Getty Ryan Preece poses after winning the Busch Light Pole Award.
Stewart-Haas Racing has not celebrated in Victory Lane since Kevin Harvick won at Richmond Raceway in August 2022. The team is now set up to potentially snap this winless streak after qualifying at Martinsville Speedway.
The two rounds of Cup Series qualifying took place on April 15, and they featured Ryan Preece showcasing considerable speed. He posted the fastest time during the second round, and he won the first Cup Series pole of his career.
The other three Stewart-Haas Racing drivers joined him in the top 10 as Aric Almirola and Chase Briscoe secured a spot on the second row. Harvick put himself on the fourth row as the entire organization utilized a strong short track program.
“I think you guys out of everybody see how important track position really is nowadays and when you get, whether you have control of the race or you have track position you can’t give it up because it’s so difficult to pass,” Preece told media members after winning the pole.
“From a company standpoint, it certainly makes us all very optimistic for tomorrow, and we can be smart and all have good days. But it certainly shows that our short track program is really good. I know our superspeedway stuff has been extremely good too, so we’re just gonna continue working on the speed areas and we’ll be just fine.”
Clean Air Remains Critical at Martinsville Speedway
GettyRyan Preece drives during qualifying at Martinsville Speedway.
Starting from the front will be important for Preece as he pursues his first top-10 finish of the 2023 Cup Series season. He will be able to put the No. 41 in clean air and attempt to maintain his spot at the front of the pack while reaping the benefits of clean air.
The new short track package with 30 percent less downforce has added more competitiveness at Richmond Raceway and Phoenix Raceway, but there is no guarantee that it will create more passing opportunities at Martinsville Speedway. The NOCO 400 could still feature limited passes at the front of the pack much like the 2022 races at Martinsville Speedway.
“I would hope to think it’s better than what we had, let’s go with that,” Kyle Busch told media members on April 15. “Richmond, I felt like the cars were a bit more of a handful. I felt like you could follow a little bit closer than what you could last year, but you still had those deficiencies.
“So I think we’re still going to see some of that deficiency here, even though you’re rolling through the corners maybe 60 mph or whatever it is. Mark Martin said it best years, years, and years ago — ‘aero-dynamics matter, downforce matters.'”
Preece Has an Opportunity To Continue an Interesting Streak
GettyRyan Preece prepares for qualifying at Martinsville Speedway.
The qualifying session on April 15 marked the third time in Preece’s career that he has won the pole award in a national NASCAR series. He has one in the Xfinity Series, one in the Craftsman Truck Series, and now one in the Cup Series.
With this latest pole award, Preece now has an opportunity to continue an interesting streak. He could win his third career race after starting from the pole.
The Connecticut native has two Xfinity Series wins in his career, both with Joe Gibbs Racing. His first took place at Iowa Speedway in 2017 after he started from the pole and led 141 laps.
Similarly, Preece has two Craftsman Truck Series wins in his career, both at Nashville Superspeedway with David Gilliland Racing. His second took place in 2022 as he started from the pole and led 74 laps.
Preece will now have an opportunity to continue this streak. Though he will first have to make sure that he is as prepared as possible as he takes on the Virginia short track.
“I know I’ve been working really hard to make sure I’m as prepared coming to the races than I’ve ever been, and that’s how I feel,” Preece added. “I guess I’ve got some more work to do tonight to make sure that I’m 100 percent ready for when it gets to lap 200, 300, when the tracks seem to take that swing or even 100-300, just to be up to date.
“A lot of these guys have a lot of laps. They’ve been doing it for a long time, so they understand the way the tracks change and how to stay ahead of it, so hopefully I can do a good job and keep that statistic going.”