Latest news with #RyanPreece
CNA
7 days ago
- Automotive
- CNA
WNBA's 'The Engine' Thomas gets fitting NASCAR tribute
NEW YORK :WNBA MVP contender Alyssa Thomas will feature on the Dover Motor Speedway this weekend - though not behind the wheel - as her face graces the hood of RFK Racing driver Ryan Preece's No. 60 Castrol car. It is a fitting honour for the Phoenix Mercury guard nicknamed "The Engine" for her relentless drive on the court, as she earned her sixth selection for the WNBA All-Star Game on Saturday in Indianapolis. Preece will drive the car, which features the name and likeness for the league's all-time triple-double leader, in Sunday's Auto Trader EchoPark Automotive 400 in Dover and again a week later in the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. "Not many people can say that they designed a car and have their face on it. So I'm super appreciative of it," Thomas told Reuters. The collaboration connects one of the WNBA's biggest stars with a sport that has long carried a male-dominated reputation, from the driver's seat to the stands. Castrol said the project was designed to "bridge worlds". "It's an honour to have Alyssa Thomas' legacy and mindset represented on our No. 60 car. Her 'Engine' mentality is all about pushing limits and delivering under pressure," Preece said in a statement. The collaboration comes amid a surge of interest in the top-flight women's league, with TV viewership and attendance continuing to climb, and during another stellar year for Thomas. The 33-year-old was the face of the Connecticut Sun franchise for 11 years before her surprise move to Phoenix this year, where she quickly hit her stride and catapulted herself into the MVP conversation over the last few weeks. "I needed a change after 11 years in Connecticut. My heart wasn't there anymore. It was time for me to move on," said Thomas. "And credit to our organization of putting so many shooters around me." She hit the game-winning free throw in Monday's 78-77 win over the Golden State Valkyries and was averaging 15.4 points, 7.4 rebounds and 9.6 assists per game ahead of Wednesday's meeting with the Minnesota Lynx.
Reuters
7 days ago
- Automotive
- Reuters
WNBA's 'The Engine' Thomas gets fitting NASCAR tribute
NEW YORK, July 16 (Reuters) - WNBA MVP contender Alyssa Thomas will feature on the Dover Motor Speedway this weekend - though not behind the wheel - as her face graces the hood of RFK Racing driver Ryan Preece's No. 60 Castrol car. It is a fitting honour for the Phoenix Mercury guard nicknamed "The Engine" for her relentless drive on the court, as she earned her sixth selection for the WNBA All-Star Game on Saturday in Indianapolis. Preece will drive the car, which features the name and likeness for the league's all-time triple-double leader, in Sunday's Auto Trader EchoPark Automotive 400 in Dover and again a week later in the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. "Not many people can say that they designed a car and have their face on it. So I'm super appreciative of it," Thomas told Reuters. The collaboration connects one of the WNBA's biggest stars with a sport that has long carried a male-dominated reputation, from the driver's seat to the stands. Castrol said the project was designed to "bridge worlds". "It's an honour to have Alyssa Thomas' legacy and mindset represented on our No. 60 car. Her 'Engine' mentality is all about pushing limits and delivering under pressure," Preece said in a statement. The collaboration comes amid a surge of interest in the top-flight women's league, with TV viewership and attendance continuing to climb, and during another stellar year for Thomas. The 33-year-old was the face of the Connecticut Sun franchise for 11 years before her surprise move to Phoenix this year, where she quickly hit her stride and catapulted herself into the MVP conversation over the last few weeks. "I needed a change after 11 years in Connecticut. My heart wasn't there anymore. It was time for me to move on," said Thomas. "And credit to our organization of putting so many shooters around me." She hit the game-winning free throw in Monday's 78-77 win over the Golden State Valkyries and was averaging 15.4 points, 7.4 rebounds and 9.6 assists per game ahead of Wednesday's meeting with the Minnesota Lynx. "When we talked during free agency, they told me about the offense and how I would be able to do what I do," she said. "We're truly a family here."
NBC Sports
07-07-2025
- Automotive
- NBC Sports
Winners, losers from Chicago Street Race won by Shane van Gisbergen
A look at the winners and losers from Sunday's Cup race at Chicago. WINNERS Shane van Gisbergen — He's scored back-to-back wins on road courses with his wins in Mexico and Chicago. Ty Gibbs — He tied his career-best finish by placing second in Chicago. Tyler Reddick — His third-place result gives him back-to-back top-five finishes. Ryan Preece — He finished seventh for his best result on a road course. While he remains below the playoff cutline, he moved from 23 points back to two points from it. Austin Hill — His ninth-place finish was his best Cup result in 12 series starts. Ty Dillon — While he finished 20th, it was enough to advance in the In-Season Challenge. He is the 32nd seed and now is among the final eight drivers going for $1 million. LOSERS William Byron — He finished last in the 40-car lead and his points lead dwindled. Four drivers are within 50 points of Byron with seven races left in the regular season. Bubba Wallace — He was racing Alex Bowman for a top-10 spot in the final laps when contact turned him and he finished 28th. Wallace continues to hold the final playoff spot but saw his advantage on Ryan Preece go from 23 points to two points with seven races left in the regular season. Will Brown — The reigning Supercars champion completed only two laps, eliminated when Carson Hocevar crashed, creating a chain-reaction crash that collected Brown. Michael McDowell — Won the opening stage and was on a one-stop strategy only to see his chance to win ruined by a throttle cable issue. McDowell, needing a win to make the playoffs, finished 32nd.
Fox News
30-06-2025
- Automotive
- Fox News
Bubba Wallace's Winless Streak Mounts As He Clings To Playoff Spot
Bubba Wallace didn't make the playoffs last year and sits on the brink again this year with eight races left in the regular season. He can look at his precarious position. He's 23 points ahead of Ryan Preece for the final playoff spot on points with a good possibility that other drivers could win, decreasing the number of drivers who make it on points. This could happen in two ways: — In 18 races, he has failed to finish six of them. That would tell a driver that this wouldn't be his year, that the racing gods have decided that this would be the year the driver would end up in wrecks. — Or despite those lack of finishes, it is a little bit remarkable that he actually still sits above the playoff cutline. No other driver above the cutline has more than three DNFs, except for Ryan Blaney, who also has six. Predictably, Wallace has endured a rollercoaster of a season when it comes to his finishes. He has six top 10s, then six finishes of 28th or worse. After three consecutive weeks of wrecking out of races, Wallace appeared to have gotten his season back on track with a sixth at Nashville, a fourth at Michigan and a respectable 12th at Mexico City. But a brake failure at Pocono resulted in a 36th-place finish and then damage from an early wreck at Atlanta relegated him to 22nd. Wallace has tried to put on a good face. He has been racing legends cars (small cars that are often used to teach pre-teens and early teens how to race) in a masters division during the week. A new father as of last fall, having a son probably helps take his mind off his 96-race winless streak. He tried to clear his mind this past week with a little golf. "We've been throwing the word 'execute' around a while, but mainly on [team meeting day] Monday," Wallace said the day prior to the Atlanta race. "It's a new week, a new fresh set of downs, a new opportunity." The last couple of races have been particularly frustrating. Both Pocono and Atlanta have been good tracks for Wallace. He was second in practice at Pocono but then his car wouldn't start in qualifying. The brakes then left him going for a ride into the wall in the race after the team chose what turned out to be the wrong brake package. An excellent drafting track racer, Wallace had to fight the car the last two stages at Atlanta instead of fighting for the win. "You can't change the past," Wallace said Saturday at Atlanta. "Focus on what's ahead. And hope my car starts in qualifying. "We'll get out of this little slump that we're in." Wallace car owner Denny Hamlin expects Wallace to snap the winless streak. Just as he expects his other veteran driver, Tyler Reddick, to win this year. "I just know the resources that we've put in at 23XI, and all of our drivers should win," said Hamlin, who as a driver has three victories for Joe Gibbs Racing. "That is the expectation that I have of them. Obviously, it is a results-based business, and if you don't over time, you consider your options. "Overall, I've seen enough progression, specifically, from the [Wallace] standpoint, that I can see where this can go. Putting himself in a playoff position year after year is good, but winning makes it better." The way Wallace has pivoted on how he talks about frustrating moments is also better. There were times in the past where he'd unmercifully blame himself, indicating he should be fired. He'd wear his emotions on his sleeve. "It is just so much easier if you have issues and you want to kick and scream, do it to us [at the shop]," Hamlin said. "When you do it outwardly in the public and in the media, it creates a lot of other distractions that you have to deal with. "He's made it easier. ... He hasn't even existed for a third of the races when it comes to finishes. I think it just shows how strong that they are, and what they are capable of doing." In the last few weeks, Shane van Gisbergen won Mexico City and Chase Briscoe won Pocono. Both of those drivers were behind Wallace in points and now have all but assured themselves playoff spots. It makes things more difficult for Wallace, but he doesn't see it that way. "In your imaginary drivers bracket that you thought at the beginning of the year, those two guys were already locked in," Wallace said. "Briscoe has been competitive in everything he's been able to drive, so that was cool to see him get a win although he was behind us in points. "It is what it is. I told Shane two weeks before Mexico, I shook his hand and congratulated him." And on that imaginary bracket, does Wallace have him winning? "We have expected to win at this point in the season, and we have yet to do that," Wallace said. "But it goes back to executing and if we can just do our jobs, there's no one behind us in the points that can beat us. So we'll just continue to do that." Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR and INDYCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.
Newsweek
30-06-2025
- Automotive
- Newsweek
Drivers Speak Out After Huge NASCAR Crash Takes Out More than 20 Cars
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. The NASCAR Cup Series race in Atlanta saw a huge pileup involving more than 20 cars after Denny Hamlin made contact with John Hunter Nemechek on Lap 69. The incident led Nemechek to hit the outside wall, which then triggered a massive crash. Several cars got involved in the incident, with tire smoke and pieces of carbon fiber going up in the air. The track was blocked by the wrecked cars, prompting NASCAR to halt the race and clear the wreckage. The massive pileup occurred early in the second stage, affecting a total of 23 cars. Several big names from the NASCAR Cup Series were affected by the pileup, including Brad Keselowski, Ryan Preece, Joey Logano, and Kyle Larson. The affected drivers were taken to the infield care center for a checkup. A huge incident involving many drivers entering Turn 3! — NASCAR (@NASCAR) June 29, 2025 Unfortunately for Logano, he was unable to continue after the crash despite starting from pole position. Admitting that he was in the wrong place at the wrong time, he said: Austin Cindric, driver of the #2 Menards/Quaker State Ford, Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 King's Hawaiian Toyota, Josh Berry, driver of the #21 DEX Imaging Ford, and Ryan Preece, driver of the #60 Solomon... Austin Cindric, driver of the #2 Menards/Quaker State Ford, Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 King's Hawaiian Toyota, Josh Berry, driver of the #21 DEX Imaging Ford, and Ryan Preece, driver of the #60 Solomon Plumbing Ford, spin after an on-track incident during the NASCAR Cup Series Quaker State 400 Available at Walmart at Echo Park Speedway on June 28, 2025 in Hampton, Georgia. More"I was in the middle of it and I haven't seen a replay to even know what happened. Cars were sideways and you hit the brakes and everyone is just running into each other. Just a speedway wreck. Wrong place at the wrong time. Tried to win the stage and we couldn't get that done, and you got to pay the piper when you go to the back there." Addressing the incident after viewing the replay, Logano added: "The whole field wrecked, and I'm just in the soup there. Oh my gosh - look at that. Oh, that's horrible. "Sometimes you're the ball, sometimes you're the bat. Tonight we were the ball." Chase Briscoe said attempts to repair his car after the crash were futile. He explained: "Yeah, I don't know how bad our damage was. They were fixing it, and we were about ready to go, and I guess NASCAR came over there and saw that our chassis was broke or bent or something and were like, you can't go back out. So, kind of a waste of 30 minutes working on it. Just unfortunate night for our Bass Pro Shops Toyota." Corey LaJoie revealed his views on the incident after watching the replay. He said: "We see people pushing like dummies early, and then I just come in here and get pushed into it. I come out of the smoke and every corner on my Mustang was knocked off of it. Unfortunately, that was the end of my day. "I don't know what we're doing. We just started the second stage. I don't know why we're pushing like we're damn bumper cars at Frankie's fun park. That's not to be surprised. I think there's a lot of guys who don't make wise decisions driving these things on speedways."
