ted Christopher and Jimmy Blewett. Christopher
is the current point leader and by coincidence Ryan moved into the
top ten in the championship points. Preece also earned the “PowerAde
Power Move of the Race Award” for starting 34th and finishing 3rd,
improving 31 Positions in the FJ Hubeny/Reynold's Auto Wrecking
Chevrolet.
Preece moved through the field with care and showed he could handle
the 1.051 mile track. He stated, “I try to use my head and not get
aggressive so we can have an opportunity to race for the win. If I
have a fifth place car, I will try to bring home fifth without
damaging the car. I know I will get a win before the season is over.
I feel really confident that the team we have is the best.”
When asked about his racing aspirations and if he wanted to run in
the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, he said, “That would be one of my
goals. I would like to run in the NASCAR Camping World East Series
for an event or two. That really depends on our sponsors and the
team involved.”
I asked him, “How did you like the Modified Mania at Thompson,
Connecticut,” where he finished in the top 3 in the DART Race of
Champions 75-lap event.” (He finished 27th in the Whelen Modified
Tour Sunoco 150.) “Would you like to see more of the combined events
each season?” He replied, “Yes, I think that was great! It gives
drivers a chance to compete against drivers from other series. It
lets you gauge yourself against the best in the business.”
“The sponsors play a major role in our racing operations, and
without them we would not be racing. The primary sponsors for the #3
is Reynolds Auto Wrecking and Cape Cod Copper. Additional sponsors
include Logan Steel, Mizzy’s Construction, and On Track Karting of
Wallingford, CT, (where Ryan works as an instructor with the younger
drivers at the facility). He also wanted to thank Davidson Food
Products of Cheshire, CT.
Team members include: Jeff Preece, Jodie Judkins, Ryan’s brothers
Matt and Sean, Janice Boehler (car owner), Mike Boehler (car chief),
Mike Lucuyer, Rick Lema Jr., Joe Rogers, Bruce Holbrook, Jerry
Mycarski, Mike Nero Jr., Mike German, Ian Preece, Mike Sheyde, and
Pete Lowe.
Next up for the young driver is the is the 13th race f the season
as the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour visits Martinsville, Virginia, on
September 20th, 2008 to meet their Southern brothers from the NASCAR
Whelen Southern Modified Tour for 300 laps of racing. Preece was
involved in racing accident in the 2007 Martinsville event. Last
year’s event was under the lights, however, this year the modifieds
will race during the day to celebrate the 500th Whelen Modified Tour
racing event.
THE END