Before Ryan Preece heads to Daytona International Speedway on Wednesday to qualify for the Daytona 500, he made a quick visit to victory lane at New Smyrna Speedway Tuesday night.
Preece took the win in Tuesday’s 50-lap Tour-type Modified feature at the World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing, finishing ahead of Ron Silk to end his winning streak at the World Series. Preece took the lead on lap 16 from Craig Lutz and maintained the top spot the rest of the way, even as Ron Silk closed in over the closing laps.
Tuesday’s win was the 13th at the World Series for Preece over the course of his career. Preece was particularly eager to get back to the front after a disappointing showing in Saturday’s NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour event at New Smyrna.
“We’ve been really tuning on it. That Tour show on Saturday was a real embarrassing moment for me. I don’t think I’ve ever been lapped in a Modified Tour race. We put our head where it needed to be and made great changes. We were able to beat that 16. He’s been fast all weekend, so it’s good to do that.
“It’s been a lot of fun racing with these guys. I don’t get to do it much, so whenever we can all come back and get to victory lane, it feels really good.”
While the World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing continues on until Saturday, Preece’s focus will now turn towards his NASCAR Cup Series obligations starting with Wednesday’s pole qualifying night ahead of the Bluegreen Vacations Duels on Thursday.
However, Preece isn’t completely ruling out the possibility that he’ll climb back in his Modified before the end of the week.
“I had a bet with my crew. I go out fourth for time trials tomorrow in the 500. Maybe I can try and sneak back here. This car has been so good, so maybe we’ll try to come back tomorrow.”
Silk finished second, followed by Ronnie Williams, Anthony Nocella and Matt Hirschman.
The Tour-type Modifieds race again on Wednesday in the John Blewett, III to close out a busy Night #6 at the World Series. Wednesday’s card also includes Super Late Models, Pro Late Models, 602 Modifieds and Florida Modifieds.
UNOFFICIAL RESULTS
NEW SMYRNA WORLD SERIES OF ASPHALT STOCK CAR RACING NIGHT #5, TOUR-TYPE MODIFIEDS
| Finish | No | Driver | Laps | Diff |
| 1 | 40 | Ryan Preece | 50 | — |
| 2 | 16 | Ron Silk | 50 | 0.601 |
| 3 | 50 | Ronnie Williams | 50 | 2.123 |
| 4 | 92 | Anthony Nocella | 50 | 2.367 |
| 5 | 60 | MattHirschman | 50 | 2.482 |
| 6 | 46 | Craig Lutz | 50 | 2.801 |
| 7 | 58 | Eric Goodale | 50 | 3.191 |
| 8 | 55CT | Teddy Hodgdon | 50 | 3.300 |
| 9 | 07 | Patrick Emerling | 50 | 3.532 |
| 10 | 36 | David Sapienza | 50 | 3.726 |
| 11 | 54 | Tommy Catalano | 50 | 4.153 |
| 12 | 9 | Tom Martino, Jr. | 50 | 4.841 |
| 13 | 42 | Spencer Davis | 50 | 5.533 |
| 14 | 20 | Eddie McCarthy | 50 | 6.469 |
| 15 | 2 | J.R. Bertuccio | 50 | 6.724 |
| 16 | 98 | Landon Huffman | 50 | 7.079 |
| 17 | 11 | Norman Newman | 50 | 7.300 |
| 18 | 48 | Johnny Kay | 50 | 7.480 |
| 19 | 7P | Rich Parker | 49 | 1 Lap |
| 20 | 09 | Christopher Hatton | 47 | 3 Laps |
| 21 | 76 | Jimmy Blewett | 44 | 6 Laps |
| 22 | 179 | Anthony Bello | 44 | 6 Laps |
| 23 | 14NC | Bobby Measmer | 40 | 10 Laps |
| 24 | 02 | Joey Coulter | 40 | 10 Laps |
| 25 | 32 | Tyler Rypkema | 27 | 23 Laps |
| 26 | 158 | Timmy Solomito | 25 | 25 Laps |
