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DOVER, DELAWARE - APRIL 27: Ryan Preece, driver of the #41 Morton Buildings Ford, drives during practice for the NASCAR Cup Series Würth 400 at Dover International Speedway on April 27, 2024 in Dover, Delaware. (Photo by Logan Riely/Getty Images) | Getty Images
DOVER, DELAWARE - APRIL 27: Ryan Preece, driver of the #41 Morton Buildings Ford, drives during practice for the NASCAR Cup Series Würth 400 at Dover International Speedway on April 27, 2024 in Dover, Delaware. (Photo by Logan Riely/Getty Images) | Getty Images

Ryan Preece’s early exit from Dover a result of incorrectly installed bolts

The fire in Ryan Preece’s Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Mustang Dark Horse at Dover Motor Speedway was the result of a mistake by the No. 41 team.

Drew Blickensderfer, who is the crew chief of the No. 10 team for Preece’s teammate Noah Gragson, explained there were bolts that were not installed correctly. Preece retired from the Wurth 400 after 66 laps because of smoke in the cockpit that the team was unable to diagnose or fix on the spot.

“That was self-inflicted,” Blickensderfer said. “That was the bolts between the headers and the collectors keeping everything together. We had some issues there amongst the teams on our side. They were not installed correctly and it was allowing the collectors to come disattached from the headers, kind of fall on that rocker box and cause an issue.

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