(Press release from Stewart-Haas Racing)
● Event: United Rentals Work United 500k (Round 4 of 36)
● Time / Date: 3:30 p.m. EDT on Sunday, March 12
● Location: Phoenix Raceway
● Layout: 1-mile oval
● Laps / Miles: 312 laps / 312 miles (502 kilometers)
● Stage Lengths: Stage 1: 60 laps / Stage 2: 125 laps / Final Stage: 127 laps
● TV / Radio: FOX / MRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
● Ryan Preece heads to Phoenix Raceway Sunday for the eighth time in his NASCAR Cup Series career. He made his first start at the track in 2015 and has a best finish of 18th in the March 2020 race. Preece has made three NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at Phoenix and tallied a best finish of fifth in 2018 for Joe Gibbs Racing.
● Preece will be participating in The Go Bowling! PBA NASCAR Celebrity Invitational at The Barn at Phoenix Raceway. The invitational will feature four professional bowlers from the PBA Tour teaming up with Preece and his Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) teammates Aric Almirola and Chase Briscoe in doubles competitions. The event will be aired as a two-hour special on FS1 at noon EDT Sunday, prior to the start of the United Rentals Work United 500 Cup Series race, which will air on FOX at 3:30 p.m. EDT.
● Preece made his seventh Cup Series start at Las Vegas Motor Speedway last Sunday, his first with SHR. He was battling a tight racecar all race long and the team worked to make solid adjustments throughout the race. The No. 41 was credited with a 23rd-place finish.
● Preece was a victim of circumstances in the second event of the season at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, getting caught up in a multicar accident on a lap-88 restart and ultimately finishing 33rd.
● Preece opened the 2023 season with a strong showing in the 65th running of the Daytona 500 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway. He and the No. 41 Ford Mustang qualified 20th and logged the best 10-consecutive-lap average in final practice. On race day, Preece finished second in Stage 1 before getting caught up in a multicar accident on lap 181. He was unable to return to the race and finished 36th.
● United Rentals returns this season to partner with Preece, and also with SHR. United Rentals is the entitlement sponsor for Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race, and Sunday’s Cup Series race, the United Rentals Work United 500. Preece’s No. 41 Ford Mustang will sport the blue-and-white scheme of United Rentals for the 312-lap race on Sunday.
● United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE: URI), the largest equipment rental company in the world, is serving as the primary sponsor of Ryan Preece and the No. 41 team of Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) for select NASCAR Cup Series races in 2023. The partnership began with the non-points Busch Light Clash at The Coliseum, Feb. 4-5 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. United Rentals has an integrated network of 1,449 rental locations in North America, 13 in Europe, 27 in Australia and 19 in New Zealand. In North America, the company operates in 49 states and every Canadian province. The company’s approximately 24,700 employees serve construction and industrial customers, utilities, municipalities, homeowners and others. The company offers approximately 4,700 classes of equipment for rent with a total original cost of $19.3 billion. United Rentals is a member of the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, the Barron’s 400 Index and the Russell 3000 Index®. The company is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut. Additional information about United Rentals is available at UnitedRentals.com.
What Ryan Is Saying:
What are you looking forward to most about racing at Phoenix this weekend?
“It’s not necessarily a short track but it’s your cross between an intermediate and short track. I feel like we’ve been consistently gaining on it and speed hasn’t necessarily been a problem. I’m looking forward to getting some practice in at Phoenix and seeing where we stack up. We’re all working as a team to continue unloading fast racecars. We just have to put it all together now. I think Phoenix matches my driving style a little more, so we’ll see.”
How are things going with the new team now that you’re a few races into the season?
“We’re definitely on offense this weekend at Phoenix. We weren’t able to get out of the big hole we’re in like we wanted to at Las Vegas. We’re in a big hole right now and we’ve got to start digging ourselves out of it. We have not had the results this No. 41 team deserves in these last few weeks. Las Vegas was a little bit of a better result but still not where we need to be. I’m looking forward to getting some practice in at Phoenix and seeing where we unload right off the truck. The communication with my team is there and the speed is there, and this weekend we have to just put it all together and get a good finish.”
Respect
What went around is coming back around 3 races and 3 DNF’s
Ryan does ovals. This should be good.
Hopefully the shorter track will be a game changer and Ryan can get a decent finish.
Headline should read:
*Overrated arrogant racer heads to Phoenix with career on the line.*
These SHR boys won’t put up with his BS much longer. The modified world will have a driver to put in their seats very soon.
“Ryan does ovals” dude, this isn’t a porn shoot. Who says that crap anyway? 😂
Buddy up with Harvick… Get His complete set up and follow the Master around in practice .. He knows that track like the back of His hand…I think this week Ryan has a real shot at a top 15 …. Good Luck Ryan !!! We are all watching Cup Racing more than we have in the last 15 years…. I was at Daytona cheering you along when you were in 2nd and when you took the lead for a bit…Stay calm, cool…and collected and bring the # 41 Home in one piece as you are very capable of…You will come along with better finishes as each race unfolds…Best of Luck !!!! Harvick is the guy you want in your corner, especially this week….Kevin has a boat load of Wins at this Track…Go get em’ this week … and Roll alot of Strikes in the Bowling deal…
One of the things ive been a little concerned with for ryan this year, is all Ryan’s experience in cup prior to this year, were not in next gen cars, sans the 2 races he did in the Ware cars last year. Yeah, simulator simulator, but not actual on track conditions, if you ask me. Maybe you guys out there that are race car drivers, with simulator experience can tell me its the same thing as on track racing and changing conditions, as I dont know, and I guess I’d have to buy that. But I’m just not sure its the same thing. Again, I’m not a race car driver so I dont know.
Secondly, most of the field he is competing with against this year, already have a years worth of seat time under their belts, in the next gen car.
I think that makes a difference on what you tell a crew chief on what you need in a car, because you may have seen/experienced first hand, how adjustments, big or small, make the next gen car react to your driving style, per intensity of tge adjustment done. Might be different feedback from old car experience. And I think its possible, that takes some time to get up to speed with how you communicate the feel, and severity of adjustment needed vs the older gen cars. But again, I’m no race car driver.
I will say though, that I think there is a more “unknown”, this weekend for all teams and drivers, due to the rules changes for this year. Phoenix will be the first track this year, to have the new rules package in play, for all tracks 1 mile or less in length, (except Bristol and Dover) as well as all road courses to utilize this new package for next gen cars. Cars will have approximately 30% less down force via a shorter rear spoiler (4” to 2”), 3 less spoiler strakes under the car, engine panel strakes and diffusers outer trim adjustments.
So new package for everybody this weekend. Approx 30% less downforce for all. Lets see where this goes…..jmo.
Let’s not forget, Ryan only has 3 races in this car, with this team. In 2 of the 3 he was running up front before being a victim of someone else’s mess. Give him a little time, he’ll get better. He’s gotta learn the characteristics of these next gen cars.
Suitcase, I just saw an interview with Harvick where he said that the SHR teams will not be sharing set up info until the post race debrief.
Realitycheck wrote, *Overrated arrogant racer heads to Phoenix with career on the line.*
Who are you talking about? That could apply to 25 drivers.
I got a hunch this will be Ryan’s weekend. He’ll have a good run provided no one crashes right in front of him. I’ll second Suitcase’s top 15 prdediction.
Fast, I’m with you. The bad luck just has to run out. It has to.
Preece has been like Charlie Brown with Lucy yanking the ball at the last instant for too many races.
Goodfella, Is that comment for real ?? I mean why wouldn’t he share the set up with SHR teammates so they can all have a good race… Hell as a Driver I would say put in Kevin’s set up & I will learn to DRIVE IT !!!!
Bobf, you make great points… The Cup experience is not in next gen cars..now with less downforce package… I guess it will favor the Larson’s and DIRT racers who can drive them LOOSE…. Well we are all wishing Ryan well , except for Realitycheck….?? Ryan is alot of things… But arrogant is not one of them…Humble and Talented Racer is most people’s opinion … He earned this opportunity through hard work and racing any where at any time..
Suitcase, yes, that comment is real, pretty sure I saw it on Twitter.
We’ve seen Preece a little pissy being interviewed in local races after he had a disappointing race for one reason or another so it’s not like he’s always racings Richie Cunningham. It’s not hard to imagine a fan at some point approaching Ryan or any driver for that matter and if they don’t have time or are in a bad mood blowing the fan off. Then the driver, even Preece, becomes all sorts of bad things forever in that one fans estimation and manifests itself in a comment right here. No driver can always be open and approachable all the time.
No doubt Bobf you’re ahead of the curve in this particular thread and it’s been very informative so thanks!
I’ve pondered for the longest time not so much about car familiarity or set up with regard to a drivers inordinate amount of bad luck but something that’s hard to define. Has someone like Harvick developed a sixth sense on where not to be at a particular point in a race including who not to be around. Playing chess as it were, knowing the relative strengths and weaknesses of 8 or 10 cars around him, processing the drivers, point in the race and adjusting to minimize his risk to the extent his car and track conditions will allow it.
I have no clue if that’s a thing or not. All drivers are subject to getting collected in others mistakes? However some drivers seems to have it happen at a substantially lower rate without it being explained simply by track position.
Doug, I think you’re spot on. I’d call it an “interpretation of knowledge”. Example: Driver “A” is in a pack with drivers “B to G”. Driver “A” has been around awhile and knows how these drivers race individually and with/ against each other. He uses that knowledge to adjust his driving accordingly to try to stay out of trouble. You see some drivers in mid-race looking for a spot on the track near the front but with a decent gap between the competition in front and behind him or her. They’re finding a “safe spot” to “ride” for a while, saving equipment and avoiding trouble, “playing chess” before making their final charge to the checker.
Realitycheck, Duhreal is a very….Very insecure person so go easy on him/her….. If it had a bio. it would say it was forced to cover racing one night for the job it had at the time.
Well, that 50 minute friday practice told the 41 team something.
Briscoe 5 th fastest – .208
Harvick 9 th fastest -.257
Almirola 10 th fastest – .274
Preece 32 fastest -1.009
Ouch. Sure, just practice, but not even close.
Dug,
Oh boy, you figured it all out Columbo. Yup, it’s me leaving comments on my own site. Actually Dug, I’m also Dug. I’m leaving comments on my own site accussing myself of leaving comments on my own site with another name. Yup, down is up and up is down. White is black and black is white. You figured out the whole darned thing like it’s a bad episode of Scooby Doo. Congrats buddy, better call Grandpa Joe and make sure he’s free because you won the Golden Ticket to the Wonka Factory.
Is that what that comment implied? Didn’t make much sense on the face of it but if that was the implication I can relate. Made that same play some time around 2016 if memory serves. It didn’t end well so a lesson learned. Here’s the deal race fans, Courchesne is about as straight an arrow as there is and that means no playing games. The accusation more appropriate for others of us from time to time, yours truly probably being the biggest offender.