Ryan Preece Leads Nascar Whelen Modified Tour Back to Stafford for CARQUEST Fall Final
Stafford Springs, CT — For Ryan Preece, the 2013 season has been one for the ages behind the wheel of a modified. Preece has been the dominant car in Stafford’s SK Modified® ranks with 8 wins this season, and he has also enjoyed an outstanding year with his #16 Diversified Metals / East West Marine car on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour. Preece has recorded a division leading 4 wins this year and he is the points leader by 39 points over fellow SK Modified® regular Doug Coby. The Tour visits New Hampshire before making their fourth and final visit of the season to Stafford and Preece is feeling comfortable about his position as the points leader coming off a victory in the Tour’s last stop at Riverhead.
“Winning at Riverhead was a good thing, it’s obviously a good thing anytime you can win,” said Preece. “It definitely helps us put a good foot forward for the last races at New Hampshire, Stafford, and Thompson. We’re hoping to go to New Hampshire and Stafford and have good days and that way we won’t have to worry about points heading into the last race at Thompson.”
In the first 7 NWMT races this season, Preece recorded 3 wins and didn’t finish lower than 5th. But a flat tire in the final laps in the CARQUEST 150 at Stafford and an accident in the late stages of the Thompson race relegated him to finishes of 16th and 13th and allowed Coby to tighten up the race at the top of the standings. But another top-5 at Bristol and a victory at Riverhead have Preece and his team back on track as they prepare for the final 3 races of the season.
“Last year it seemed like everyone was saying we qualified up front but we couldn’t win races,” said Preece. “This year, we haven’t won a pole yet but we’ve won 4 races. Any time you can win one race on the Whelen Modified Tour it’s a big deal so to win 4 races is almost a dream season. Winning the championship is something that I want really bad and I’m trying to reach that goal. We feel pretty comfortable right now and we’re going to try to keep on doing what we’ve been doing and that’s winning races. We have a 39-point lead and that’s better than having a 10-point lead.”
The race between Preece and Coby is sure to be tight when the Tour arrives at Stafford. In the first three Stafford races this season, Preece and Coby each have a victory. Coby has an average finish of 4.3 at Stafford this year while Preece’s average finish is 7.0 but that number is skewed due to his 16th place finish in the CARQUEST 150.
“I would say neither Doug or I has an advantage at Stafford,” said Preece. “We’ve been pretty good at Stafford and so has Doug. Anything can happen in racing but I think we’ll be all right.”
The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour takes to the track for practice at 11:30am on Saturday, September 28th for the 41st Annual CARQUEST Fall Final Weekend with the field getting set through Coors Light Pole Qualifying at 2:30pm. The 41st Annual CARQUEST Fall Final Weekend continues on Sunday, Sept. 29th with the CARQUEST Belts & Hose Pit Party from 11am-12noon with the Whelen Modified Tour taking the green flag for the CARQUEST Fall Final 150 at approximately 3:15pm.
Tickets for the September 28th & Sept. 29th 41st 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.
For more information on the 41st 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.
Sources: Scott Running/Stafford Motor Speedway PR