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Stewart-Haas Racing driver Ryan Preece had a perfect weekend before falling victim to a pit-road penalty that ultimately ended his hopes of getting his first NASCAR Cup Series victory.
Starting from the pole on Sunday afternoon at Martinsville Speedway, Preece won Stage 1, leading the first 135 laps without a serious challenge. He was well on his way to a Stage 2 win when he was first off pit road on a round of pit stops on Lap 135 of 400.
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Ryan Preece was penalized by race officials for speeding on pit road on Lap 134 and had to restart the race from first place to the rear of the field. From there, it was difficult for him to get back in the lead, and at one point, he fell a lap down. The #41 Ford driver finished P15 (second-best finish of the season).
During the post-race interview, Preece admitted that his mistake in speeding while leaving the pit cost him the track position and ultimately the chance to reach Victory Lane.
Speaking about what went wrong on the pit road at Martinsville, Preece said:
“I sped off pit road, I guess. That ultimately cost us the track position. We had a really fast race car, so once we got in the back it was so hard to do anything, so that’s on me. I’ll take blame for that. I was trying to beat them out and ultimately got snapped speeding.”
He continued:
“It’s unfortunate, but when we had track position I think it showed that we had a really fast (car) but you can’t do those things. You can’t make mistakes.”
“I think we climbed to 23rd or 21st” – Ryan Preece on losing the track position
After the penalty, Ryan Preece was dropped to 29th in the running order, but he fought and held the lead to keep his day alive, albeit making progress was slow going.
Further speaking about his NASCAR Martinsville ride, Preece said:
“That first run I think we climbed to 23rd or 21st, so I thought there was opportunity, but after three pit stops everybody else got their car that much better. You saw Joey (Logano), they stayed out and gained track position and he ran second. I mean, he was a lap down for a while, so you can’t make mistakes.”
Ryan Preece currently holds 27th place in the NASCAR Cup Series points table with 140 points.
