Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Clash at Bowman Gray Media Availability | Tuesday, January 28, 2025
Ryan Preece, driver of the No. 60 RFK Racing Ford Mustang Dark Horse, will be making his debut with the team this weekend during the Clash at Bowman Gray. Preece took part in a media question and answer session earlier today and discussed how the transition has gone over the offseason.
RYAN PREECE, Driver, No. 60 RFK Ford Mustang Dark Horse – YOU’VE MOVED TO RFK FOR THIS SEASON. CAN YOU GIVE US AN OVERVIEW OF WHAT YOUR OFFSEASON WAS LIKE? “I definitely feel like the offseason, as many of you guys have kind of felt, it’s gone. It went quicker than it came, so, for me, as soon as we landed from Phoenix I was at RFK that next day and really, outside of the week that my wife and my daughter and I went to Connecticut to visit family and friends, it’s been there. So, there’s a lot to really soak up and really take in, just the whole process and really still learning all of that. I’m excited about it and, obviously, having all of the different partners and seeing how they service all of those different partners as well as having the opportunity to be back with Kroger and all the different brands that Kroger brings and BAM Marketing and everybody there with Tad. I’m excited about it. I’m definitely grateful for this opportunity and definitely looking forward to the Cook Out Clash this weekend. As much as it is an exhibition race, anybody that says they don’t want to win at Bowman Gray is lying, so I’m ready to get there and do double duty and get this season going because, that’s another thing, when you’re talking about it and people are asking questions, you just feel like you’re answering those same questions over and over and you’re just ready to get going to the racetrack and start doing what you’ve done all your life.”
CAN YOU EXPAND ON WHY YOU FEEL SO STRONGLY ABOUT BOWMAN GRAY BEING SUCH A PRESTIGIOUS PLACE A DRIVER WANTS TO WIN AT? “Winning in general you want to do, right? But, Bowman Gray and the history that’s behind it, you look back at some of the names and adding your name to that list of the Cup Series going and winning at Bowman Gray, that’s where NASCAR was pretty much born, so it would be pretty special to go and do that, and what better way than to kick it off here in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. That’s number one is to try and get through this weekend and it’s a great way to really start the season. One of my strengths is certainly short track racing and we’ve made the Clash three out of three years and it would be a great way to get this team up and going. It’s a good opportunity to build momentum.”
HOW DO YOU VIEW THIS OPPORTUNITY WITH RFK? IS IT THE BEST ONE YOU’VE HAD SO FAR IN THE CUP SERIES? “I feel like every opportunity has had a lot of different life lessons and certain things that I feel like have helped me get ready for this moment. I had a great time with Stewart-Haas and Tony and Chad and all those guys over there. There were some challenges, but there was also some points that were good, so all lessons that I’m bringing here to RFK and certainly you look at what Brad, Jack and the Fenway Group – what they’ve done over the past three years – it’s pretty impressive and being teammates with Chris in the past and seeing what he’s accomplished over the past three years in winning races, so, yeah, my expectations are high. They’ve always been high. I don’t ever set a bar low. I always want to set it really high and winning races is the goal. I didn’t move down here and do the sacrifices and put my family through what I’ve done to come down here and just be a part of the show. That’s not who I am as a racer. I’m somebody that wants to win races. It doesn’t matter if I’m at my local short track or racing Cup on Sunday. The goal is to win.”
THE CLASH WAS ALWAYS AT DAYTONA AND NOW THIS IS THE FOURTH STRAIGHT YEAR IT’S IN A DIFFERENT PLACE. DO YOU LIKE THE FACT NASCAR IS WILLING TO EXPERIMENT AND MOVE THIS EVENT AROUND? “I think change is sometimes a good thing. I definitely applaud them. We went to L.A. and really dabbled over there and now they’re bringing it to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, which we’ve already touched on the history of Bowman Gray, but that’s a city that gets behind racing. That’s a city that gets behind Bowman Gray Stadium. For anybody that’s never been to that racetrack on their typical weekly show, the place is jammed. It’s packed. It’s a wanted racetrack in the community, so anytime that you can go to a place that loves racing and supports the racetrack, that’s awesome because, to be honest with you, for the twenty-plus drivers that start that race on Sunday, the energy that they’re gonna see from that community and people that are there, even though it’s probably gonna be 42 degrees or whatever it is, it’s gonna be packed and it’s gonna be awesome.”
ARE THERE OTHER TRACKS OR CITIES THAT WOULD HAVE THE SAME ENERGY THAT WOULD BE DESERVING TO MAYBE HOST A RACE LIKE THIS? “It’s really tough because there are different little pockets in the United States that are really passionate about racing. The challenge of it is it’s February, but, if I was gonna say there’s somewhere that would be really cool to kick off Speedweeks or basically Speed Month when it comes to racing in February all the way through, is New Smyrna. If they weren’t gonna be able to go to Bowman Gray Stadium and they were looking for another venue, New Smyrna, to me, seems like such a perfect fit when it comes to the racing, the way to kick off Speedweeks for the super late models or tour type modifieds and with all the dirt racing going on 45 minutes down the road, that, to me, would be the track that would make the most sense, but, obviously, certainly I’m excited about going to Bowman Gray and giving the opportunity to Winston-Salem to host this historic event.”
TIM BROWN AND BURT MYERS ARE COMPETING THIS WEEKEND. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOU TO SEE THOSE GUYS HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO RACE AT THIS LEVEL? “I’m really happy for those guys. I’ve actually raced against Tim and Burt, here and there. Me being from Connecticut, I’ve known them and raced against them since I was 15 years old, so it’s almost 20 years. So, to see Tim, who works on these cars, have the opportunity to race one at his home track, where he’s won, I don’t know, 10 championships. Don’t quote me on how many that may be, I just know it’s a lot and winning a lot of races, as well as Burt. Those are two of the hometown guys having the opportunity to do it at the highest level and they’re gonna be good. I think Tim and Burt, they have a lot of experience. That’s one thing. I grew up racing quarter miles. That’s where at L.A. and some of my strengths, that’s what I enjoyed about going to L.A. and obviously Bowman Gray, and now I feel like I’ve got two other guys that have raced against me on quarter miles and kind of know my ins and outs of it all, so certainly excited for those guys in the dirty south as Burt calls it and racing with them in their modified class on Saturday.”
WHAT’S IT LIKE TO SEE SOMEONE LIKE TIM, WHO WORKS ON CARS AT THIS LEVEL AND WORKING ON HIS OWN CAR FOR THIS EVENT, GET THIS OPPORTUNITY? “I don’t want to take away from Burt because I’ve seen pictures and videos of him working on his and he’s probably just getting a crash course with it all, but, for me, there’s different types of racers. There are guys that just show up and race. I did that when I was younger and I just chose to go down this path. I enjoy the process and the setup stuff and all that. This is just who I want to be as a race car driver, so I guess for the style of driver that I am and seeing Tim and seeing Burt and really getting their hands in there and doing it, they’re gonna see the differences of what we call in the modified fives and twos. Your as basic setup as you can get. This is just a totally different world that Burt or Tim has dealt with for a while now, so he sees it, but now he’s gonna feel it and it just opens up your eyes to how many different ways there are to set a race car up and make speed doing it.”
SOME PEOPLE FROM YOUR PART OF THE COUNTRY LIKE GOING DOWN SOUTH TO RACE AND SOME DETEST IT. YOU’VE ALWAYS SUPPORTED IT, SO WHAT IS THE CLASH YOU HAVE AS TO WHY YOU LIKE IT AND SOME OF YOUR NEW ENGLAND COMPETITORS DON’T? “What I did is I ran a true Bowman Gray modified race one time. I actually races the Whelan Southern Modified Tour, which is traditional wide tire car, probably I think three times. So, there are some differences. The Bowman Gray style modified, it’s not a spooled rear end, the motors are a little different as well as a narrow tire. So, there are some little differences, but at the end of the day, from what I understand, their weekly show it’s exactly that, it’s a show. As much as it is racing, you’re there to entertain fans and sometimes, as much as I want to go and win by a lap and lap people, part of racing is entertaining and that’s something that they definitely still do, which sometimes comes at the detriment of their race cars, which that’s expensive. I don’t necessarily support that at all, but it’s different and obviously they pack that place every single week, so there’s a lot of passionate fans and I think the madhouse TV show that was on, I can’t remember what channel it was, but that brought a lot of attention to it. There are a lot of personalities and they certainly know how to put a show on, but, certainly, guys like us up north, some of the quarter miles that we have, just a different style of racing. You can definitely get your knuckles a little bloody if you know how to race rough, but you just don’t take it to the extent sometimes that it seems like it gets to there.”
TWO YEARS AGO AT THE CLASH YOU WERE MIXING IT UP AND RACING FOR THE WIN THERE. HOW MUCH DO YOU THINK ABOUT THAT RACE? WHAT THAT ONE THAT GOT AWAY? “That was one that would have been nice just from a momentum side. That could have really helped, so, yeah, it would have been great just to win – not that it was a points paying event or anything like that – but it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter if you’re racing a micro, a modified or whatever it is, you still want to win. Certainly, I still think about it and wish that what happened didn’t happen, but you can’t change that and you look forward to that next race, but going to Bowman Gray it’s kind of like resetting. A lot of these guys haven’t been there in a long time, if they have, or they haven’t been there at all, so it’s just right back to everybody is on an even playing field. I really, to be honest with you, do not think that Bowman Gray is similar to L.A. Yeah, it’s a quarter mile, but the straightaways are different. The way you’ve got to brake into the corner is gonna be different. Passing is gonna be way tougher, so how physical do you want to get with that? I think it’s just basically taking a white board, grabbing an eraser, starting fresh and feeling like you and your team, your organization did a good job preparing for what they thought was best for a good setup for the racetrack and going to war.”
DO YOU THINK YOU’LL HAVE A BETTER CAR THIS YEAR THAN YOU DID LAST YEAR AT STEWART-HAAS? AND HOW MUCH WILL THAT MATTER AT A PLACE LIKE BOWMAN GRAY? “Having a good car always matters, but last year in L.A. I thought we had a really good car and then we just struggled. We had something going on and couldn’t quite figure it out and that’s what stopped us, but the initial speed was there. I do feel like going into Bowman Gray, I feel like we’re gonna have a strong car. I feel like everybody at RFK, Brad, Chris, myself, we’re gonna have strong cars and be contenders for making the race, but also running really well. I feel pretty confident in that, so anytime we show up to a short track, I feel like there’s an opportunity there to win, and especially it being a quarter mile it fits right into my wheelhouse, so, yeah, I feel like our car is gonna have good speed. There are a lot of things that I feel like we all took over from what we had last year to this year and made some adjustments. Everybody, that was a nice thing, everybody that showed up brought something to the table and I feel like that’s gonna make the package that much better. I’m excited for Saturday to practice, qualify and have our heat races and hopefully lock ourselves in for the race on Sunday, and go fight for one.”
YOU TALKED ABOUT BLOODY KNUCKLES. WHAT KIND OF RACING DO YOU THINK WE’LL SEE THIS WEEKEND? “The hope is you don’t want it to get brutal, but the reality is that if it starts to get brutal, you need to be willing to do that, and not in a fighting manner. What I mean is in a racing manner, and I think anybody who races at quarter miles and three-eighths mile racetracks understand that, so it’s not necessarily the way you want to initiate, but sometimes it can be a product of that style of racing. I’m not looking to be the one that initiates it, but I’m certainly not afraid to give what’s taken.”
LAST YEAR YOU COULD RUN WAY BELOW THE LINE AND CREATE A LOWER GROOVE, BUT AT BOWMAN GRAY IT WILL BE GRASS. HOW DO YOU WORK AROUND THAT? “Yeah, you could basically say it’s like Daytona and Talladega, or superspeedways. It’s the same thing, but it’s really not. They’re different. L.A., just the trajectory of how you can exit that corner and, to your point, how you could cut into the paint, added grip, get under somebody and try not to necessarily knock into them. Bowman Gray is not gonna have that luxury. They’ve got those drainage things, whatever they are down there, just less room to really get under somebody, so you’re gonna have to have a car that’s – one thing for me is I always look for maneuverability in my race car, not necessarily just trying to wrap the line. There’s so much to it. Those are just some of the little details when it comes to that style of racing.”
