Preece, SVG detail approach to unpredictable regular-season finale
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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Chase bubble drivers Shane van Gisbergen and Ryan Preece have differing mindsets heading into Saturday's regular-season finale at Daytona International Speedway (7:30 p.m. ET, NBC, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Preece is going for broke in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 while van Gisbergen takes a measured approach.
“It’s a simple game plan: sit on the pole, win the first stage, win the second stage, win the race,” Derrick Finley, crew chief of the No. 60 car, told NASCAR.com on Friday afternoon before qualifying. “I don’t know why it makes it difficult. It’s pretty straightforward.”
Easier said than done.
Preece and the No. 60 RFK Racing team stepped up to the plate in qualifying and will start from a season-best fourth position. Van Gisbergen will be able to see Preece out of his windshield at the beginning of the race, with the No. 97 Chevrolet clocking in sixth.
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Trailing the cutline by 31, Preece needs to outscore van Gisbergen by 32 points to qualify for The Chase in the driver’s standings. The No. 60 team sits just six points below the No. 97 bunch in the owner’s standings, but Preece was docked 25 driver points in early May following an incident with Ty Gibbs at Texas Motor Speedway.
“Be on offense,” Preece said of how he’s tackling the Daytona high banks. “When I come into this weekend, I just think about trying to win stages and win the race. That ultimately, no matter what situation it is, we would get our way into [The Chase].
“Selfishly, I’d like to be in on the driver’s side, but I am fully aware, and I’ve been in the car owner points race before. Ultimately, I would love to get both in. I completely understand the situation and know that having a great day will get us in on the owner’s side, but the goal going into it before everything starts is to try and do both.”
Van Gisbergen plans to be cautious during the opening stint, allowing Preece to set the pace and adjust accordingly. He knows that approach could change in Stage 2, when he may need to dice it up if the No. 60 car is at the front of the pack.
“I think, you know, 30 points is a lot until it's not, until [Preece] has two good stages, then we're probably under a lot of pressure,” van Gisbergen stated during a press conference on Friday. “So, yeah, as everyone knows, there's a lot of anticipation, I guess, around the new rules and how the cars are going to be. I think we plan to be pretty conservative and then see how his race is going and react to that. If he's scored well in Stage 1, we probably need to get amongst it in Stage 2 and start pushing the issue a bit.
“It's going to be fun. It's a pretty cool feeling to have the pressure on us and see how we go.”
Depending on how the opening two stanzas go, van Gisbergen could want updates on where Preece is running entering the final stage. His immediate goal for the first portion of the 160-lap event is to figure out the new aerodynamic package, throwing another wrinkle into the equation.
“I think there's going to be a lot going on at the start of the race, trying to figure out how the cars are handling, what people are doing and what techniques they're using to be good,” van Gisbergen added. “Certainly, if it comes down to it in Stage 3, yeah, I'd want to know where he is and what's happening. Especially, as I said, if he's had two good stages and that points gap has evaporated, we'll be really mindful of where he is.”
The new rules package, which shrinks the rear spoiler by three inches and reduces horsepower from 510 to 465, adds another wild card to a race historically known for chaos. But it hasn’t changed Preece’s mindset. He knows he’ll need a career performance, having outscored van Gisbergen by more than 31 points in a race just twice this season (Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Naval Base Coronado).
“For me, the mindset is win,” Preece said bluntly. “The mindset is be the guy up front controlling lanes or pushing. That’s all you can do because you can get wrecked leading or you can get wrecked riding in 30th. I’ve had both happen, so I’d rather be the one that’s trying to lead the race and not playing defense.”
Mathematically, Brad Keselowski is still eligible; though, he needs a small miracle (minus-66). Plus, his No. 60 team lost pit-stall selection and car chief Jonathan Ellis after two pre-race inspection failures. If Bubba Wallace tallies two points for the race, he will clinch a Chase berth no matter what happens (plus-75). Austin Cindric isn’t guaranteed a spot either, sitting 44 points above the cutline.