Ryan Preece Carved His Own Path From Berlin, CT To The NASCAR Cup Series

Ryan Preece Carved His Own Path From Berlin, CT To The NASCAR Cup Series

By BRIAN DANKO
Berlin is a small town in the geographic center of Connecticut. It is an upper-middle-class community that embraces its New England roots and boasts a rich auto racing history. It is also a town steeped in high school sports, as evidenced by the many state championships its schools have won.
If you’re into racing, you can have race cars built or repaired by Ed Flemke’s RaceWorks or Prior Brothers Fabrication. If you’re looking to get into racing, you can rent or buy an SK Modified or SK Light from Keith Rocco.
Some of NASCAR’s most successful crew chiefs have come from this small town. Greg Zipadelli won two NASCAR Cup Series championships with Tony Stewart behind the wheel, while his brother, Scott, captured two NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series titles – one with Austin Hill and another with Corey Heim.
The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championship team of Mike McLaughlin was based in a small shop near Sherri Cup in Berlin when it won the 1988 title. Both Zipadelli brothers were key members of that championship effort.
Today, Berlin is home to NASCAR Cup Series driver Ryan Preece, the pride of Modified racing and New England race fans, and certainly Berlin’s favorite son.
Preece is now in his seventh season competing in NASCAR’s premier series. While he has yet to win a points-paying Cup race, he did capture the 2026 season-opening Cook Out Clash exhibition at Bowman Gray Stadium in North Carolina.
Over his Cup career, Preece has made 243 starts, recording seven top-five finishes, 33 top-10s, and two pole positions.
Still, the 2026 season in the RFK Racing No. 60 Ford has been a battle. After putting together a string of solid finishes, he hit a rough stretch with finishes of 33rd, 36th, and two 28ths, slipping him outside the top 16 in the standings – the final transfer position into NASCAR’s playoff championship chase.
Preece grew up in Berlin. His grandfather, the late Bob Judkins, is a member of the New England Auto Racing Hall of Fame and is widely credited as the father of the Pinto revolution, while his father, Jeff Preece, was a longtime racer.
On Wednesday, Preece returned home to compete in a Monaco Modified Series event at Stafford Speedway, the track where he learned his craft. Driving a Modified that he owns and prepared under the direction of his father, Preece received a hero’s welcome from the local fans.
It quickly became evident that Preece remains the favorite son among racing fans throughout central Connecticut, especially those who watched him climb the ranks in Modified competition.
While Ryan was setting up his merchandise trailer, where fans could purchase his T-shirts, we talked about growing up in a small Connecticut town and how racing shaped his future.
“Every memory I have is being around my dad’s race car. I remember when he ran Late Models, he’d put me on the passenger side of the car and drive it up and down the road. He was probably just checking it, but those were some times as a five or six-year-old kid, I never forgot.”
When asked what made Berlin such a hotbed for racing, Ryan paused for a moment before answering.
“You know, that’s a great question for which I don’t have a great answer,” Ryan said with a laugh. “I think when you are born there, and you’re around people like my father (Jeff), the Prior Brothers, the Zipadellis, and the many local racers, the town is quietly behind you.”
In Dawsonville, GA, home of NASCAR legends Bill Elliott and his son Chase, the Dawsonville Pool Room sounds a famous siren every time one of the Elliotts wins a race.
Berlin has its own version of hometown support.
“We have Tavern on the Tracks, which supports local racers as well as myself. While it’s not like Chase with the Pool Hall, I feel we have Tavern on the Tracks in Berlin behind us.” The restaurant, located near the train underpass on Farmington Avenue, has become one of the community’s biggest supporters of local racers.
In most sports, success is determined primarily by talent and athletic ability. Unfortunately, auto racing is different.
Racing requires money – lots of it. Families must be willing to invest heavily in a driver’s future, or a business must be willing to sponsor that dream.
Preece had neither. Instead, he gambled on himself.
With help from a handful of local sponsors and every dollar he could scrape together, he convinced one of NASCAR’s elite team owners to give him an opportunity. That opportunity came when Joe Gibbs placed him in an Xfinity Series car.
Backed by Mohawk Northeast in Plantsville, CT and Mizzy Construction of Plainville, Conn., Preece finished second to Gibbs teammate for the event Kyle Busch at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in 2017. Later that season, with sponsorship from Falmouth Ready Mix Concrete, he held off another Gibbs teammate, Kyle Benjamin, to score his first Xfinity Series victory at Iowa Speedway.
Preece, with his trademark smile, had proven he could win in top-flight equipment. He followed that victory with another Xfinity win at Bristol Motor Speedway in 2018 and later added NASCAR Truck Series victories at Nashville Superspeedway in both 2021 and 2022.
“Talent and work ethic should supersede money, but the running joke in racing is the fastest way to make a million dollars is to start with two million dollars,” said Preece.
“In reality, the way to change is for owners or ownership groups to be willing to make decisions based on (racing) resumes, and that’s only when you aren’t in the red nearly as much. Back in the ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s, many business owners were in this (sport) as a hobby. Financially, they were able to spend the money to win races and get a really good driver, but in today’s economy and the economics of it all, it’s extremely expensive.”
There are thousands of talented young drivers across the country. Unfortunately, if they don’t have a wealthy family member or a sponsor willing to invest millions of dollars, their chances of reaching NASCAR’s highest levels are slim.
On the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, 15-year-old New Jersey driver Paulie Hartwig III has shown all the signs of being a future star. He has talent behind the wheel, carries himself well, and possesses the personality sponsors look for.
When I asked Ryan what path Hartwig should follow, his answer came immediately.
“There is no path. You need a machete to carve your own way. There was no way for me to go down when I did it,” said Preece.
“From the Northeast, I feel I have earned the respect of the people I have raced against up here. I saw Doug Coby (six-time NASCAR Modified champ) the other day. We started reminiscing about the battles that he and I had, but also what I was willing to do to be where I am now, and the many times I was told, ‘You don’t have the money, or you’re crazy, why are you wasting your time?’
“But in my mind, I was going to do whatever it took. Between that and having a lot of supporters like Al Hanke, who owns Mohawk Northeast, Albert and Cathy Moniz of Falmouth Ready Mix, who I drove for at Thompson Speedway, and many others.
“It took each of them, my parents, myself sacrificing to make it all come together. For Paulie and others in that same situation, your parents are going to do whatever it takes, but YOU need to do what it takes to get there as well.”
Over the years, I have watched many talented drivers get overlooked because they lacked financial backing. Preece proved that believing in yourself – and being willing to sacrifice everything – can still make the dream possible.
Of course, reaching NASCAR’s highest level is only half the battle. Staying there is just as difficult.
“It really hasn’t been a tough year until the past six or seven weeks. When you look at the points, we are two points out of the owner’s side and 20 points out of the driver’s side (to be championship eligible),” said Preece.
“You hear about the struggles that Ford has had, but we still have respectable speed to continue our chase. Being with RFK Racing has been really nice; they are a group that is certainly working hard and not just happy to just be there.
“You don’t think Brad (Keselowski, team owner and driver) wants to finish 10th, and neither do I. I am just as competitive if I am running a tricycle race; I want to win. Our goals are aligned.”
Every athlete dreams of reaching the highest level of their sport. In most sports, talent alone determines how far you can go. Unfortunately, auto racing requires much more than just talent.
Ryan Preece has shown that believing in yourself, refusing to quit, and outworking the obstacles in your path can still open doors that money alone cannot.
Ryan is married to former racer Heather DesRochers. The two met while competing against each other at Stafford Speedway. They have two children, Rebecca and Bentley.
Berlin, Conn., for whatever reason, has become auto racing’s biggest little town. Its residents continue to rally behind their favorite son, and you can be assured that Ryan Preece is giving 100 percent – 100 percent of the time.