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09/20/2012 |
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RYAN PREECE
LOOKING TO CONTINUE HOT STREAK AS
WHELEN MODIFIED TOUR HEADS TO STAFFORD FOR CARQUEST FALL
FINAL |
 After
trailing Doug Coby by 55 points in the chase for the
2012 Whelen Modified Tour championship only three
races ago, Ryan Preece and the #16 Diversified
Metals team have clawed their way back into
championship contention. Two third place finishes
and a victory in the last race at Riverhead has seen
Preece move into second in the championship
standings, only 9 points behind Coby. Preece hopes
to continue his momentum in the CARQUEST Fall Final
on Sept. 29 & 30.
"It's pretty close now," said Preece. "I think it
will come down to who the luckiest driver is at the
end of the year and we'll see if our luck can keep
on going the way it's been going the last couple of
races. I've always tried to race and let everything
else deal with itself. We're going to keep on trying
to win races and keep the car out of trouble. That's
pretty crazy that we've made up that many points. We
had some bad luck to start off the year and it seems
like now Doug [Coby] is running into some bad luck
now. We've been really good when Doug has had his
bad days and Doug was really good when we had our
bad days."
Preece has been in a tight championship race before.
In 2009, he finished only 16 points behind Donny Lia
in what turned out to be the fourth closest
championship battle in Whelen Modified Tour history.
Preece will use the experience he gained from that
championship chase and apply it to this year's
championship fight.
"I'm very lucky that I'm always the underdog in the
points," said Preece. "It's your championship to
lose when you're the leader, while the guy in second
is doing everything he can to win it. I'm going to
do what I did last time in 2009. It didn't end up
working out our way that year, but I'm going to try
to do it for sure this year."
One factor that is sure to aid Preece is the fact
that he has an extremely fast car in qualifying.
Preece has won 6 pole positions this season, by far
the most of any driver on Tour. Going back to the
final race of the 2011 season, Preece has put his
car on pole in 7 of the 12 races he has run thusfar
with the #16 team. Preece has won the pole position
for two of the three Stafford races this season, and
he is hoping to continue that trend for the CARQUEST
Fall Final.
"That's insane how many poles we've won," said
Preece. "You don't have a year like this very often
and we aren't getting used to it by any means. When
I got into this car, I knew it was a good car, I
feel like it's one of the best rides to be in, and
I'm very fortunate to be driving this car. This is
above and beyond what any of us expected. We were
expecting to qualify well at Thompson for the
Icebreaker and then after that it was like let's
shoot for up front and we started clicking off
poles. I think we've got 7 poles in the 12 races
we've been together, so I'm not sure it can get any
better than it's been this year. Our plan is to win
the pole, lead the most laps and win the race. We're
going to try our best and we'll see how it all works
out for us."
With the championship race coming down to the last
three races, Preece has a lot of momentum on his
side with his win at Riverhead Raceway giving Preece
and his team a confidence boost.
"The Riverhead win was good for the team because
they deserve it," said Preece. "I wish I could win
every race for those guys, but obviously we can't
win them all. It was good to close in on Doug and it
just goes to show how important it is to finish
races and to win races with this points system.
Every point is going to count in the end, so leading
a lap and leading the most laps is going to be
important."
With finishes of second, eleventh, and sixth in the
three Stafford races this year, Preece feels like he
and his team have hit on a setup that will allow him
to be a contender for the checkered flag in the
CARQUEST Fall Final.
"We've been tweaking on the car a little here and
there," said Preece. "I think this time when we go
back to Stafford we know what we need in the car
because of what we did at Thompson. With the two
thirds we got at Thompson, we feel like we have
something that we found that we can go off of."
Tickets for the September 29th & Sept. 30th 40th
Annual CARQUEST Fall Final Weekend are priced at
$38.50 for adult general admission tickets, $5.00
for children ages 6-14, and children ages 5 and
under are admitted free of charge when accompanied
by an adult. Reserved seating will be priced at
$42.00 for all ages. All CARQUEST Fall Final tickets
are good for admission on both Saturday and Sunday.
All ticket prices include 10% CT Admission Tax and
Stafford Motor Speedway offers free parking with
overnight parking available.
For more information on the 40th Annual CARQUEST
Fall Final Weekend, or to order tickets, contact the
Stafford Motor Speedway track office at 860-684-2783
or visit us on the web at
www.staffordspeedway.com. |
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Source: Scott Running / Stafford Motor Speedway
Posted: September
20, 2012 |
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