His short track background is in open-wheel modified cars, and for the better part of a decade, Ryan Preece has made his living in NASCAR.
Still, competing at the Slinger Nationals has been a goal of his for years.
Preece will finally get his chance Tuesday at the 45th running of one of the country’s premier short-track special events, driving an Apex Motorsports car alongside Kevin Harvick Inc. He’ll see Slinger Speedway in person for the first time for Monday’s practice.
Further:45th Slinger Nationals: Schedule, tickets, stream, preview, history and drivers to watch
Although the 33-year-old from Berlin, Connecticut, has limited experience in the type of cars that race at the Nationals, he fully intends and hopes to compete for the $20,000 winner’s share of the prize.
Preece shared his thoughts on the experience in a phone interview this week.
Q: Three Snowball Derbys and some World Series of Asphalt experience – is that all you can expect from a super late model?
A: Coming from Connecticut and the Northeast, open-wheel modifieds are pretty much the biggest division there, so as far as what part of the country I’m from and what division the path you took was, super late models really weren’t it.
Since I moved to North Carolina and was there, you heard all the hype about the late models and the Snowball Derby (at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Florida). I always went to New Smyrna SpeedWeeks and really loved watching the late models race there.
Obviously, I’ve been to the Derby a few times (and in 2021 I finished fourth) and New Smyrna (Speedway in New Smyrna Beach, Florida). When Kevin and I were talking about some of these races, I really just wanted to do some of the bigger ones.
When I had my own car a few years ago, the Slinger Nationals was on that list, but it didn’t work out. This was a great opportunity to go and do it.
Q: How was the experience? I’m sure you enjoyed it.
A: Yeah… I’m a short track racer. Slinger, having seen it and heard about it, is a quarter-miler. It’s the fastest quarter-miler in Wisconsin, right? I seem to do pretty well in the quarter-mile. That’s kind of my experience, and when you hear about this race, you realize that it has a lot of prestige and I would say that in the last five or ten years it’s grown a lot and made a lot of noise even in the Northeast. So it’s a place that I wanted to come to and this was a great opportunity to do so.
Further:Major auto racing events in Wisconsin for the 2024 season
Q: Super Lates are more agile than NASCAR Cup cars, but how do they handle compared to modifieds?
A: Modified and super late models are very similar. I’d say the biggest difference is the width of the tires, right? (Modified tires are about 50% wider.) But they’re a lot of fun to drive. They have a lot of power and you’re on the steering wheel, elbows up all the time.
I can’t speak to the racing scene at Slinger yet because I haven’t been there, but I’m really looking forward to this opportunity to work with Travis Dassow and Morton Buildings, who are behind it all. I’d love to race with some of them and have a great day.
Q: There seems to be a trend in NASCAR toward late models, given the CARS Tour ownership (including Harvick and Dale Earnhardt Jr.). Was there pressure to go in that direction if you were going to enter?
A: No, no.
Years ago, and I’ve always raced three or four times a week, coming from where I’m from, I’d always been that driver when I wasn’t racing in the Cup Series for Xfinity, I’d be racing either at Stafford in the Northeast or Thompson or Riverhead or New Hampshire or upstate New York or wherever.
Basically, there’s a bigger push now than ever to get back and race in your regional series, whether it’s a Super Late Model, CARS Tour Late Model, Pro Late Model, Modified, Midget, Sprint Car… From what I’ve seen, there was almost a disconnect between the national level and the short track level… (and we’re trying) to rekindle that connection between your national driver and your short track racers.
That’s simply because we were short track racers at one point, and I know I’m proud of all my accomplishments and what I’ve done in the Northeast and on the East Coast, and I want to go around the country and compete against some of the best.
Q: Do you have any other races like this on your radar?
A: You know, if it were up to me, I’d have a super late model, I’d have a USAC race car, I’d be building race cars all the time and racing all over the country. But I’d say right now the Slinger Nationals, this one, and then the Snowball Derby is next. I’m very focused on the Cup Series. That’s my job, right? That’s what allows me to do all these things.
Q: You mentioned working with Travis (Dassow of Apex Motorsports) and you also mentioned Kevin. What is the process like?
A: Kevin is building a late model team in North Carolina, but it took a lot of work to get here to Slinger and do all that. Travis did us a huge favor because early last year we were putting together a list of events, this was the one I wanted to do and without Kevin and Morton Buildings, this wouldn’t have been possible.
It’s people like Morton and Pristine Auction that allow people like me to come here and participate in amazing races like the Slinger Nationals.
Q: There’s a lot of practice, so do you do anything before you get here to prepare?
A: This is going to be different for me than it has been in the past. Usually when it comes to modified stuff, I’m pretty hands-on with it. In this case, you’ll open up the helmet bag, grab the wheel, and ride fast.
I’m really looking forward to getting on Slinger and trying to make sure we have a really good performance. We’ll see about that on Monday.
Q: Are you a “video watcher”? An iRacing fan?
A: I was watching some YouTube and signed up for iRacing, but I haven’t done it for a while. I’ve usually adapted to race tracks like that pretty quickly and gotten up to speed pretty quickly. I feel pretty ready for it.
Q: With so many unknowns, can you really have expectations?
A: I know these guys have a lot of laps and race there on a weekly basis… and they have a pretty solid setup.
As a racer, I have the same goals I set for the Derby three years ago and, after not racing a super late model for 10 or 12 years, that is to try to win that race.
I have very high expectations and during the race I will manage them, but I feel like I am trying to win the race… It is not about finishing fifth, tenth or second, or just being there. I am racing to try to win and take a trophy home.
Q: So, are you going to trust Travis a little bit and at least at first try to make more friends than enemies?
A: Yes, more or less.
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