"I wasn’t gonna walk away" - Ryan Preece talks about the extent to which he would have gone to secure a NASCAR Cup Series drive

Ryan Preece is the newly appointed full-time Cup driver in Stewart-Haas Racing for the 2023 season. It is extremely rare for a reserve driver on a Cup team to get promoted to a full-time role. Even more unusual was when Preece lost his full-time ride after three disappointing seasons with JTG Daugherty Racing.

On the same day that SHR announced that Preece would take over the #41 Ford from Cole Custer, the newly appointed #41 driver said he was merely thankful for the opportunity given by his team. He revealed that many teams approached him for part-time and full-time drive, but he chose not to accept. He never lost hope that a great Cup Series ride would come and it eventually worked out.

Preece said:

“There were quite a few different teams that came to me, whether they were full-time or part-time, and I thought about if there was the smallest bit of opportunity for me to end up at Stewart-Haas, I wasn’t gonna walk away.”

He continued:

“I was willing to sit there until there was absolutely no hope and possibly be jobless, possibly not have a ride, but I was willing to take that risk. Ultimately, it’s worked out, and this opportunity has come.”

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“We’re proud to have him” – Stewart-Haas Racing co-owner on Ryan Preece

After appointing Ryan Preece as the fourth driver of the 2023 season, Stewart-Haas Racing co-owner Tony Stewart stated that Preece has bet on himself several times in his career and is now betting on the 32-year-old driver. Stewart feels that Preece has got the right opportunity in the Cup Series and is looking forward to seeing what he can do in the #41 Ford.

Stewart said:

“Ryan has bet on himself a couple of times in his career, and it’s always paid off. Now we’re betting on him. I’ve run some Modified Tour races, and it’s a tough series with a lot of talent. Ryan’s Mod Tour championship speaks to his talent. Now, Ryan’s got the right opportunity in Cup. We’re proud to have him and look forward to seeing what he can do in our race cars.”

Ryan Preece made a few Whelen Modified appearances along with a couple of starts in NASCAR's all three series: Cup Series, Xfinity Series, and Truck Series. It will be interesting to see how he performs when the new season kicks off next year at Daytona International Speedway.