Ryan Preece Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports

Ryan Preece crashes in practice at Las Vegas

By Samuel Stubbs | Last updated 3/2/24

For the second consecutive week, Ryan Preece is having a horrendous start to his race weekend.

The driver of the No. 41 Ford Mustang Dark Horse crashed during practice for Sunday's Pennzoil 400, getting loose in the middle of turns one and two before hitting the wall on the driver's side and spinning back down to the apron of the racetrack. The session was briefly halted before Preece’s competitors could go back out and make laps at speed.

.@RyanPreece_ goes for a spin early in this practice session. pic.twitter.com/fil88zFw2Y
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) March 2, 2024

Last weekend, Preece and teammate Noah Gragson had roof rail deflectors confiscated by NASCAR on Friday, which incurred 35 point penalties for both drivers earlier this week. The 33-year-old from Berlin, CT has only managed finishes of 23rd and 16th so far this season, and due to his penalty, sits 37th in points, 47 points out of the playoffs.

As the session currently runs, Preece sits 14th of 18 cars on single-lap speed, with teammates Noah Gragson and Josh Berry sitting second and 15th, respectively. Preece's other teammate, Chase Briscoe, will go out in Round two. Ross Chastain currently leads the session, with a lap of 29.31 seconds, nine one-hundredths of a second ahead of Gragson in second.

Time will tell if Preece will have to go to a backup car for Sunday's race, but if his speed doesn't improve, he may be starting near the rear of the pack regardless of the damage on his car. Preece will begin his Las Vegas redemption tour on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET. The Pennzoil 400 will air on FOX, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

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