Ryan Preece Looks to Get Back to Winning Ways in SK Modified® Competition at Stafford in 2013
Stafford Springs, CT — After posting 5 wins on his way to his first SK Modified® track championship in 2011, Ryan Preece and the #40 J.G. Poulin Drywall / Sullivan & Sons team that is owned by Bob Hitchcock and Kelly Iverson found the road to CARQUEST Victory Lane a bit bumpier in 2012. The team won 2 races this past season, but four finishes of 20th or worse yielded a fourth place in the standings at the end of the year. But with a top notch crew and top notch equipment behind him, Preece is ready to return to his 2011 ways and once again be a contender for the SK Modified® championship in 2013.
“We’re all really looking forward to this year,” said Preece. “Last year we had some bad luck where the year before we had things go our way. We had some other things happen that were just beyond our control. But we didn’t get frustrated, there’s only so much you can do, and we certainly did everything we could last year to get our car up front and stay out of trouble.”
Preece’s #40 will carry sponsorship from Sullivan & Sons, J.G. Poulin Drywall, NAPA Canton Auto Supply, New England Race Fuels Sunoco, FK Rod Ends, East/West Marine, Racing Electronics, and Design 500 Racewear. With a host of sponsors and the same crew and car coming back to Stafford in 2013, Preece is confident that a small turn in luck could be all the team needs to get back to their 2011 level.
“I feel like if we can get our luck turned around, we’ll be right back where we were in 2011,” said Preece. “Mike Pettit knows the engines really well, Mike Paquette knows the chassis really well, and we feel like we have a top-5 car every week. Our plan is to race week to week and go for the championship. If we can’t win the championship, then we’ll try to win as many races as we can and have a good year. We definitely have everything in place and I’m going to give it my all, Mr. Poulin is going to give it his all, and Bob Hitchcock and Kelly Iverson will be giving it their all this year.”
In additon to his SK Modified® duties at Stafford, Preece will also be looking to make waves with the #16 Diversified Metals team. With 4 of the 14 races on the 2013 schedule coming at Stafford, a driver can make or break their season with by how they run at SMS. Preece and the #16 team won 2 pole positions last year at Stafford, and they had top-6 runs in three of the four races.
“Things are really good on the Whelen Modified Tour side,” said Preece. “Last year was my first year with the 16 team and our plan is to continue go move forward this year. We almost won the championship last year and I think that we’ll be even stronger this year. My driving style was a little different that what Sly [crew chief Szaban] was used to and we’ve been working on improving our communication about the car. We had time trailing down for sure, we just need to work on our races. Whether it’s Stafford or Lime Rock, we show up to win and if we can’t win then we’ll try to get the best finish we can. We’re hoping that we can have a breakout year this year like Doug [Coby] did last year.”
Preece will have his first chance at 2013 success with the 42nd Annual CARQUEST Tech-Net Spring Sizzler on April 26-28. Tickets for the “Greatest Race in the History of Spring” may be ordered by calling the Speedway Box Office. Tickets 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 is $42.00 for all ages. All ticket prices include 10% CT Admission Tax.
For more information on the 42nd Annual CARQUEST TECH-NET Spring Sizzler®, 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.
Sources: Scott Running/Stafford Motor Speedway PR