Ryan Preece Hopes to Continue Extra Distance Success in 8th Annual CARQUEST SK 150 at Stafford Motor Speedway
Stafford Springs, CT — As the 2011 NASCAR Whelen All-American Series nears the halfway point at Stafford Motor Speedway, the track’s SK Modified® division has it biggest race of the season on the horizon, the 8th Annual CARQUEST SK 150. With the race distance of 150 laps and a purse of nearly $25,000, it is by far the longest and richest race of the year at Stafford.
After a victory in Stafford’s Coors Light SK Modified® 100 earlier this year, and a second in last year’s CARQUEST SK 150, current SK Modified® points leader Ryan Preece is looking forward to the latest edition of the extra distance event.
“These races are the ones you really want to win since they pay the most to win,” said Preece. “We have some great sponsors in Sullivan and Sons, American Lamp Recycling, J.G. Poulin Drywall, and Hitchcock Pool Water, but every extra bit really helps the team out. We’re focused right now on keeping all four wheels straight on the car and when you can win these big races, it helps keep us going.”
Preece and the #40 Sullivan and Sons team have enjoyed a great beginning to their 2011 season with 6 top-5 finishes in the first 8 races, including 2 victories. While the CARQUEST SK 150 is nearly 4 times as long as a normal weekly 40-lap feature event, Preece says that he and his crew do almost nothing extra in preparation for the longest race of the season and that they plan on taking the race as it comes to them.
“We put extra fuel in the car and that’s about it,” said Preece. “We had the car really going good in the 100-lapper and we had it going really good the last time we raced. The car is good on both the short and long runs, you just have to see how the race is going to play out and where you are with 50 laps to go. The race can either be a wreckfest or it can be a long green flag run, so you just have to take things as they come. I think the most important thing is what happens at the start of the race. If the race is crazy at the start, you can lay back a little and take it easy. But if everyone is going at the start of the race, you really have to get going and make your way to the front as quick as you can.”
Should Preece have a good finish in the CARQUEST SK 150, he can use that as a springboard to put himself into contention for the SK Modified® track championship. In 7 previous editions of the CARQUEST SK 150, only once has the race winner finished lower than 4th in the final SK Modified® points standings, which was Frank Ruocco in 2003 when he finished 6th in the points. While Preece currently leads Keith Rocco in the SK Modified® championship standings, he says it is too early in the season to worry about points, but he knows he has to finish ahead of Rocco.
“It’s too early in the season to worry about points,” said Preece. “You start to worry about points when there is 2 or 3 races left in the season and we still have 10 races left to go. Our plan for now is to keep finishing races, be consistent with our finishes, try to win, and be a top team every week. I think that as long as we can stay out of wrecks and get to the front, we have a car that can win every week. We’ve been messing around with the car and we seem to have hit on something. We have a great Pettit motor from Jean-Guy Poulin and everyone on the team is working well together. We know we have to beat Keith, he’s been really fast all year long, and if we can beat him, we’ll be ok with points.”
The 8th annual CARQUEST SK 150 is scheduled for July 22nd. Tickets are priced at $25.00 for adult general admission, $5.00 for children ages 6-14 general admission, and Free for Children ages 5 & under. Reserved seating is available for $28.00 for all ages. Stafford Motor Speedway offers free parking, with overnight parking available.
For more information, or to order tickets to the 8th Annual CARQUEST SK 150, contact the Stafford Motor Speedway track office at 860-684-2783 or visit us on the web at www.staffordspeedway.com.
Sources: Scott Running/Stafford Motor Speedway PR