MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES
BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY
BASS PRO SHOPS NRA NIGHT RACE
TEAM CHEVY BREAKOUT HIGHLIGHTS
AUGUST 16, 2019
RYAN PREECE, NO. 47 KROGER CAMARO ZL1 Media Breakout Session Highlights:
HOW ARE YOU PREPARING FOR DARLINGTON, ONE OF THE BIGGEST RACES OF THE SEASON?
“I’m excited about it. Obviously having a Modified driver as our ‘throwback’ scheme with Ron (Bouchard) is pretty cool. So, I’m excited about that. Darlington is definitely a really worn out race track, so it’s not going to be your typical 1.5-mile, where you’re kind of just commit to finding speed or trimming the car out. It’s going to be a combination of balance and speed. So, I’m looking forward to it. As far as preparation, it can’t be any hotter than Charlotte was earlier this year.”
WHEN WE GET TO DARLINGTON, THERE WILL ONLY BE TWO RACES LEFT IN THE REGULAR SEASON. HOW DOES THAT CHANGE THE WAY YOU RACE? WHAT’S IT LIKE ON THE RACE TRACK. ARE THE TENSIONS JUST REALLY HIGH?
“Right now we’re just kind of doing our own thing. We’ve been running in the Top 20, Top 15, the past three weeks and really two of them, we didn’t have much to show for it. So, the goal right now is to just continue finishing the races and continue with the speed and the balance we’ve been on and other than that, not a whole lot. As far as the guys that are racing for that cutline, you want to respect them. But, we’re out there racing, too.”
HOW BIG WAS FINISHING 7TH PLACE AT MICHIGAN FOR YOU LAST WEEK?
“It was really good. Obviously fuel mileage helped us some. But at the same time, I felt like we were going to end up 11th, which would have been a fantastic day, regardless. So, that’s where I feel like we can run and should run…..anywhere from like 20th to 15th, solid. Anything above that is a good day. We just want to continue on that path.”
WHERE DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU’VE IMPROVED THE MOST AS A DRIVER THIS YEAR?
“I think we just keep on improving communication between myself and Tristan (Smith, crew chief) we’ve won a lot of races I would say and have ran up front in a lot of things. So, it’s just finding the communication between Tristan and I to figure out where I need to be, balance-wise, in that race car so we can run the way we want to run.”
HOW HAS YOUR DAY BEEN THUS FAR HERE AT BRISTOL?
“We unloaded pretty good. And as the traction compound disappeared, our grip kind of disappeared. So, we’re working on our balance. Other than that, I’d like to think that this is a strong track for me and that I feel like I can be a factor. So, we’ve just got to get it to where I can drive it the way I want to drive it.”
WHEN YOU LOOK AT YOUR CAREER AND THE WAY IT HAS TRANSPIRED, WHAT IS THE WILL POWER TO LUCK RATIO IN TERMS OF HOW YOU LANDED HERE? HOW DO YOU WEIGH THAT?
“I think about it more and more every day about how lucky I am. It’s a great opportunity. I’m very thankful for that opportunity. But there are a lot of things you go through as a driver that I’ve won. I’m used to winning 15 or 20 races a year. And, sometimes it’s tough, mentally, on you. But, I’m willing to work at it and just work on communication and get those things better to where we can get to that point one day.”
WITH THE SILLY SEASON UPON US, ARE YOU GOOD FOR NEXT YEAR?
“I have a contract, yeah. I’m working on building our communication. The past three weeks have been good weeks. We only have one good finish to show for it, but we were running 15th at Watkins Glen when we broke a rear-end part. A week before that, we blew a tire at the end on the straightaway. So, there are a lot of ups we’ve been looking at for the month of August. We just keep building that communication and get to where we need to get. Everybody is figuring out this package and what you need to do to be faster and we’re heading in that direction. It’s a rookie season. My biggest thing right now is to keep gaining points on Daniel, because he’s leading the rookie points and I really want to win that. We’ve just got to keep finding speed and put together some races.”
Team Chevy high-resolution racing photos are available for editorial use.
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