RYAN PREECE
North Wilkesboro / All-Star Race Advance
No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing
Event Overview
● Event: NASCAR All-Star Race (non-points race)
● Time/Date: 8 p.m. EDT on Sunday, May 21
● Location: North Wilkesboro (N.C.) Speedway
● Layout: .625-mile oval
● Laps/Miles: 200 laps/125 miles
● TV/Radio: FS1 / MRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Notes of Interest
● Last weekend at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway, Ryan Preece joined his fellow competitors in celebrating the annual NASCAR Throwback Weekend by honoring his father, Jeff Preece. His No. 41 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) sported a throwback paint scheme to his father’s old Late Model and the first racecar Ryan ever took a ride in. The car and memories he shared with his father are what sparked his love for racing. Sunday’s Goodyear 400 marked Preece’s seventh career start at the “Track Too Tough To Tame.” From his 32nd spot on the starting grid, Preece rallied the entire 293 laps of the race, avoiding multiple on-track incidents en route to a 15th-place finish, his third top-15 of the season.
● This weekend, the series makes its highly anticipated return to the newly revived North Wilkesboro (N.C.) Speedway for the 2023 All-Star Race and All-Star Open. Preece is one of 16 drivers looking to race his way into the main event by finishing first or second in the All-Star Open, which begins at 5:30 p.m. EDT Sunday and will be broadcast on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM Radio. The All-Star Race is set for 8 p.m. EDT. Preece also can advance to the All-Star Race by winning the All-Star Fan Vote. Fans can vote until 9 a.m. EDT Sunday and can submit one ballot every 24 hours.
● While North Wilkesboro Speedway was essentially dormant since NASCAR last raced at the .625-mile oval in 1996, its revival featured a soft reopening last year with the Racetrack Revival Modified events Aug. 2-3, featuring the Bootleg Bash in which Preece participated. Preece finished fourth in both races.
● After years of complexity, the 2023 version of the All-Star Race has opted for simplicity. Two heat races on Saturday will set the starting lineup for Sunday’s main event – a 200 lapper with a competition break at or around Lap 100. All laps (caution and green flag) will count, and overtime rules are in effect to ensure a green-flag finish. Each team will start on sticker tires and have three additional sets to use. After the competition break, however, only one additional set of stickers can be used. The undercard All-Star Open, featuring drivers not previously eligible for the All-Star Race, will be 100 laps with a competition break at or around Lap 40. Three Open drivers will advance to the All-Star Race – the top two race finishers and the Fan Vote Winner. All-Star festivities begin Friday evening with a Pit Crew Challenge to determine the starting lineups for the heat races and Open. Each car’s qualifying time will be based solely on their pit stop time. Teams must complete a four-tire stop; timing lines will be established one box behind and one box ahead of the designated pit box. The 22 drivers already locked into the field will be split into two 60-lap heat races on Saturday night which will determine the starting lineup for Sunday’s All-Star Race. Results of the first heat will establish the inside row and results of the second heat will establish the outside row. The weekend will concludes Sunday night with the All-Star Open and All-Star Race. Technical rules for the cars will remain the same as other NASCAR Cup Series short track races. Those eligible for the All-Star Race include drivers who won a points event in either 2022 or 2023, drivers who won an All-Star Race and compete fulltime, and drivers who won a NASCAR Cup Series championship and compete fulltime.
● Through the first third of the season, Preece has shown improvement and consistency each weekend and has appeared to be coming into his own. He had a career weekend at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway in April, earning his first Cup Series pole and leading a career-high 135 laps. Since then, although the results don’t show it, Preece has shown strength at various racetracks on the circuit.
● This weekend’s All-Star Race offers drivers and teams a winner-take-all respite from the points-paying season, which resumes Memorial Day Weekend with the annual Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway. Preece will head to Charlotte 29th in the driver standings with 201 points.
● Preece kicked off the 2023 season with a strong showing in the non-points Busch Light Clash at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, leading a race-high 43 laps but ultimately finishing seventh after a fuel pump issue. He has a best points-paying finish of 12th this season, which came at Phoenix Raceway in March.
● The No. 41 SHR Ford Mustang will sport a similar but different look this weekend, adding a new Haas Tooling Winner’s Circle logo to the hood of the red, white and black paint scheme. HaasTooling.com, the online tooling division of the U.S. machine tool builder Haas Automation, Inc., introduces the Haas Tooling Winner’s Circle, a membership program that offers customers free next-day delivery, discounted pricing on all products, and a lower threshold for free shipping. HaasTooling.com already offers industry-leading pricing and fast delivery on an expansive selection of cutting tools, toolholders, and workholding products. Now, Haas Tooling Winner’s Circle members will get the added benefits of free shipping on all orders over $49, free next-day delivery (on most orders) anywhere in the contiguous United States, and 5% off every tooling purchase. For even greater savings, the 5% discount may be combined with other promotions, and a single membership may be used for an entire company.
● HaasTooling.com is back again in 2023 on the No. 41 SHR Ford Musting, the cutting tool division of Haas Automation led by SHR co-owner Gene Haas. HaasTooling.com was launched as a way for CNC machinists to purchase high-quality cutting tools at great prices. Haas cutting tools are sold exclusively online at HaasTooling.com and shipped directly to end users. HaasTooling.com products became available nationally in July 2020. Haas Automation, founded in 1983, is America’s leading builder of CNC machine tools. The company manufactures a complete line of vertical and horizontal machining centers, turning centers, rotaries and indexers, and automation solutions.
● RaceChoice.com, a proud partner of Preece, has launched a special racing experience giveaway for fans. The winner will receive airfare and a two-night stay during Coke Zero 400 weekend at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway. RaceChoice.com will also give the winners two pit passes for the race, set for Saturday, Aug. 26 at 7 p.m. ET, preceded by a meet-and-greet with Preece, driver of the No. 41 SHR Ford Mustang. Visit here for more information.
Ryan Preece, Driver of the No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:
What are you expecting this weekend at North Wilkesboro as NASCAR returns for the first time since 1996?
“Much like L.A., North Wilkesboro has been circled on my calendar. I think it’s going to be an awesome weekend. This track has so much rich history and it’s going to be so awesome to be behind the wheel of a Cup car at this track that the legends of our sport have raced on. It’s definitely the right time for our sport. We want short tracks. We want that style of racing, especially at North Wilkesboro, which eats up tires. For us racecar drivers, it allows us to go into our toolbox and do different things to save tires or make speed in the long run. I couldn’t be more excited. With the strategy and how old the asphalt is, it’s going to be such an exciting race. When you walk in there, you’re going to feel that history, the nostalgia, and the fans. They want it, and we want it as drivers, so it’s going to be something special.”
What’s going to be the biggest thing that drivers and teams have to focus on to succeed this weekend?
“Tires. The asphalt is so old and it’s really worn out, and that’s the kind of track I enjoy because you’ve got to be smart with your tires and manage them the right way. It’s going to be really fun for the drivers. Well, at least it’s going to be really fun for me. This track is right up my alley, honestly, and tire management is going to be huge. Every driver is going to have to be so smart when it comes to their tires and the strategy so that we can be in position at the end of the thing. If you watch races at North Wilkesboro from the past, they’re so exciting and that’s because of the decisions the drivers and teams have to make and the way the track races. I can’t wait.”
You’ve got to race your way into the main event via the All-Star Open. What’s your mindset heading into that race?
“When it comes to the Open, to be honest with you, I really feel like I have enough experience with tire management, especially on a track like this, to get out there and do it. I’m really looking forward to it. I know what’s on the line. This may not be a points-paying race, but that isn’t significant at all. I’m there to win, and this is a track that I feel suits my past experience and driving style and I feel confident in what I can do.”
No. 41 HaasTooling.com Team Roster
Primary Team Members
Driver: Ryan Preece
Hometown: Berlin, Connecticut
Crew Chief: Chad Johnston
Hometown: Cayuga, Indiana
Car Chief: Tony Cardamone
Hometown: Bristol, Virginia
Engineer: Lee Deese
Hometown: Rockingham, North Carolina
Engineer: Scott Bingham
Hometown: Lawrenceville, Georgia
Spotter: Andy Houston
Hometown: Hickory, North Carolina
Over-The-Wall Members
Front Tire Changer: Devin Lester
Hometown: Bluefield, West Virginia
Rear Tire Changer: Kevin Teaf
Hometown: Tallahassee, Florida
Tire Carrier: Chad Emmons
Hometown: Tyler, Texas
Jack Man: Kapil Fletcher
Hometown: Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
Fuel Man: Dwayne Moore
Hometown: Griffin, Georgia
Road Crew Members
Mechanic: Joe Zanolini
Hometown: Sybertsville, Pennsylvania
Underneath & Interior Mechanic: Clint Leatherwood
Hometown: Rockmart, Georgia
Shock Specialist: Aaron Kuehn
Hometown: Kensington, Connecticut
Tire Specialist: Matt Ridgway
Hometown: Carrollton, Georgia
Engine Tuner: Jimmy Fife
Hometown: Orange County, California
Transporter Co-Driver: David Rodrigues
Hometown: Santa Clarita, California
Transporter Co-Driver: Charlie Schleyer
Hometown: Youngsville, Pennsylvania
