THOMPSON – With his race winning SK Modified preparing for inspection at Thompson International Speedway, Ryan Preece shook his head in disdain.
“This had been the worst weekend ever,” Preece said.
Preece took the trophy as the winner of the 30-lap NASCAR Whelen All-American Series SK Modified feature Sunday at Thompson International Speedway, but it was a muted celebration offered by the 21-year old driver from Berlin.
In Friday’s SK Modified feature at Stafford Motor Speedway Preece was penalized at the halfway mark of the event for hitting race leader Frank Ruocco and then after rallying back he was penalized on the last lap for spinning race leader Keith Rocco.
There was more last lap contact for Preece Sunday, though seeming the unavoidable type.
Preece stalked race leader Todd Ceravolo from lap 14 until the final lap. In turn four of the final circuit, Ceravolo’s car got sideways in turn four leaving Preece looking to take evasive action to avoid contact. The contact came, leaving Ceravolo spinning on the frontstrech and Preece taking the checkered flag as the race winner.
“I’m not even happy right now,” Preece said. “It just doesn’t seem to be my weekend. I couldn’t get a good run on him so I never even tried and he got sideways and I was right there. I even got on the brake, and I just tapped him and finished him off. I don’t want to win like that. I’d hand him the trophy right now because he won the race. If it didn’t happen the way it happened, where he got loose and I was right there, he would have won the race. I was settling for second and it was going to be what it was. It’s a shame and I don’t want my reputation to be like …, I’m just trying to stay out of trouble.”
Kerry Malone of Needham, Mass. was second and Keith Rocco of Wallingford third.
Ceravolo, of Gales Ferry, straightened out after spinning and settled for a fifth place finish.
“It was an accident,” Ceravolo said. “Same line I had taken the whole race. No one wants to win like that, I’ve been in the same shoes he’s in. … I’m sure he didn’t want to do it like, I’m sure he didn’t want to win that way.”
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12 Responses to Pained Win: Ryan Preece Left Frustrated Despite SK Modified Victory At Thompson Sunday
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I figured Thompson held this race on a Sunday thinking car counts would be up. Real good field for the VMRS. But the SK’s, lites and late models are bad. I hate to think what it’s going to look like on Thursday nights. Hopefully I’m wrong.
I guess Ryan felt pretty bad….. so bad he goes out and junks MRS regular Les Hinckley in his next race. Way to go!
Yeah, because he would really say something like that and put it on his agenda to go wreck somebody else, sounds REAL logical. Next thing I’m gonna hear is Thompson doesn’t have that dip coming out of turn two that has a tendency to upset the car’s handling on exit…
anthony.. you have any idea how long les hinckley has been racing.. I think anyone who has raced at Thompson knows about the irregularity in the track at that location. Look..Preece has some ability..he has won ONE track championship at Stafford.. he is being talked up like Kyle Busch was and you see where that went..he needs to mature as a person and a race car driver .If he wants to wreck chassis cars , his own stuff or sandersons thats fine. the problem is he is damaging other cars as well and needs to pull the reigns in a bit. I am surprised with his liniage someone around that circle didn`t have a discussion with him about that subject ( use your head instead of the front bumper )after Friday night(perhaps they did).you want to race like a grown up then be prepared to take criticism like one..the same would go for all the younger drivers being integrated with the veterans. I am all for young talent. the problem is he (preece) has a llllooonnngggg way to before he can earn the respect of seasoned veterans.he should count his blessings he isn`t paying his own bills to race.it might actully make him a better driver..
I’ve watched Les race since Riverside Park, thank you very much; hell of a driver IMO. You obviously are as near sighted as the internet wheel-warriors that have been coming up with the most baffling stories. And this is no disrespect to Les whatsoever because I admire him as a driver, but if I was a car owner and could pick any modified driver in New England to run my car, it’d be Preece. Not only for the fact that he not only has he matured as a race car driver, but he is a DAMN good one and well on his way to being a great one. And also for the fact that for his age, he shows more maturity outside of the race car than 95% of the drivers he races against on a weekly basis.
And just so we’re clear, the only car he could be close to being held accountable for damaging is Frank Ruocco because if you were watching closely, he didn’t move up the track at all (don’t worry, I’ve reviewed it to make sure I didn’t miss anything) so I don’t know where you’re getting your plurals and multiple references from. Not only does he use his head FAR more frequently than many of his competitors, but he addresses criticism maturely as well. If you were at Thompson listening to his victory lane speech, he said multiple times that Todd was the real winner of this race and he felt terrible about what happened (all while being bombarded with boos, middle fingers, and vulgarity from a small crowd of people).
I’m just curious what you think he has to do to earn the respect of anyone? Not that it matters because he has earned respect from most of his competitors. Not everybody’s going to get along every night at the track FYI. And as far as him not paying his bills to race, not that you would have the slightest clue about what his input is into his racing career, but don’t you think his talent behind the wheel and how he carries himself off the track has something to do with how he’s been able to acquire these opportunities?
Next time you take a jab at somebody, at least be half-accurate. You want to rant like a fool, then be prepared to take criticism like one.
I glad to see Ryans dad is using the name anthony to post .. I gave him credit for winning the stafford championship but there are 6 or more drivers I would rather have in my car any day.I wouldn`t need to have the crew(s) defefending themselves from attacking owner/drivers who were fenced this early in the season.. your post confirms my point “.he`s the next great one” your words and for sure NOT mine … yup so was lagano ..so was kyle bush.. anthony you should teach ryan to be patient the wins will come.some times second is good unless the car owner is telling him “checker or wrecker” I don`t need to change my post.he is a one time champ right noow and there are plenty of those.its going to be a long season for everyone in the sk`s at stafford..not trying to pick on the kid but admit when your wrong.. don`t worry owners and crew get tired of fixing cars every week..and “the offers or opprotunities” will dry up.my point was it would serve the kid better to tell him to be patient as opposed to coddling him after he misbehaves.. geez lighten up dad!!
Ryan could have given Les more room coming out of 2, plain and simple. I watched the re-play over and over.
I am not saying it was intentional but i am saying it was Preece’s fault. Lets not mix the two up fellas.
The kid has talent, but does anybody see the respect and maturity Anthony does? Seems like the win and poles in the 16 have gone to his head. He makes a spot start in the MRS, and a former series champion who was 4th in the points leaves on a double hook on lap 22. As for Stafford, he said in another article he expects payback at some point, and I expect to see the 40 go home in a basket a few times. It will be interesting to see how he handles that, as my father used to say, don’t dish it out if you can’t take it.
Now you’re bringing the kid’s family into this? Maybe you’re the one that needs some maturing. If it satisfies your adolescent curiosity, not only am I not related to the driver by any means, but I am also not posting under an alias or a surname.
Yes, Preece DID win one track championship and finished 2nd in the final standings at Thompson, all in his FIRST full season of weekly racing. And there was that one time where he was in contention to win the WMT title at the last race of the season. Good luck trying to tarnish those accomplishments. You making a mockery of that is like saying Reggie Ruggiero isn’t a great driver because he never won a national title.
And how does the violent and uncalled for actions of another driver’s crew reflect on anything Preece has done? And congratulations for quoting something I did not say BTW. But if you want to put Preece and Kyle Busch, which by the way is quite possibly the most raw-talented drivers in the top-3 series at the moment, minus Busch’s reputation I’d say you’d be giving Mr. Preece a compliment.
Not only do I have no means to teach him anything because I have no connection to his racing career, but I have no need to because he demonstrates patience very often. Aside from this weekend, I would love to hear anymore instances of over-aggressive or reckless driving on his part.
And for the record, the only thing I would possibly have to admit being wrong about is the actual cause of Les’s crash. The fact of the matter is that his car owners hired him for a multitude of reasons, and one of them is that he doesn’t tear up his or other peoples’ equipment on a weekly basis, despite what you’re implying.
I don’t think anyone has any place to lecture the kid on how to drive at the moment. He may not be off to as good of a start on the weekly racing circuit as he was in 2011, but he is the most talked-about driver on the WMT and there is no dispute or controversy around that.
You may not need to change your post, but if you’re trying to avoid looking like this is your first attempt at having an intelligent conversation, I’d consider it.
“And just so we’re clear, the only car he could be close to being held accountable for damaging is Frank Ruocco”
your words anthony..”And for the record, the only thing I would possibly have to admit being wrong about is the actual cause of Les’s crash”. your words again.. and you wonder why an experienced crew who has been on both the giving and recieving end of the hook would get to the point of violence after last Friday? I agree with Steve I was just trying to be a little more polite as preece is a young kid and again needs to understand the results of his actions.keep your head in the clouds anthony it serves you well.I will say I should not have put him in the same group as Logano and K Busch as they were both tabbed as “the next great ones” and have failed to live up to the hype.Preece hasn`t gotten there YET ..
Talk about talking to a wall… if you didn’t see the Frank Ruocco incident, it was Preece’s front bumper to Frank’s rear bumper that sent him to the fence; which is why I said what I said. The Les Hinkley incident was the two running side by side off of two and Les went into the wall. Just because it was Les in the wall, does not exclude the possibility that he came down on Preece and contact to the tire could have shot Les up the track just as it did to Preece with TC at New Smyrna earlier this year. From what I saw and footage I have, Les traveled pretty far up the track before hitting the wall, even had time to lock the brakes up, which indicates to me that he may have been able to give up some room. But nontheless, that was more of a “racing” incident rather than an “aggression” incident like the Ruocco one.
And for the record, there is no excuse for a team member to sucker punch an official and a car owner. That was purely uncalled for, unjustified, and just plain old BS on the assailants’ part. You’re trying to justify the actions of a crew who’s driver putted around at 40 mph to hook an underfunded driver head on into the concrete wall for making contact in a heat race, good luck trying to sell your story on that one.
Logano may not have lived up to his hype, but you talk down on Kyle Busch like he has done just as little with his career and did nothing to live up to his hype. If that’s truly how you feel, I think you’re head is in the clouds and all it serves is a few laughs my way. And as far as I’m concerned, the only difference between Logano and Preece is millions of dollars. If Preece were given those kinds of opportunities, I have no reason to doubt that given the chance, equipment, and time to adjust that he can become a real competitor in the Big Three series. I won’t go so far to say he’d be the next big thing like you make is seem like I’m doing, but he would certainly do well.
I’ll keep my head and focus on my own modified, if that’s okay with you. Have fun with the grandstand wheelman career, it seems to serve you well.
well looks like the ryan haters are having a heck of a time this weekend with all of the drama but ive been around this sport long enough to see who is truly a good driver and a good person ryan is both. this weekend will go by an others will come and i am confident ryan will keep his head on many people dont understand what kind of pressure these drivers are under between racing and the bs politics and based on what i have seen ryan handles himslef more professionally the many veteran drivers all of you haters have your fun but in the end ryan will still be one of the best in the business come october the storys will be told all ryan needs to do is keep his head up and stay focused go ryan