SONOMA, Calif. — Ryan Preece not only got some extra laps at Sonoma Raceway, he picked up a victory Friday afternoon at Sonoma Raceway.
Preece won the General Tire 200 for the ARCA Menards Series West, a preliminary event for Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 for the NASCAR Cup Series.
The Cup Series regular dominated the event to earn a victory in his first ARCA platform start. He finished more than nine seconds ahead of second-place Sammy Smith.
Starting from the pole, Preece might have led all 67 laps of Friday’s race had he not pitted for fuel on lap 19. Of course, that astute strategy contributed to his dominant run.
Preece had led every lap prior to that stop, and it took him just eight laps to get back to third place on the track after restarting outside the top 10. It was at that point when a caution prompted the leaders to make for their fuel stops, putting Preece back on the point.
Wheeling Gene Haas’ No. 9 Bonanza Cabernet Ford Mustang, Preece never looked back despite Smith’s best efforts. Through multiple restarts in the second half of the race, Preece held the lead and, in longer runs, drove away from the field at every opportunity.
Fellow NASCAR national series competitors Riley Herbst and Jack Wood finished third and fourth, respectively, behind Preece and Smith. ARCA Menards Series East championship points leader William Sawalich finished fifth in his third West Series start driving for Joe Gibbs Racing.
Sean Hingorani, Bradley Erickson, Todd Souza, Johnny Borneman III and Ethan Nascimento rounded out the top 10.