Preece On A Roll Heading To Thompson
The 2009 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season has reached its halfway point, and as the Tour heads to Thompson (Conn.) International Speedway this week, Ryan Preece is perhaps the hottest driver on the circuit.
Preece, from Berlin, Conn., has won the last two NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour races and is now just 27 points out of the championship lead thanks to top-10 efforts in six of the season’s seven events.
The last two weeks have been a constant emotional high for Preece, who recorded his first career win last year at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, but never got to celebrate in Victory Lane as Burt Myers was there originally, before being disqualified. His triumph at Riverhead (N.Y.) Raceway on Aug. 1 was the first time he got to pull into Victory Lane, and symbolically, it felt like his first win.
Last Friday at Stafford (Conn.) Motor Speedway, Preece then got the first win of his NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour career at his home track.
Preece had a stout car the last handful of races at Stafford, but the cards didn’t line up for a victory. The long wait ended in the Town Fair Tire 150 when he led the final 47 laps to take the checkered flag.
“I’ve always wanted to win here, and I finally got it,” said an elated Preece following the win.
Both wins have been hard-earned for Preece. In the previous week’s win, he had to fend off a host of Riverhead regulars to get to the finish line first, and Friday’s win at Stafford featured a similar storyline as he had to outlast the winningest driver in the track’s storied history: Ted Christopher.
Christopher had led the first two-thirds of the race after starting first on the redraw, but after a restart, Preece was able to get past the defending NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion on Lap 104 and hold off some hard charges from Christopher for the win.
As the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour now heads to Thompson for the Budweiser 150 presented by New England Dodge Dealers on Thursday, Aug. 13, Preece will have to turn the page quickly. The Tour is currently halfway through its busiest part of the 2009 schedule with four events in the span of 19 days. Fortunately for Preece and the No. 3 team, momentum is clearly on their side, for the time being.
“The month of August seems to be a real good month for me, and hopefully my luck will stay like this,” Preece said.
The 18-year-old driver knows that things can turn around quickly in auto racing, so he’s not going to get too caught up in the team’s current run.
“Who knows, I could be wrecking next week, so I’m living in the moment, and things are real great right now,” Preece said.
While he has traditionally been a front-runner at Stafford, Preece has yet to find much success at Connecticut’s biggest oval. In 10 career starts at Thompson, the third-year driver has an average finish of 15 with four top 10s. A fourth- place finish there in the season opener – the best of his career – should be encouraging.
While the season is only halfway over, it may be too early to hedge bets on the championship, but the consistency that Preece’s team has exhibited to this point indicates that they could be a legitimate title contender.
Preece and the rest of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour competitors will get the action going on race day at Thompson with practice at 2 p.m. Time trials are set for 5:30 p.m. and the 150-lap race is scheduled to go green at approximately 8:45 p.m.
Fast Facts
The Race: Budweiser 150 presented by New England Dodge Dealers
The Place: Thompson (Conn.) International Speedway
The Date: Thursday, August 13
The Time: 8:45 p.m. ET
The Distance: 150 laps / 93.75 miles
Race Purse: $84,168
2008 Winner: Ron Silk
2008 Polesitter: None-rain
Event Schedule: Practice 2 – 3 p.m.; Tire Scuff 5:15 p.m.; Qualifying 5:30 p.m.