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RYAN PREECE
LOOKING TO COMPLETE CAREER QUARTET
IN NAPA SPRING SIZZLER |
After
spending the 2016 season behind the wheel of Johnny
Davis Motorsports’ #01 car in the NASCAR Xfinity
Series, Ryan Preece has returned to full time
competition on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour for
the 2017 season. The Berlin native will pilot Ed
Partridge’s #6 T.S. Haulers machine and is looking
to capture the NAPA Spring Sizzler® to complete what
would be a career Stafford quartet of checkered
flags. Preece has already won the late May/Early
June, August, and NAPA Fall Final events during his
NWMT career, all that remains is to win the
grand-daddy of them all, “The Greatest Race in the
History of Spring” the NAPA Auto Parts Spring
Sizzler®.
“A Sizzler win would definitely be nice,” said
Preece. “I’ve had moments where I’ve led the most of
the race but we’ve been unable to win it. I’ve won
the Fall Final, the late May/early June race, as
well as the August race at Stafford, so the Sizzler
is the only Stafford tour race left that I haven’t
won. To finally get a win and add a Sizzler trophy
to the others would be pretty special.”
With 5 career NWMT wins and 25 career SK Modified®
wins at Stafford to his credit, Preece knows how to
get to NAPA Victory Lane behind the wheel of a
modified. With the NAPA Spring Sizzler® being
200-laps in length, the strategy game could
determine who ends up winning the 46th edition of
the NAPA Spring Sizzler®. A new tire rule for the
2017 season, which will allow NWMT teams to change 4
tires rather than the customary 3 during a pit stop
combined with the fact that most teams will also
have to pit for fuel at some point during the race
already has Preece and other NWMT teams already
plotting out a strategy for the race.
“We’re working on putting together a solid strategy
for the Sizzler because it should be interesting
with what NASCAR has done allowing us to change 4
tires instead of 3 during a pit stop,” said Preece.
“It’s still the same rules when it comes to fueling
and I really like that stuff because it brings
strategy into the race and it can either make or
break your race. Looking at our past notes I think
we’re going to be pretty solid. If you look at the
last few Sizzlers, normally there’s an early yellow
followed by a long green flag run and then the last
30 laps it becomes a track position battle. We’ll
have to wait and see just how the race plays out.”
Preece and the #6 team are not only in search of
their first Sizzler win, but a strong finish to help
recover from the last race at Thompson where a first
lap accident left them with a 28th place finish
after scoring a 4th place run in the season opening
event at Myrtle Beach.
“It’s been a season of highs and lows so far,” said
Preece. “We started off pretty good winning the New
Smyrna championship for the third year in a row, won
the big John Blewett memorial race down there and
had a good run at Myrtle. We thought Thompson was
going to go pretty well for us and then lap 1 hit.
It’s still a little too early to be thinking about
points. A good finish would be a good boost for the
team but like I’m sure Doug [Coby] would say,
winning races is what’s going to take care of
things. If you win all the races, you’re going to be
champion so we’re taking things race by race and
trying to win each one or get the best finish we
can. Our focus is to come to Stafford and try to
win, that’s all we can do.”
Preece won’t be limited to just driving the #6 T.S.
Haulers machine during NAPA Spring Sizzler® weekend.
Preece will also be behind the wheel of his #40
Midstate Air Compressor SK Modified® and has plans
to run between 8-10 races during the 2017 season.
“We don’t have a definitive number yet but I’m
guessing it will be around 8-10 races minimum this
season with the SK,” said Preece. “We’ll definitely
be at the Sizzler and the second race with the SK
car. My focus this year is on the Whelen Modified
Tour and Tour type races but if the Tour car is all
prepared and everything is ready to go, we’ll get
the guys together and bring the SK to the track.
Another race we’ll definitely be at is the NAPA SK
5k in July. I feel like that race is so huge that if
you have an SK and you don’t go to that race, it’s
kind of silly.”
The “Greatest Race in the History of Spring,” the
46th Annual NAPA Auto Parts Spring Sizzler®, takes
the green flag on April 29-30. Tickets are available
and on sale now at the Speedway Box Office. Tickets
are priced at $40.00 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 is priced
at $42.00 for all ages. Stafford Motor Speedway
offers free parking with overnight parking
available. Tickets are good for both Saturday and
Sunday admission. All ticket prices include 10% CT
Admission Tax. Discount Tickets are now available at
all 71 participating NAPA Auto Parts stores. For a
full list of the 71 locations throughout
Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island,
and Vermont, please call the speedway office or
visit us on the web at
www.staffordmotorspeedway.com/participating-napa-auto-parts-stores.
For more information or to order tickets for the
46th Annual NAPA Auto Parts Spring Sizzler®, contact
the Stafford Motor Speedway track office at
860-684-2783 or visit us on the web at
www.staffordspeedway.com. |
Source:
Scott Running /
Stafford Motor Speedway
Posted:
April 21, 2017 |
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