Q&A With Ryan Preece On Issues Facing Cup Series Team In 2021

RaceDayCT spoke exclusively with Ryan Preece Monday about the issues facing his JTG Daugherty Cup Series team in 2021. 

Last week Bob Pockrass of Fox Sports reported that former NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion Ryan Preece will likely run a part-time schedule on the NASCAR Cup Series for JTG Daugherty Racing in 2021.

Preece ran full-time for the organization on the Cup Series in 2019 and 2020.

JTG Daugherty’s three-year lease on a Cup Series team charter for Preece’s No. 37 car ran out after the 2020 season. Brad Daugherty, one of the JTG Daugherty team owners, told Pockrass that the organization has funding in place for Preece to run 24 of 36 Cup Series events in 2021.

Below is how Preece addressed the situation Monday.

Question: What is your mindset with everything going on? How does it change things for you as far as the big picture of everything?

Preece: It really doesn’t change much of anything. We can go down to Daytona and if we win the 500 what are you going to do? It’s one of those things. [My crew chief Trent Owens] and I we’re just going to show up and go for maximizing everything we can and race every single lap. That’s where we’re at and that’s all you can do. I can honestly tell you, I didn’t wake up one day and not want to win races, so nothing like that has changed me. I’m going to continue being myself, being who I am and that’s chasing after trophies and let everything else take care of itself.

Question: Did this come as a surprise to you? I’m guessing you knew before last week?

Preece: I knew, I knew of stuff that was going on. Really at the end of the day, it’s a tough business. My job is to worry about getting that car to the front and basically putting good days together. That’s what we’re going to focus on.

Question: Have they laid out a schedule for you or is it kind of just going to see where things fall as the season goes?

Preece: I think, from what I know is we’re going to run the first 24 [races] and kind of go from there. Obviously things can be fluid and can change. Like I pretty much said, my job and my focus is on Daytona and going from there. Take it one week at a time and get strong finishes.

Question: Is it disheartening to feel like you’ve done everything right for the first two years and then have this happen?

Preece: A lot of things in life and in racing, there’s a lot of circumstances to everything right? You know, not really because there’s plenty of opportunities for me to go out this year and outrun or do whatever, go out and win Modified races and win period. Because as a race and as a competitor I want to win. That’s what my job is to do as a race car driver. That’s what my focus is on and I’m not going to sit here and say ‘Poor me’ … because at the end of the day we all create our own opportunities and if you want to continue moving forward and be successful you push through moments like this. I’m not concerned. It just creates a new opportunity to find a different way to shine.

Question: Will you look at every race this year as an audition, trying to show yourself for other opportunities that may come up?

Preece: I think that’s how I’ve always put it. Every race, every day, every lap is an audition no matter what. I’ve never gone into a race and said ‘Man I’m going to run 20th today. I’m going to run whatever today.’ I always push as hard as I possibly can every single lap. That’s what it comes down to. I’ve had enough moments in the final laps of these speedway races to have a better understanding where to position myself and what not to do. I think going into this [Daytona] 500, year three, that maybe if we’re there at the end we can make something big happen.

To listen in on Monday’s interview with Preece check out our Unmuffled Quickcast