Spin To Win: Ryan Preece Grabs Second Consecutive Whelen Mod Tour Victory In Bud 150 At Thompson

Ryan Preece celebrates victory in the Whelen Modified Tour Bud 150 Wednesday at Thompson Speedway

THOMPSON – It’s a common refrain in racing that sometimes you have to make your own luck.

Making your own luck might not have been a topic NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour driver Ryan Preece wanted to talk about Wednesday at Thompson Speedway, but it sure made him smile a cunning smile when the topic was brought up.

Preece is rolling on the mantra that when things are going your way, they’re going your way and that was the case once again for the Berlin driver Wednesday at Thompson Speedway.

Preece rallied from a late spin to win the Whelen Modified Tour Budweiser 150 at Thompson Speedway.

It was the second consecutive series victory for Preece, who won last Friday’s Stafford 150 at Stafford Motor Speeway. And it kept up a heated roll for Preece that goes back to his national attention grabbing Xfinity Series victory in the US Cellular 250 on July 29 at Iowa Speedway.

“I’ve got to keep winning races,” Preece said. “My career depends on that. We had a really good car. … I’m just riding the wave. I’ve got to keep winning though. That’s the only way I’m going to stay relevant right now. If people keep seeing my name winning races, especially after that whole Iowa deal, that’s the only way I’m going to make a future for myself.”

It was the fourth Whelen Modified Tour victory of the season for Preece, who won the NAPA Spring Sizzler 200 at Stafford on April 30 and also won at Thompson Speedway on June 14.

Doug Coby of Milford was second and Ted Christopher of Plainville third.

The event came to a confusing end, under caution, after Coby hit the wall in turn one on the final lap. Coby actually crossed the finish line fourth behind Christopher and Timmy Solomito. NASCAR deemed that the field was frozen when the caution flew for Coby’s accident, and because he maintained a reasonable speed and crossed the finish line he was awarded the finishing position of where he was running when the caution flew.

Upon hearing the decision Christopher could only offer an expletive laced statement against NASCAR’s decision making process for the finish.

Christopher’s demonstrative comment ran 180 degrees from the coy comments offered by Preece regarding the spin that helped him to get to pit road and set up his frantic run back to the front.

Preece was leading the race on lap 76 when the caution flew. All the leaders headed to the pits, besides Preece.

When the race restarted Justin Bonsignore quickly moved to second on lap 82 and then by Preece for the lead on lap 83. From there Preece began fading through the field. By lap 115 Preece was 14th. And then he spun in turn one to bring out the caution he just happened to need.

When asked about the spin Preece smiled, paused and offered a calculated response.

“I got a little nudge from behind, I don’t know, it just went around,” Preece said smiling. “I mean, the tires were really wore out at that point.”

Christopher was much more blunt in his opinion of the spin.

“I don’t know how they didn’t penalize Ryan for bringing out the yellow,” Christopher said. “That’s another story.”

When asked about Preece’s spin Coby smiled deviously and was silent for about five seconds before saying: “I have no comment.”

“I was racing out front,” Coby said. “Our strategy was to dial our car in and make some changes and race with the guys with the tires and race with the guys without tires. … I know when the caution came out, when it came out, it helped me because I came in and put on tires and came through the field. I probably got a better finishing position than I would have if the caution didn’t come out.”

The race restarted on lap 119 with Coby running ninth and Preece running 14th.

Three laps after the restart Preece was up to 7th. On lap 127 Coby went by Solomito for the lead with Preece moving to second by Solomito a lap later.

On lap 134 Preece got under Coby for the lead going into turn one and never relinquished the spot.

Preece, who ran the Xfinity Series full-time in 2016, was making his second start for Joe Gibbs Racing when he won at Iowa. He finished second to Monster Energy Series star Kyle Busch in the Overton’s 200 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on July 15. He was originally slated to run two events for Joe Gibbs Racing. It was announced last week that he will run again for the team in the Xfinity Series event at Kentucky Speedway on Sept. 23.

Comments

  1. I was standing at the exit of turn two when Ryan spun.The only help he had going around was from the man upstairs.Strange race ending it was.

  2. Richard Gourley says

    The end of that race was a joke. It is a new low for the series.

    Preece spun out on purpose to create the caution he needed to get back into the mix. Awarding Coby second is also a joke. In both instances, it always has been, if you create the caution you go to the rear, plain and simple.

    People want to criticize the other touring series for this, that and the other thing. Try defending last nights fiasco.

  3. wmass01013 says

    EVERYONE knows Preece spun intentionally !!!!!!!!! only chance he had to pit and have any chance to compete, FOR ONCE I AGREE with TC!!!!!

  4. Teddy and Ryan are the best ever!!!!
    Teddy was in a car he never driven and still gets a 2nd place.
    Those two guys both should be racing down south . Colby is another great racer too.

  5. Sharpie Fan says

    Did they do that stupid one tire per pit stop rule again?

  6. OK then we have some controversy and the author based on journalistic integrity can not weigh in. This arguably might be the best reason for a comments section to exist. So what happened. Did Preece pull a fast one. was the spin legit or maybe a combination of both?

  7. Preece’s spin out of turn 2 was the race-winning move. He needed a caution to get new tires, so he manufactured one.

    Whether the spin was just good strategy or something worthy of a penalty will be debated here, I’m sure. But I think I’m with TC on this one.

  8. Two questions, with Ryan bring out the caution is the normal action that you go to the back of lead lap cars or to the back of the longest line?

    2nd if Coby hitting the wall was the cause of the caution at the end, how does he finish 2nd?

  9. I know that I have just witnessed a strange race when I go home feeling bad for TC… Both guys who finished in front of him on the podium brought out the caution to improve their position. In Coby’s case it obviously wasn’t intentional but in Preece’s case it was an embarrassment… I’m a pretty big Preece fan and I want to see a mod guy make it to the big show but that was just nonsense. He gambled on old tires way too late because his car had been so dominant. He lost the bet, dumped his car and the officiating was complicit in his actions… I wonder how that race would have turned out if Preece was just running for a NWMT championship and not auditioning for Gibbs.

  10. Preece deserves to be in the xfinity series that’s that. He should not have to prove a thing to anyone,all the baby face young guns in that series can’t hold a candle to preece.if he doesn’t get a good ride in that series than why should anybody even watch it. New England drivers don’t even get a second look . And it’s not just Ryan at least half dozen drivers in the mod series can out drive half the field in the xfinite series.The cream rises to the top and Ryan is on the top………

  11. jorge lopez says

    How could Coby be scored 2nd?
    He should have been scored as the last car on the lead lap!!! BS

  12. wmass01013 says

    Preece should have gotten a 1 LAP PENALTY for caution but as I have heard on NASCAR radio the race director has NO CLUE

  13. Coby 2nd wtf!! Should have been green white checker. Don’t know why there trying to run mods like cup by looks of stand at cup races it’s not working. Preeces spin you knew that was coming it worked for him good for him seems like lot of people have jumped on his band wagon lately including officials

  14. Preece started last car on the lead lap.Where should have been sent back to? I395? even if he were sent to the very last car he would have had a very easy time the with the back markers.He probably did spin to help himself but from where I sat he almost hit the infield light pole so who knows.Dominant performance anyway.But the deuce second?I don’t get that one.Should have been green white/checker with Colbee finishing lap 149

  15. Embarrassment indeed. Saw him do the same thing in the isma 300 at riverhead. Backfired he didn’t win. He has talent, he can definitely handle a car. He doesn’t need embarrassing antics like that to win. I guess any kind of publicity is better than none to him. Hopefully Mr Gibbs saw his “audition” ( haha,liked that one) and gives him a stern talking to. From what I saw TC had second place. I don’t know enough about all the rules to argue that one. I never saw a race where a blown tire was awarded a second place. Disappointing Whelan race.

  16. Plus it was obvious to the officials and everyone in attendance that the six was on very worn tires, even the slower cars were passing him.I think that helped avoid a one lap penalty.

  17. darealgoodfella says

    Sharpie Fan, no 1-tire pit stop rule. We had regular pit stops last night.

    It was an awesome race. Not as exciting as Stafford, but pretty good. There was always pretty good action from P3-ish to around P10-ish.

    Preece was sliding all over when he was on old tires. He was trying hard to keep up, but he was sliding all over. He needed a yellow, but I never thought he would spin. Amazing what new tires can do.

    How many tires were allowed? Looks like the 2 took tires twice.

    Coby accident was scary, something broke or the RF tire blew, he went into the wall pretty hard. Wiped off the RF of the car. The car looked pretty bent with rumpled and buckled sheet metal all over the car. He drove it around after he hit the wall, which was pretty amazing. He knew he had to try to save his position, but it was just handed to him instead. And as such, he had better not have any comment about Preece spinning on old tires.

    The 51 did well, had some shining moments, but faded at the end, I didn’t see anything detrimental happen with that car.

    If you go back over the ages, how many times has TC been sent to the back for all the yellows he’s caused, and he’s caused lots of yellows. Geez, I used to listen to the radio and his team would be telling him to drive to the front under yellow like he belonged there, and they kept him there!!! It’s a debatable rule, and using it can be even more debatable. Preece and Coby got the same deal TC has been getting forever. Come on folks… recall what Coby did at Loudon on the last lap when he took out numerous other lead cars from behind and was not sent to the back, but was given the win. We can list when it worked both ways. Now that that is out of the way…

    It was a great night for racing. I think the TV cameras kept stupid in check. The boys played nicely together, for the most part. No crazy aggression. Might be why there were so few yellows. Some good bump drafting on the back stretch.

    Bobby Santos was crazy fast after he took on tires, looked great.

    The 58 and 46 were as always. The more things change the more they say the same.

    Lots of power steering problems.

    The 15 had a good run, then faded.

    I’m thinking taking tires too early leaves the cars at a disadvantage at go-time.

  18. What Ryan did was nonsense. But TC has pulled numerous stunts over the years himself haha.

  19. darealgoodfella says

    The 2 being given P2 is very questionable.

    Should have been a GWC finish. A checker-yellow? Never saw that before. When the 2 broke and was spewing sparks, I thought GWC and the 2 was out of it. Never saw that coming.

    That would have put the 2 down a lap or more.

  20. Crazy in NY says

    Very easy to fix. You spin unassisted you go a lap down. NASCAR doesn’t want to fix this.
    Not when it’s ‘stars” are involved. Hope Mr perfect shows at Star on the 23rd.

  21. Never saw a checker yellow? In all your years of watching wow, anyway no flux capacitor
    or big carb on the 6 hows that when he’s beating the flux capacitor?

  22. You can like Preece and still admit he spun the car on purpose. You could even say it’s great strategy when there is no alternative but to ride around losing spots. And don’t forget that after you get the new rubber it’s not a forgone conclusion it will get you to the front of the class. The idea that a guy known to be so in tune with a cars strengths and weaknesses actually going around alone like a first timer in a Rent a Race car is laughable.

  23. The spin was obvious but he did pass like 17 cars to win. I’m not sure how much further you can put him back. TC has done that a time or two himself.

  24. darealgoodfella says

    If there is a rule that says a car that causes a yellow goes a lap down, to the back or whatever, why would Preece dig himself a hole like that intentionally with so few laps left? Makes no sense.

  25. Jerry Fascione says

    Jeffery “the best ever” are you kidding me how old are you 12 ? have you seen the Bouchards, Flemke, Evans, Bugsy, Bergin shall I keep going, I surprised one of the drivers head even fits into a helmet, best ever what a joke

  26. Ryan Preece did go to the back after he spin. He and the top 4 drivers lapped all but top 9 cars so he restated 14th. His winning move was his drive thru the field..and NASCAR allowed 3 tires plus moving of two. Best race at Thompson in a long time..aggressive and fast. If the back 4 cars were equally quick the field would have been amazing.

  27. wmass01013 says

    OMG DAREAL are u serious?????????, u comment on races like u are in attendance and they u say that?????? Preece was Losing spots lap after lap with old tires, why would he do it near the end????, to pit and get new rubber, he was alone 32 laps left!!! And all know if u spin u go to the back but to get a penalty the Race Director, who seems to not know a race from a test session has to call the penalty!!
    MAKES NO SENSE? DID U SEE WHAT HAPPENED AFTER he pitted and got new rubber???????????

  28. darealgoodfella says

    wmass01013, why would a driver do something that would result in a penalty that puts him a lap down so late in the race?

  29. Fast Eddie says

    There is a rule that you lose a lap for an intentional caution, but it’s decided by NASCAR. I remember previous races at Thompson when Pitkat and Coby got penalized for stopping on the track with a flat. NASCAR decided that was intentional, which was ridiculous! Both drivers said it was safer to stop than to keep driving until they hit the wall. Preece found a loophole that won him the race. How can you determine if a spin is intentional or not? His tires were getting worse very quickly at that point, so it could have been coincidence… but I doubt it. He spun at the beginning of the back stretch, not in the middle of the corner.

  30. darealgoodfella says

    If a car spins or causes a yellow, as long as they get fired and rolling before the pace car gets around, they are good.

  31. It looked about like the Clint Bowyer intentional spin to me, and that led to the demise of MWR. It will be interesting to see if NBC Sports shows the spin, and talks about how Preece basically stole the race…. or takes the PC approach.

  32. Wah wah! Whether intentional or not and probably was he still won. Seems like he out smarted the competition and out drove them at the end. Congrats preece! wooh

  33. You guys are all supposed experts at racing and your whining like toddlers at nap time. Preece got the penalty that’s in the rule book for his spin, which is last car on lead lap which is were he restarted.As far as Coby correct me if wrong but if the leader already took the white flag and an accident occurs in turn 1 the race is over and the official order of finish revert back last laps official order. I personally think the penalty for what preece did should be looked at. It was a horrible strategy not to pit and made his spin suspicious at best.

  34. Liz Cherokee says

    It sure was an exciting race despite Melissa having some engine problems. I’m sure she’ll do better next time.
    NASCAR has packed these three races into less than a fortnight, so I better decide quickly if I’m going to Bristol. No sangria though, after all Tennessee is whiskey country!

  35. The Bud 150 was another example of why many (including Doug?) prefer Stafford’s SK 40 lap sprints to extra distance events which bring pit stops and tires into play. Admission is often much cheaper, too.

  36. darealgoodfella says

    Liz, Tennessee is moonshine country. Always enjoy the local specialties. There are some pretty good BBQ places near the track too. Take your pick. Stick around after the race, the total solar eclipse is happening on Monday. Just a little south of Bristol is the path of max totality.

    As far as penalties and what not for causing a yellow, if there is any such rule, it has been rendered moot by the years of lack of enforcement and TC bring out hundreds of yellows with no consequence.

  37. wmass01013 says

    I am NO TC fan at all but your statement is plain DUMB!
    TC has done his share of bad moves, bumps and slides but 100’s of yellows with no consequence just shows all u say is just based on yur warped mind and not any facts.
    Yes Preece SPUN INTENIONALLY got his new rubber and passed all the lead lap cars to win, that’s fact BUT if the race director had any clue he would have gotten a penalty!
    so miss Ed Cox

  38. I think Brian n got it right.Under the current rules the calls were right on.No green white checker Although I disagree that the rule for a spin should be revised.That would put to much judgement in play from officials.It is not like stopping on the track with a flat tire.The car should be driven on the apron back to the pit road.If it is not safely possible in the eyes of the officials then no penalty.But to try to critique a spin is a whole different kettle of fish.

  39. Cornering in a race car is like walking, jogging or running on ice. You go as fast as you can but not so fast you slip a fall. The best drivers know how fast their car with the tires they have on it can run on the ice without falling. Few drivers can get as close to the point of slipping but not slipping as Preece. I suppose it’s possible he miscalculated how fast his tires would go before he fell. But I doubt it.

  40. darealgoodfella says

    Talking about cars that stop on the track with a flat to get a caution… Coby wiped off the RF of his car and still drove it around. He clearly thought he had better make it up or lose all those positions.

    Opening pit road as soon as an incident happens need to be considered. Making damaged cars drive around until pit road is open has to be dangerous and not good for the cars or track.

  41. dareal makes a good point about opening pit road sooner but Nascar sometimes is very late throwing a yellow.Almost a disaster at Loudon with Preece and the other leaders.Lucky that the spotters are on the ball.

  42. Am I the only one who seen preece almost lose it in every corner and in 3n4 he got so sideways with the 46 right behind him, then down in 1n2 when he got back into the gas the backend came around a bit again it was obvious he let off to let the Over 100 lap old tires catch and the 46 clearly pushed him around. SOOO CONFUSED how some people didn’t see him get hit if they were watching, or Why some people that weren’t watching preece at the time of the contact are commenting on the contact. It was as clear as day. NOW could preece have moved out of the way or could he have let off the gas a lot “purposely” to get rear ended … Maybe nobody will know, BUTTTTT the contact was Definite and the car was loose as a goose

  43. Ryanr,People have been talking here non stop about how bad the tires were and the handling of the 6.My main focus was the 6 for most of the race.I turned away for a second and didn’t see anything but the spin.Sorry, I’m old and it was past my bedtime.

  44. So what’s wrong with a back and forth on the spin? it’s fun. My question is will the Spin to Win live on as part of the Preece legacy or will it be soon forgotten as future Preece wins pile up.

  45. darealgoodfella says

    Ryanr, you were not the only one. I was hoping that the 6 would not take out other cars. The 6 was slipping and sliding all over the place. It was a matter of when, not if, the 6 was going to cause a caution.

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