Ryan Preece dubs Coca Cola 600 stage lengths 'cut and dry' as he weighs in on the race format

Ryan Preece offered a candid take on the 'cut and dry' stage lengths for the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The RFK Racing driver suggested a longer stage length to 'change things up' for the 600-miler.

Differing from the typical three-stage format, the 400-lap crown jewel event features four equal stages with 100 laps each. This forces teams towards a uniform strategy of a single pitstop per stage, while hoping for a strong long-run pace to manage race proceedings. A fuel window of roughly 60 laps also makes it easy for teams to gauge their pit stops midway through the stage, making it more predictable of a race, strategy-wise.

Reflecting upon the same, Preece spoke to the media on Saturday and said (via Frontstretch),

"It's kind of cut and dry right now with it being 100 laps, 100 laps, 100 laps, 100 laps. It's going to be you need to pit once throughout that cycle and and that'll be it. So, you need a car that's going to have some really good long run pace. Um It would be interesting if we had 150 lap segment. You know, it would kind of change things up there." (1:55 onwards)

Ryan Preece has secured 28th place in the starting lineup for Sunday's race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. His RFK Racing teammate and owner, Brad Keselowski, starts further back at 35th, while Joe Gibbs Racing driver Chase Briscoe scored his second pole of the season during Saturday's qualifying.

Fans can watch the race live on Prime Video at 6 PM ET, or listen to radio updates on Sirius XM.

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"I think it just showed that there was a problem": Ryan Preece reflects on his All-Star open debacle

Ryan Preece shared his thoughts on last Sunday's All-Star Open that saw him drop out of contention due to a penalty. Driving the No.60 Ford, Preece was relegated to the rear of the field after failing to choose a lane before the restart commitment box. He was running in second at the time.

Preece argued that the 'choose cone' marking was not clearly visible, explaining that heavy rubber buildup from the Whelen modified race earlier that day had obscured it. NASCAR took note of the complaint and promptly repainted the sign. Heading into Sunday's(May 25) race at Charlotte, Preece spoke about the fiasco, stating,

"I think it just showed that there was a problem. But to be honest with you, you know, once somebody gets penalized for something, I mean,....I think if they didn't repaint it, everybody just would have went to the inside wall and just tried to miss it."

Ryan Preece ultimately finished 11th in the All-Star open at North Wilkesboro Speedway, falling short of a chance at the $1 million prize money in the main event. He currently ranks 15th in the Driver's standings with 251 points and four top-10 finishes.