Ryan Preece breaks down heartbreaking loss to Austin Cindric at Talladega

Finishing P2 is never fun for a NASCAR driver. Finishing P2 like Ryan Preece just did at Talladega – that’s nightmare fuel. Preece was right there, and likely one bump away from a win. Instead, Austin Cindric is celebrating on the Boulevard the rest of the night.

Ryan Preece has been fantastic at RFK Racing. He is truly proving that it was a matter of right place at the right time for him to flourish. He is 12th in points and has been racing and finishing well this season.

For a modified racer from Connecticut, Preece ain’t doing too bad. Still, you could tell this photofinish was a bit heartbreaking for him. RFK Racing can’t seem to get on the good side of these close finishes.

“You know, I’m happy, but as a racer, you want to win, right?” Preece said to Jamie Little. “I felt like coming through the trioval, I’m like, ‘Alright, we’re all sticking together,’ nobody was really leaving me. I wish I didn’t have to shade up so much, and maybe side draft Austin to pull him back. But ultimately, thank you to RFK, Bam, Kroger, Celsius, you know, all the partners that we have at RFK, because as I said earlier, without this opportunity, I’d probably be back in Connecticut racing modifieds. So, this one’s for the modifieds mainly crowd.”

The big one never happened in this race. It was just clean, solid racing to the finish line. With how these cars are, passing was not going to be possible without a major move from someone or a major mistake.

Instead of wrecking, everyone decided to go home with clean cars. I can’t say I’m mad about that.

Austin Cindric beats Ryan Preece at the line

Austin Cindric gets his third Cup Series win in his career. This is the first since last year at Gateway when he won the race as Ryan Blaney ran out of fuel late. Today, he closes out his first superspeedway win since the Daytona 500 in his rookie season.

After the win, Cindric was ecstatic. He even picked up Regan Smith. This is what he had to say:

“I’m just so proud of this team. From the cycles to the fast cars to the fuel-only stops – Doug, my spotter, everybody. I’ve been trying for three or four years now to get a Cup win for John Menard and Menards. That bright yellow car looks great up front and I’m just so thankful for everyone’s support. You know, the Ford Performance Roush Yates engine packages at these types of race tracks are second to none.

“We talk about at every single one of these meetings why we haven’t won one of these races and you know, just really proud of the effort.”