CONCORD, N.C.: Once Saturday’s Alsco 300 took the checkered flag at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway, Ryan Preece had completed two-thirds of his weekend at the iconic 1.5-mile race track.
Making just his second NASCAR Xfinity Series start of the season and second under the BJ McLeod Motorsports banner – with affiliation from Stewart Haas Racing.
After qualifying his No. 5 Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford Mustang third, Preece led laps and ran in the top five for most of the race.
Preece drove to the lead on Lap 3 but less than a lap later, Noah Gragson retook the top spot as Preece battled a tight race car.
Continuing to manhandle his automobile, Gragson would finish Stage 1 in seventh.
Throughout Stage 2, Preece continued to battle the handling of his race car, informing his team on Lap 76, “It gets too tight in Turns 1 and 2. I need help rolling the center and moving up (the track) without it hurting my entry.”
Preece would end Stage 2 – two spots better in fifth despite the balancing act.
The 31-year-old would start sixth at the strong of Stage on Lap 100. A lap later, he has muscled to second.
After a multi-car accident on Lap 110, Preece would surge back into the lead for nine laps until Josh Berry claimed the top spot at Lap 119.
Still trying to juggle the tightness in his race car, Preece would make his final stop on Lap 155 for tires, fuel and a final adjustment.
Despite returning to the race in third, over the final 45 laps of the race, Preece would fall two spots after passes by Ty Gibbs and Noah Gragson and take the checkered flag in fifth for his first top-10 Xfinity finish of 2022.
“We took the lead on that restart, we had a really good short-run car, just when the groove moved up to that resin by the wall I couldn’t go as fast as those other guys,” said Preece.
“It was a good top five, run,” he added. “We’ll just have to try again at Nashville.”
Preece will complete his triple-duty weekend in Sunday night’s Coca-Cola 600, piloting the No. 15 Hunt Brothers Racing Ford Mustang for Rick Ware Racing.
He qualified 26th on Saturday night.
Follow Grace Krenrich on Twitter @Grace3140.
