FORT WORTH, Texas – Ryan Preece won the first two stages in Friday night’s (May 20) NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Texas Motor Speedway, and when the checkered flag flew he was a season-best third.
And while the numbers look good, they hardly tell the whole story.
Preece lined up fifth on the starting grid and took the lead from eventual winner Stewart Friesen on lap 14. Though Friesen fought back and took the top spot for a handful of laps, Preece once again led the final 10 laps and scored his first stage win.
While Friesen took the lead on pit road and led much of stage two, a late stage pass gave Preece the top spot once again and the stage two victory.
2-for-2@RyanPreece_ wins another stage at @TXMotorSpeedway! pic.twitter.com/glK2cJOL6Z
— NASCAR Camping World Trucks (@NASCAR_Trucks) May 21, 2022
Shortly after the stage three restart, contact with Christian Eckes damaged the rear bumper, something that quickly became a concern as the field remained under the green flag. With the bumper cover flying in the wind, the No. 17 team caught a big break when Derek Kraus and Ty Majeski got together to bring out the fourth caution.
The yellow allowed Preece to bring his damaged truck to the attention of his pit crew, which was able to secure the back bumper panel while keeping him on the lead lap.
Following the damage repair, Preece was outside the top 25 but was able to work his way toward the front once again. He was inside the top 10 around 30 laps to go and reentered the top five inside 20 to go.
Contact between Ben Rhodes and Tanner Gray sent Rhodes hard into the outside wall, ending his night and setting up an overtime finish. Preece lined up behind Friesen, pushing him on the restart, and while he made a run on the leaders, the damage to the No. 17 was just enough to keep Preece from making a challenge for the win.
That’s not what the bumper of a 3rd place truck is supposed to look like.@RyanPreece_ scratched and clawed for this one….
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