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NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series

Ryan Preece Finishes Third Despite Winning First Two Stages

(Photo: Luis Torres | The Podium Finish)

FORT WORTH, TEXAS — Ryan Preece led 27 laps and won the first two stages of Friday’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race, but ultimately finished third in the SpeedyCash.com 220 at Texas Motor Speedway.

“We had a fast truck for sure,” Preece told The Podium Finish. “It sucks when you don’t win with a truck like we had.”

Preece, making one of his seven starts for David Gilliland Racing, qualified in the fifth position and took his first lead of the day on Lap 14. He briefly lost it to eventual race winner Stewart Friesen, but, on Lap 20, he regained it and held on for a stage win. He passed Friesen again late in Stage 2 while battling lapped traffic to sweep stage victories.

On a restart early in Stage 3, Preece threw a block on Christian Eckes and sustained rear damage, affecting the aerodynamics of the car.

“I could tell it wasn’t pulling through air quite as good as it was earlier,” Preece said. “The fact that we finished third was really good just with the damage we had and how much drag it was. I was kind of holding on at that point.”

Although Preece struggled aerodynamically, he remained within striking distance throughout the final stage. With six laps to go, Preece ran third when a Ben Rhodes crash set up a green-white-checkered finish.

Preece lined up behind Friesen, who ran second and was on the bottom for the restart. He pushed Friesen alongside Eckes, and on the final lap, Friesen cleared Eckes to win the race and leave Preece behind in third.

“I felt that if I could push Stewart and put him in a position where they were side-by-side and just put them in an awkward position, it would give me my best chance to try and win that race,” Preece said. “The 52 was able to clear the 98 there and we had to settle in for third.”

In four Truck Series races this season, Preece has two top fives and hasn’t finished worse than seventh. His next race in the series will be June 24 at Nashville Superspeedway.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Luis Torres contributed to this story from Texas Motor Speedway. 

 

Nathan Solomon serves as the managing editor of The Podium Finish. He has been part of the team since 2021 and is accredited by the National Motorsports Press Association. Solomon is a senior in the Jandoli School of Communication at St. Bonaventure University. Contact him at NSolly02@Yahoo.com.

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