“This won’t be an upgrade, Stewart Haas has really gone downhill,” NASCAR Twitter reacts to Ryan Preece replacing Cole Custer as new No:41 SHR driver

Stewart Hass Racing has announced the introduction of Connecticut native Ryan Preece to their 2023 driver’s lineup. He will replace Cole Custer in the No:41 Mustang. Custer will move to the Xfinity Series to drive alongside Riley Herbst.

Cole Custer has been the No:41 piolet for the last 3 years. He made it to the playoff in 2020 and won the rookie of the year award. But everything went downhill from then on. He finished P26 and P25 in the cup championship in the last two years.  Custer’s performance was subpar considering the opportunities and resources that were at his disposal in SHR.  

Ryan Preece, who has previously driven for JTDG Racing in the cup series, ran part-time in all three national series this season. The 32 won the Nashville Truck race this year. He is managed by SHR veteran Kevin Harvick’s management firm and is highly rated by both Harvick and team owner Tony Stewart. Stewart is the one who made the call for his cup return.

Tony Stewart pointed out that Preece isa really an asset for SHR and he has earned his seat in the cup. He said, “Ryan Preece has been a real asset to our race team this year as we’ve developed the NextGen car. The time and effort he’s put into our program, combined with his real-world racing experience, earned him this opportunity,”.

Ryan Preece  took a big gamble with his career by refusing other full-time opportunities after laering about the SHR opportunity. He said, “I did turn down truck opportunities, Xfinity opportunities. There were quite a few different teams and I thought about if there was the smallest bit of opportunity for me to end up at SHR, I wasn’t gonna walk away.  I was willing to sit there until there was absolutely no hope, but I was willing to take that risk.  Ultimately, it worked,”.

Also read: Austin Cindric disagrees with the cup champion Joey Logano’s remarks that the Rookie of the year would have struggled more ‘driving last year’s car.’

How NASCAR Twitter reacted to Cole Custer’s replacement

Fans on Twitter had a mixed reaction to the Ryan Preece announcement. Some were quick to point out that Preece is a quality replacement for Custer who lacks confidence and form. Few fans didn’t agree with that point and don’t see the late model champion as a proper upgrade for the team.

Also read: “The silver spoon keeps getting bigger,” NASCAR Twitter reacts to Ty Gibbs cup series promotion 

Also read: Joe Gibbs Racing might lose the iconic No:18 Charter after the announcement of the new NASCAR cup drivers’ line-up that includes Ty Gibbs  

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