Ryan Preece Hates Losing More Than He Loves Winning – Motorsports Tribune

Ryan Preece hates losing more than he loves winning.

It’s a credo that has served as his personal north star over the past 15 years but is also an element of his personality that hasn’t been able to shine as brightly in recent years while trying to simply establish himself as a Cup Series contender.

His natural mindset wasn’t one that was entirely applicable while racing in the mid-pack at JTG Daugherty Racing or in one-offs for Rick Ware Racing last season. It wasn’t that kind of situation, but it is the kind of environment Preece thrives on.

The Ryan Preece the NASCAR Cup Series community saw for the first time at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum is the one short track fans, especially those in New England, know all too well. It’s the Preece that was absolutely livid for a couple of moments after his fuel cell failed him while leading the Clash, not at his team, but just at the circumstances.

It’s the Preece that told his team upon calming down that he flushed it out of his system and ‘reset’ his mood for the remainder of the race.

Preece really hates losing more than he loves winning and that’s something he believes those who only watch Cup haven’t realized about him yet.

“Nationally, people haven’t seen the real Ryan Preece, the one the Northeast had,” Preece said on Wednesday during Daytona 500 Media Day. “A lot of my fans, the feedback I saw last week was like ‘this is what we’ve been telling people for years.’

Preece led a race high 43 laps, was making bold passes throughout the field due to starting 16th and generally looked every bit like the short tracker who grew up racing on New England quarter miles during his formative years.

It was the legitimate Ryan Preece Experience.

“It was just exciting to go out there and have a fast car and ultimately set a really good foundation for our season,” Preece said. “We know our short track program is good….