Notes of Interest
● Ryan Preece will be throwing it back to his 2013 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championship season when he takes to the 1.366-mile, egg-shaped Darlington (S.C.) Raceway oval for Sunday’s Goodyear 400. Preece’s No. 41 United Rentals Ford Mustang Dark Horse for Stewart-Haas Racing will pay tribute to the No. 16 Modified he drove for owner Eric Sanderson’s Flamingo Motorsports team to four victories and 10 top-five finishes en route to the 2013 series title. Preece first made a name for himself in the Modified Tour, where he has 26 career wins, during his rise to the Cup Series.
● As a tribute to Sanderson and his team, Flamingo Motorsports will appear on the nameplate of Preece’s No. 41 Mustang this weekend. Sanderson, a seasoned car owner and retired competitor, ventured into racing at Preece’s hometown Stafford (Conn.) Motor Speedway in the early 1970s, when he began as a car owner before taking the wheel in 1972. Sanderson debuted Flamingo Motorsports and the No. 16 car on the Modified Tour in 1995, and remained a staple in the series as a championship contender for more than two decades. Prior to Preece’s championship run in 2013, the team won the title in 2006 with NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee Mike Stefanik.
● Sunday’s race marks Preece’s ninth Cup Series start at Darlington, where he first competed in September 2019 for JTG Daugherty Racing. Best among Preece’s previous starts at the racetrack nicknamed “Too Tough to Tame” were a pair of top-15 finishes – 12th for JTG Daugherty in September 2021, and 15th in his No. 41 Stewart-Haas Mustang a year ago this weekend. Preece has one Darlington start apiece in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. In his September 2016 Xfinity Series start, he qualified 22nd and finished 10th in a JD Motorsports entry. His Truck Series appearance came in May 2017, when he started 13th and finished seventh for David Gilliland Racing.
● Joining Preece for Darlington is United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE: URI), the largest equipment rental company in the world. United Rentals has an integrated network of 1,449 rental locations in North America, 13 in Europe, 27 in Australia and 19 in New Zealand. In North America, the company operates in 49 states and every Canadian province. The company’s approximately 24,700 employees serve construction and industrial customers, utilities, municipalities, homeowners and others. The company offers approximately 4,700 classes of equipment for rent with a total original cost of $19.3 billion. United Rentals is a member of the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, the Barron’s 400 Index and the Russell 3000 Index®. The company is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut. Additional information about United Rentals is available at UnitedRentals.com.
● United Rentals is dedicated to making every lap a lap of honor. Join United Rentals in supporting military veterans and their families through its Turns for Troops program, where United Rentals donates $50 for each lap Preece completes during specific races in 2024. Preece has already raised more than $119,000 through the Turns for Troops program, with a goal of raising an additional $67,000 this season. Funds from the Turns for Troops program go to Operation Homefront.
Ryan Preece, Driver of the No. 41 United Rentals Ford Mustang Dark Horse
How much of an impact did Eric Sanderson and Flamingo Motorsports have on your career?
“Without Eric Sanderson and Flamingo Motorsports, who knows where my racing career would have gone. In 2011, I was without a NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour ride, and at the final race, Eric Sanderson asked me to drive the car. When that happened, it was the beginning of a three-year partnership. That was a turning point in my career. It certainly got things moving in the right direction.”
Talk about the paint scheme and what it means to you to run the scheme for the first time on your Cup Series car at Darlington?
“I saw Darlington as a good opportunity to run a paint scheme that is not only very special to me, but also to someone who did a lot for my career. Eric saved my racing career, so when things get underway this weekend, it’ll certainly mean a lot to climb back into a car with that paint scheme.”
You’ve scored top-15 finishes in two of your last three Cup Series races at Darlington. What will it take to have another competitive race on Sunday?
“It will come down to ripping the lip, painting the boards, and letting her eat. Having speed and a well-balanced racecar is what we need to have to be able to do that.”
How is Darlington different from other racetracks on the schedule?
“Darlington is certainly a historic racetrack on our schedule. When you think of NASCAR, Darlington is one of those tracks that immediately comes to mind. It’s a lot of fun to race at, and it’s a place I enjoy going to.”
Darlington provides a unique opportunity to honor the past. Who were your racing heroes growing up, and how did they inspire you as a driver?
“Dave Steele is someone who really impacted me. He won a ton of USAC races, and he was certainly one of the greats in that series. I followed him and a ton of Modified drivers growing up. My father really inspired me, as well. We ran a paint scheme for him at Darlington last year. He sacrificed a lot for me to be able to race.”
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