It’s almost time to wave the green flag on the NASCAR season. The official start to the racing schedule opens up at the Daytona 500 this weekend and when it does, Berlin’s Ryan Preece will be one of 40 drivers on the track.
“Every sport has their biggest game at the end of the season, ours is the kickoff,” said Preece, who will start his sixth non-consecutive season racing in the NASCAR Cup Series.
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WATCH HEREIt's been almost a decade since Preece made his Cup Series debut in September of 2015. It’s been a bumpy road since: he’s bounced around organizations and had to earn his way back into racing at the highest level.
But now, with a new team behind him in RFK Racing and the work ethic he picked up in Connecticut, the 34 year-old doesn’t have any plans to slow down.
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SIGN UP “What keeps me going? Well when I was 18 years old, my family has an HVAC company in Connecticut and thinking about being in a hot attic or on a cold rooftop in the winter,” Preece said on a Zoom call with NBC Connecticut from South Carolina.
“You know, as far as having a job, doing this, this isn't real. This is a dream I get to live and I understand that. So, I'm looking forward to 2025, doing it for myself, doing it for the goals that I set out when i was a little kid," he continued.
Preece won’t be the only Connecticut native on the start list for Sunday. Middletown's Joey Logano will set out to defend his 2024 Cup Series title.
