Ryan Preece celebrates victory in an SK Modified feature at Thompson Speedway last year
JD Motorsports announced Monday that former NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion Ryan Preece of Berlin will compete for the team full-time on the NASCAR XFINITY Series in 2016.
Preece will drive a No. 01 car in the series with crew chief Zach McGowan leading the team.
Preece will have support from Mohawk Northeast Inc., Mizzy Construction and Falmouth Ready Mix.
Preece won the 2013 Whelen Modified Tour title and finished as the series runner-up to Doug Coby in 2012, 2014 and 2015.
The 25-year old Preece has been a regular on the Whelen Modified Tour since 2007, with 15 career victories and 55 top-five’s in 123 starts.
Preece has made three career XFINITY Series starts over the last two seasons. He also has five career Sprint Cup Series starts.
In addition to running regularly on the Whelen Modified Tour, Preece has also run full-time in recent years in the SK Modified divisions at Stafford Motor Speedway and Thompson Speedway.
Wish him the best , A GOOD MAN FROM CT. !!!!! GOOD LUCK
Congratulations!!!
Wow. Who makes this dudes career decisions? This JD Motorsports team is a joke. So let’s go run 30th in the bush league of nascar. At least he was a top 5 mod guy.
Mark is a guy who probably still wears his high school football jacket even though he graduated 30 years ago. U gotta take opportunity when it comes…u can’t show them u can dance if your not at the party
Mark is a guy who probably still wears his high school football jacket even though he graduated 30 years ago. U gotta take opportunity when it comes…u can’t show them u can dance if your not at the party. Good luck Ryan.
Speed51 says he plans to run 8 wmt races and open shows with the ts hauler team also. Wish it was with a top team but who knows what can happen. Nice to be able to cheer for a true racer from ct.
Ryan is not just a very good racer, he’s a great young man who has his head in the right place. He is chasing his dream.
The least we, as race fans could do is support him.
If you see him anywhere, the track, a store, a gas station, talk with him, I’m sure you will be surprised!
If you want a chance to make more money you have to start somewhere.
Congratulations to Ryan! Best of luck to his team. Hey wet blanket Mark; What car will you be driving this year?
I have to agree you have to start somewhere and the fact that he is getting a full season is already a step in the right direction. That team has had some pretty decent runs with Landon cassill plus I believe they have a affiliation with hendrick. Also with this new chase format for the xfinity series you could see a great season out of ryan. Me personally I have to say congrats ryan it’s great to see a mod guy get a chance give me your best and you will succeed
Best of luck Ryan!
Ryan is a great guy and my family and myself wish him the best ! Great opportunity for bigger and better things in his career . Just remember all us in the northeast… We will be watching . Proud another one of our mod guys is getting a chance ! GOOD LUCK RYAN !
Best of luck to Ryan. He will do well in racing wherever he goes.Really happy to see him back part time with Ed and Connie Partridge.The tour will be better for it.Rumor has it that they want to build a bigger track some where in the Riverhead/Calverton area.if the town won’t allow it we still have Riverhead raceway.Huge modified fan base here along with many local mod teams.Modifieds are made for half mile tracks.Hoping that it happens sometime soon.
The kid has to learn the tracks somehow. Usually the quality of the ride indicates the level of a prospect he is from a national standpoint. Still beats a 9-5 job.
So he took a 43rd place cup car and opened some eyes in just 5 races after making it run better than it had for the other 31 races. Kid has it going on and I’m sure this is just the next rung on the ladder as his talent will be obvious to those who need to recognize it. Best of luck to you, Ryan. I’m sure Bobby Judkins is one proud grandpa!.
Mark said: “Who makes this dudes career decisions? … let’s go run 30th in the bush league of nascar. At least he was a top 5 mod guy.”
I think most everyone who straps in for a living would say that running 30th in Xfinity is way better running top 5 on the Whelen Tour, from a financial perspective and upward-mobility perspective.
Staying in the mods is nice, if your career goal is to have a hobby to keep you occupied a dozen or so weekends a year. Anyone looking to make a living at driving, or make a national name for themselves eventually, isn’t aspiring to stay on the tour, that’s for sure.
I not just talent now a days,you gotta have deep pockets to go along ,but good luck
Take this opportunity Ryan and go for it. Nothing to loose your still a yound man . If it works good if not at least you did something a lot drivers dream about …. Good luck
gl to you ryan always a good thing when anyone can chase there dreams
Just curious:
Isn’t there a certain amount of “big track” experience required before one can compete on a Super Speedway? I know Ryan has enough talent, but what are the “NASCAR” requirements ? Is he good to go next month?
(Wish him the best) !
For me local short track racing is where it’s at; but maybe this will give me a reason to turn on an Xfinity race. We’re going to miss his competing regularly on the tour.
@Observer –
He’s run Homestead twice (1 Xfinity, 1 Cup) and Texas. Both 1.5-mile tracks w/ fairly high-banking. Speeds at TMS are almost as high as Daytona. I don’t think NASCAR would have any issue with that level of experience. Every Xfinity rookie has to start somewhere, and I think Preece is coming into the series with as much or more big-track experience as most rookies.
I think NASCAR runs a rookie orientation at Daytona before the first practice.
Mod44 your a moron. So your saying that running around getting lapped every 50 laps is better than racing for wins? Quality of racing is what means the most. Racing hard against some of the most talented drivers in nascar on the mod tour isn’t as good as racing some other dumb ass in the back of a xfinity field!? If you can drive you can win a mod race. You can’t win at any other level unless you have money. Mark my words, Preece will never win at any other level of nascar. In 10 years he will realize this is a mistake. Until then we can all watch the xfinity race and say “there is Ryan” every time the leader passes him. Again, your a moron!
Mark, there’s no need to call people names. Almost every person in here is wishing Ryan luck and you’re being negative. For what? In case you didn’t know, the XFinity series runs all over the U.S. Ryan will meet all kinds of people and have experiences that you can’t have in the modified tour. From a financial stand point, running 30th in XFinity is MUCH better than top 5 in mods.. not even close. Would you rather be on the best Northeast AA baseball team or play for the worst team in the majors? Take a moment and think things through before you start calling people names. In addition, how cool is it that Ryan is coming back and running some modifiers races? This to me says he isn’t forgetting where he came from. Best of luck to you Ryan. Many of us will be watching and cheering you on!
Boy Mark. I guess you got it all figured out even before anything happens. You must have ESP.
I have to agree with Mark here.
Ryder, you agreed with an idiot.
A good source of info to get a good perspective on Ryan P.’s career move is racing-reference.info. There you will find career statistics on drivers and owners including Johnny Davis. What you will find is Johnny Davis’ career as an owner is not very impressive. You can also google Zach McGowan and his career stats as a crew chief are also available on racing-reference.info. Again, not very impressive. Look at it and judge for yourself. One interesting note, Greg Sacks drove for Johnny Davis…the result was not too good. Maybe 2016 will be the breakthrough year for all involved.
Mark if mod guys are so great how come Steffanik , Lia and szedgy didn’t do well when they moved up yet when cup guys race mods they do well. Has there been any mod guy who could actually compete in the big three other than Geoff Bodine and Mr. Excitement !
@Sonny – Let’s see …
Todd Bodine, Randy LaJoie, Mike McGlaughlin, Ron Bouchard, Gregg Sacks … And I’m sure that I have left out one or two. Several XFinity and CWTS championships represented here as well as numerous Cup / XFinity / CWTS wins.
Get your facts right. Oh, and btw, your statement AGREES with Mark, who doesn’t think that anyone from the NE can compete.
Sonny, when Cup guys race mods, they do not do well. Most never finished the race, many crashed out. Newman was found to have a very sophisticated cheated motor and his “wins” are tainted. Newman hasn’t been competitive since his engine debacle was exposed.
Stefanik, Lia and Szegedy “moved up” to teams that simply weren’t that good to begin with. No driver can overcome other critical deficiencies.
I’m sure TC would have loved a chance to ride around for a season in 30th place on the Cup or xFinity series. Coby would probably love to ride around in 30th place in the xfinity series. Plenty of drivers already do, don’t see them quitting en masse.
How about everybody stop acting like children… these are all opinions, nobody is right, wrong, or stupid for having them. I’m pretty sure Ryan Preece is doing the best he can to make it in the big leagues with what he has. Other than the big finances to hook up with a power team like Hendrick/Gibbs, I think Preece’s biggest downfall is his attitude. Half the people in his home region dont even like him because of this.
Sonny- dont forget about Steve Park. In my opinion Jimmie Johnson wouldn’t have 6 championships if Park didnt get injured. And comparing 2 great talents like Steve Park and Ryan Preece: I dont think there was a single person from New England who disliked Steve Park so take that for what it is.
Either way, Preece’s new team doesnt seem like a complete slouch when looking at stats. It might not be a power team but I think he’ll show some good results and wish him luck representing New England.
Some sensitive people here. That’s funny. What about Steve Park and Jeff Fuller? The days of racers doing well in the south on talent alone are over. If Ryan wants to tour America call travel agent instead of embarrassing yourself on TV. Mistake.
i agree everyone wants too get a call from hendrick or gibbs problem is the modiieds dont get noticed like fender drivers so if he can make some contacts this waye will never know till he tryes.
Sounds like Mark is jealous to me.Woody fan,Coby fan .need i contiue.
If you got something to say ,negative,positive whatever.At least have the balls to put your name.Stop hiding behind your keyboard.Prove them wrong Ryan,Good luck,The real Racers and teams from the northeast will be watching and cheering you on.1st or 31st.
The 01 car is probably 1 of the 2 best Xfinity Series rides that is not affiliated with a Cup team.(the other being the 39 car Ryan Sieg drives). They probably won’t contend for the win every week, but they certainly won’t be riding around at the back of the pack either. This is certainly more competitive than the Cup team he was with at the end of last season.
Don’t forget Kenny Bouchard. He was rookie of the year in 1988.
A wise man once said “opinions are like belly buttons . Everyone has on but no one really cares.” Point is to not take them too seriously. In the end Ryan will turn heads if he takes a 30th place car and finishes top 20 . All the people who scout these drivers for top rides know how to recognize talent and if he shows it, he’ll get the opportunities no matter what he drives or where he finishes. Anyone ever remember Jimmie Johnson setting the Busch (now Xfinity) series on fire? Yet Jeff Gordon picked him out of the crowd and look where Jimmy is today. Love his personality or not you can’t argue where talent got him. Not every story ends up like Jimmy Johnson and that’s just the harsh reality of this business. But its better to go for it and give your best shot than resign yourself to the nay-sayers who would jump at the chance if they had the same opportunity as you. Racers just want to race and the best ones will take a car beyond its capabilities. As far as personality I can name you at least a dozen drivers whose personalities did not enamor fans, the press or NASCAR and a few of them either are in or are destined for the Hall of Fame. Talent still has a lot to do with where you end up in this business. And if you do land a big buck sponsor you’ll smooth out those rough edges to your personality pretty quickly if you want to keep them around very long.
It’s still january know one knows what lies ahead for Ryan but my money goes on him being successful like he always has been.Success doesn’t mean winning 10 races.Lets see, it starts in 2 weeks.
You know what an ACTUAL good source of info is? Stats and results. For example, if the #01 didn’t break or run into some serious issues during 2015 season, it had an average finish inside the top-20, including some top-10 finishes. Nothing against TBR or RP, but a repeat year of that would be quite the step up performance-wise from their Cup Series runs… and we all know in any kind of ride, if money is an issue, the only way you’re staying close to afloat is performing.
So I guess the more mature response to the “concerns” regarding the aforementioned career move would be… check your facts… and your spelling.
This kid is a natural wheel man I seen the talent he had at a very young age back in 2004 when I gave him his first shot at driving an asphalt modified at Mahoning valley speedway he adapts & adjusts quickly and he is also very easy on equiptment but he’ll also drive the wheels off of it to get the best results out of it no matter how good the car is and I’m sure he’s gonna give this team great results like he does in everything he straps himself into he’s devoted to winning and like I’ve always said it takes a real driver to take an average car to the front as to where just about anyone can wheel a perfect car around the track
This kid is a natural wheel man I seen the talent he had at a very young age back in 2004 when I gave him his first shot at driving an asphalt modified at Mahoning valley speedway he adapts & adjusts quickly and he is also very easy on equiptment but he’ll also drive the wheels off of it to get the best results out of it no matter how good the car is and I’m sure he’s gonna give this team great results like he does in everything he straps himself into he’s devoted to winning and like I’ve always said it takes a real driver to take an average car to the front as to where just about anyone can wheel a perfect car around the track Was a pleasure to be involved with Ryan and his family actually hoping he’d be able to come back and run my mod one more time again best of luck Ryan and your new team
Billy Swartz
Hey, anyone know where Peece ended up in Daytona???
Mark,
He cut a tire six laps into the race and was out then.