LOUDON – When the NASCAR Cup Series comes to New Hampshire Motor Speedway, there’s one driver who feels he has a home-track advantage based on past experience at the Magic Mile.

Ryan Preece, of Berlin, Conn., isn’t just the driver of the No. 41 Ford for Stewart Haas Racing. He is also a hero to countless New England race fans due to his humble roots as a short-track driver at places like Stafford and Thompson speedways in Connecticut and on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour.

The Modified Tour competes yearly at NHMS, and Preece has had numerous starts here. Add in races in the Xfinity and Cup series, and that gives Preece more experience than a lot of the Cup regulars he now competes with on a weekly basis. He also knows how much these race weekends mean to fans in the Granite State.

“Being from New England, whether you’re from Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, you’re a big sports fan, right?” Preece said. “When you love racing, you love short-track racing like Stafford, where everyone was the other night, or Thompson; there are a lot of tracks in the Northeast. When New Hampshire comes to town with the Cup Series and NASCAR, it’s a big thing being able to see a lot of familiar faces. For me it’s a place I grew up as a kid, so obviously I get excited coming here.”

Preece and his Cup Series colleagues will have to wait to take the green flag, as Sunday’s scheduled Crayon 301 was rained out and postponed until Monday at noon (USA Network). Rain that came through the area Sunday did not provide enough of a break to go racing.

“We’ve definitely put a lot of emphasis into this weekend,” said Preece, who will start 21st. “I think we’ll be pretty fast.”

Preece spent Thursday in his home state of Connecticut, culminating in a trip back to Stafford Motor Speedway to take in the Superstar Racing Experience (SRX), a series started by Preece’s Cup car owner, Tony Stewart. It was announced that SRX is returning to Stafford for a second show this Thursday in lieu of racing at Thunder Road in Vermont due to the recent flooding in the Montpelier area. Preece was added to the star-studded lineup to give fans a hometown hero to root for.

“That was really unexpected,” Preece said of the honor. “Everything that’s going on up here in Vermont, my thoughts and prayers for all the families who are losing a lot right now. Obviously it’s not under the best conditions.

“I’m a huge fan of Thunder Road myself, but obviously excited for a great opportunity to race with those guys and have some fun at my home track, because I think many people in the short-track racing world know I’m from Stafford Speedway. I’ve won championships, a lot of races there, and it’s a great opportunity for the hometown fans to see a hometown guy go against them.”

Thursday’s SRX race will provide Preece with the chance to go back to his roots, although not all the way. He has not raced a Modified this year, instead focusing on the deal that pays the bills in the Cup series.

“For me, it’s been a fight because I’ve been putting so much focus into the Cup car and not racing the Modified,” Preece said. “This will probably be my first time not planning to run the Modified this year. It’s weird. Obviously I want to win this Cup series. I’ve sacrificed a lot going up to get here. So I’m just going to keep digging on that.”

As far as success at New Hampshire goes, Preece says it’s all about confidence.

“I feel really comfortable here,” Preece said. “It’s that energy you have, that swagger, when you walk into a racetrack where you feel comfortable.”

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