Struggling Preece seeks big boost

Rookie excited to hit short track at Martinsville

MARTINSVILLE, Va. — Ryan Preece is a rookie struggling to find his rhythm at NASCAR’s top level. But as the series shifts to Martinsville Speedway, the first short track on the schedule, Preece may have a slight advantage on some of his competition for the first time this season.

Preece took an unconventional path to the Cup Series and established himself on short tracks across the Northeast. The Connecticut native eased into NASCAR via the Whelen Modified Tour, where he won 22 races and the 2013 series championship.

His first win in that series? At Martinsville, of course.

“I expect that we should show really well and at least be running top 10 and hopefully get a top five by the end of the weekend,” Preece said of his hopes for Sunday’s race.

Martinsville, at 0.526 miles, is the shortest track on the Cup schedule and only circuit visited every year since NASCAR’s 1948 formation. It’s referred to as “The Paperclip” for its combination of long straightaways and flat, narrow turns, and drivers must master a hard brake than transition into a smooth acceleration to find any sort of success.

It was an eye-opener in Saturday’s first practice for Corey LaJoie, who lost his brakes entering a turn and destroyed his primary car.

“There is no coffee strong enough that will wake you up like losing brakes into Turn 1 at Martinsville. It’s not a good feeling,” LaJoie said.

Preece drives for a small team, JTG Daugherty Racing, but believes Martinsville will be a strong stop for the two-car organization. AJ Allmendinger drove the No. 47 Chevrolet until Preece replaced him this year, and Allmendinger had five top-10 finishes in 10 Martinsville races with the team. Allmendinger finished second in this race in 2016.

And Preece is admittedly most comfortable on short tracks. In the Xfinity Series, Preece lodged six top-10 finishes on tracks one-mile or shorter and won at Iowa Speedway and Bristol Motor Speedway the last two years.

Preece finished eighth in the season-opening Daytona 500, where he was lauded for his evasive maneuver through a huge accident scene, but crashed at Atlanta and Phoenix. He was 23rd last weekend at California.

But Martinsville kicks off two short tracks in three weeks for NASCAR and Preece believes this stretch can jumpstart his season.

“Definitely short tracks ... those are kind of in my wheelhouse,” he said. “I’ve been doing it for a long time. When it comes to the restarts and those moments of being aggressive, it’s something I enjoy.”

Defending Cup Series champion Joey Logano turned a lap at 97.830 mph to win the pole for Sunday’s Cup Series race. Aric Almirola qualified second.

MATT BELL/AP With two short-track races in three weeks, NASCAR Cup Series rookie Ryan Preece hopes to jumpstart his season.