HAMPTON, Ga. – Ryan Preece saw a prime opportunity to earn his second straight top-10 finish to kick off his rookie Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) career end abruptly on pit road after colliding with another car in Sunday’s Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta (Ga.) Motor Speedway.
While under green flag conditions and running inside the top-12 on Lap 272, Preece slammed into B.J. McLeod who was making a wide turn into his pit stall. Both cars suffered extensive damage after the collision with McLeod able to continue and Preece done for the afternoon.
Immediately after the crash, Preece informed his JTG Daugherty Racing team that he was looking down at his tachometer to ensure he wasn’t speeding and didn’t see McLeod heading to his Rick
Ware Racing pit stall.
Preece took full responsibility for the incident and apologized to his team whom he said brought him a competitive No. 47 Kroger Chevrolet to his Atlanta Cup debut.
“I was just trying to make sure I wasn’t speeding,” said Preece. “And when I looked up, he (BJ McLeod, No. 52) was coming in the pits. So, it’s a mistake. What are you going to do? It’s just unfortunate for us because we were having a really good run. Like I said, we are going to have some good cars this year.
“So, if we can keep that, we’ll be really good at Vegas and I’m just really proud of everybody with JTG and Kroger. There’s nothing else you can do other than that. So, I’m looking forward to next week.”
Preece finished 35th and dropped from 12th to 25th in the Cup standings heading to Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway next weekend.
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01.
