●Ryan Preece is headed to North Wilkesboro (N.C.) Speedway this weekend to compete for a spot in Sunday’s NASCAR All-Star Race. The driver of the No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse for Stewart-Haas Racing will have to race into the main event by finishing in the top-two positions during Sunday’s undercard All-Star Open. NASCAR returned to North Wilkesboro after a 27-year hiatus for last season’s All-Star event. Preece qualified eighth and finished fourth in last year’s All-Star Open, falling just two spots short of advancing to the main event.
●Preece is known for success on short tracks similar to North Wilkesboro. He made a name for himself racing on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, which competes on racetracks 1 mile or less. He clinched the championship in 2013 and has 26 career Tour wins. His two career NASCAR Xfinity Series win both came on short tracks – the .87-mile Iowa Speedway in Newton on July 29, 2017, and the half-mile Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway on April 14, 2018. In the April 2023 NASCAR Cup Series race on the half-mile Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, Preece qualified on the pole and led 135 of 400 race laps. He also finished fourth at the .75-mile Richmond (Va.) Raceway in the July 2023 Cup Series race, marking his best result of 2023. Preece’s ninth-place finish last month at Martinsville remains his best result thus far in 2024.
●Preece arrives at North Wilkesboro after starting 26th and finishing 17th in last Sunday’s Goodyear 400 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway. It was his sixth top-20 finish this season and the 10th time in 13 races he finished better than he started. This weekend’s All-Star event provides drivers and teams with a break from the points-paying season. The regular season will resume on Memorial Day Weekend with the traditional Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway. Preece currently sits 28th in the driver standings with 192 points.
●Joining Preece and the No. 41 Ford Mustang for the second consecutive All-Star Open isHaasTooling.com, the cutting tool division of Haas Automation. HaasTooling.com allows CNC machinists to purchase high-quality cutting tools at great prices. Haas cutting tools are sold exclusively online atHaasTooling.com and shipped directly to end users. Haas Automation, founded in 1983, is America’s leading builder of CNC machine tools. The company manufactures a complete line of vertical and horizontal machining centers, turning centers, rotaries and indexers, and automation solutions.
Ryan Preece, Driver of the No. 41HaasTooling.comFord Mustang Dark Horse
North Wilkesboro has been paved since last season’s All-Star Race. How do you envision it will affect the race compared to last season?
“With North Wilkesboro’s repave and all the improvements to the racetrack, some of that takes away from the tire fall-off. However, at the same time, I had the opportunity to go there earlier this year to do a tire test, and it’s still the same North Wilkesboro that all of us love. It should be an exciting weekend from both a competition and entertainment standpoint.”
What’s your mindset heading into the weekend, as you will have to race your way into the main event via the All-Star Open?
“This is the weekend where no points are on the line. We’re looking to bring as much speed as possible and race for the money. It’s over a million dollars on the line, so it’s a really big deal for a lot of us. Having a strong performance there can certainly give you a boost when we go back to points racing at Charlotte next week.”
What are your thoughts on North Wilkesboro hosting the All-Star Race and being on the schedule in years to come?
“Going back to North Wilkesboro, a track that was closed for many years, seeing the improvements that have been made to the facility is really good to see. It really has been a resurrection. It’s been a resurrection of the town and the racetrack. North Wilkesboro is an important place for our sport and certainly an important place for our sport to continue to be and grow with into the future.”
What would it mean for you to race your way into the All-Star Race?
“Someone like myself who’s a big short-track racer and grassroots type of guy, getting into the All-Star Race and being a part of that event would be huge for me and my career. Having an opportunity to race for a million dollars would be nice, as well.”
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