Preston Pardus

Preston J. Pardus (born February 15, 1997) is an American professional racing driver. He competes part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 36 Chevrolet Camaro for DGM Racing. Also a sports car racer, Pardus won the Spec Miata class at the 2017 and SCCA National Championship Runoffs and claimed the 2020 Super Sweep in the Spec Miata division.

Preston Pardus
Pardus in 2019
BornPreston J. Pardus
(1997-02-15) February 15, 1997
New Smyrna Beach, Florida
Achievements2020 SCCA Super Sweep (Spec Miata)
2017 SCCA National Championship Runoffs champion (Spec Miata)
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
6 races run over 2 years
Car no., teamNo. 36 (DGM Racing)
2020 position44th
Best finish44th (2020)
First race2019 CTECH Manufacturing 180 (Road America)
Last race2020 Drive for the Cure 250 (Charlotte Roval)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 2 0
Statistics current as of November 9, 2020.

Racing career

Racing Spec Miatas, Pardus won the 2017 SCCA National Championship Runoffs on a last-lap pass.[1] Pardus was also selected by Mazda Motorsports as a finalist to compete at the Mazda Road to 24 Shootout in late 2017.[2] In 2019, Pardus started the Super Tour off with a win at Sebring International Raceway in January, competing in the Central Florida region of the SCCA.[3] He went on to win the SCCA Majors Southeast Conference Championship that year, topping a series with over 150 entrants.[4]

Pardus' Xfinity debut at Road America

In August 2019, Pardus made his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut in the 2019 CTECH Manufacturing 180 at Road America. While the start came with his family Pardus Racing Inc. team, Pardus' car was an old Chip Ganassi Racing chassis, was powered by an Earnhardt Childress Engines engine, and the at-track effort was headed by Tony Furr, who served as crew chief.[5] He returned to the series in July 2020 for the Pennzoil 150 on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, driving for DGM Racing.[6] After starting 19th, Pardus ended the race in tenth for his first top-ten finish in NASCAR.[7] At the SCCA Runoffs that year, Pardus avoided a first-lap melee and went from seventh to the lead on the final lap to claim his second Runoffs victory in the Spec Miata class. In doing so, he also garnered the 2020 Super Sweep award for the Spec Miata division, awarded to any driver who wins the Runoffs, point standings and a major conference championship in the same season.[8]

Personal life

Pardus' father Dan formerly competed in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series, NASCAR Busch Series and ARCA Re/Max Series.[9] He graduated from Spruce Creek High School in 2015.[9]

His family owns Danus Utilities, Inc., an underground utility company that Pardus works for when he is not racing. Danus Utilities has also sponsored his race cars.[6]

Motorsports career results

SCCA National Championship Runoffs
YearTrackCarEngineClassFinishStartStatus
2015DaytonaMazda MiataMazdaSpec Miata195Running
2017IndianapolisMazda MiataMazdaSpec Miata12Running
2018SonomaMazda MiataMazdaSpec Miata510Running
2019VIRMazda MiataMazdaSpec Miata22Running
2020Road AmericaMazda MiataMazdaSpec Miata19Running

NASCAR

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Xfinity Series
NASCAR Xfinity Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 NXSC Pts Ref
2019 Pardus Racing Inc. 43 Chevy DAY ATL LVS PHO CAL TEX BRI RCH TAL DOV CLT POC MCH IOW CHI DAY KEN NHA IOW GLN MOH BRI ROA
36		 DAR IND LVS RCH CLT
27		 DOV KAN TEX PHO HOM 73rd 11 [10]
2020 DGM Racing 36 Chevy DAY LVS CAL PHO DAR CLT BRI ATL HOM HOM TAL POC IND
10		 KEN KEN TEX KAN ROA
8		 DAY
31		 DOV DOV DAY DAR RCH RCH BRI LVS TAL 44th 74 [11]
90 CLT
32		 KAN TEX MAR PHO

* Season still in progress
1 Ineligible for series points

References
  1. "Preston Pardus Tops 72-Car Spec Miata Field". Speed Sport. Retrieved August 28, 2019.
  2. "$100,000 Mazda Road to 24 Shootout Finalists Announced". BFGoodrich Racing. Retrieved November 22, 2017.
  3. "SCCA Super Tour Season Begins in Sebring". Speed Sport. Retrieved August 28, 2019.
  4. "U.S. Majors Tour Southeast Conference 2019 Point Champions". SCCA. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
  5. Kelly, Godwin. "Volusia's Pardus Racing seeks to make NASCAR debut in in[sic] Xfinity race". Daytona Beach News-Journal. Retrieved August 28, 2019.
  6. Srigley, Joseph (July 3, 2020). "Preston Pardus Looking to Use Advantage of Indy Road Course Experience to Record Solid Finish in Saturday's Pennzoil 150". TobyChristie.com. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
  7. Cain, Holly (July 4, 2020). "Chase Briscoe Earns Hard-Fought NASCAR Xfinity Win at Indianapolis". Autoweek. Retrieved July 4, 2020.
  8. "Pardus Conquers 77-Car Spec Miata Field". Speed Sport. October 9, 2020. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
  9. Kelly, Godwin (May 8, 2013). "Family affair: Former NASCAR driver Pardus introduces his kids to Daytona". The Daytona Beach News-Journal. Retrieved August 19, 2019.
  10. "Preston Pardus – 2019 NASCAR Xfinity Series". Racing Reference. Retrieved August 28, 2019.
  11. "Preston Pardus – 2020 NASCAR Xfinity Series". Racing Reference. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
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