| Preston Pardus | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Pardus atSonoma Raceway in 2024 | |||||||
| Born | Preston Joseph Pardus (1997-02-15)February 15, 1997 (age 28) New Smyrna Beach, Florida, U.S. | ||||||
| Achievements | 2023SCCA National Championship Runoffs champion (Spec Miata) 2021SCCA National Championship Runoffs champion (Spec Miata) 2020SCCA Super Sweep (Spec Miata) 2020SCCA National Championship Runoffs champion (Spec Miata) 2017SCCA National Championship Runoffs champion (Spec Miata) | ||||||
| NASCARXfinity Series career | |||||||
| 29 races run over 7 years | |||||||
| Car no., team | No. 50 (Pardus Racing Inc.) | ||||||
| 2024 position | 51st | ||||||
| Best finish | 36th (2021) | ||||||
| First race | 2019CTECH Manufacturing 180 (Road America) | ||||||
| Last race | 2025Focused Health 250 (COTA) | ||||||
| |||||||
| Statistics current as of March 1, 2025. | |||||||
Preston Joseph Pardus (born February 15, 1997) is an American professional racing driver. He competes in theSports Car Club of America and part-time in theNASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 50Chevrolet SS forPardus Racing Inc.. Pardus won theSpec Miata class at the 2017SCCA National Championship Runoffs and claimed the 2020 Super Sweep in the Spec Miata division. He is the son of former NASCAR driverDan Pardus.
RacingSpec Miatas, Pardus won the 2017SCCA 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 atSebring 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]
In August 2019, Pardus made hisNASCAR Xfinity Series debut in the2019 CTECH Manufacturing 180 atRoad America. While the start came with his familyPardus Racing Inc. team, Pardus' car was an oldChip Ganassi Racing chassis, was powered by anEarnhardt 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 thePennzoil 150 on theIndianapolis Motor Speedway road course, driving forDGM 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]
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In2021, Pardus returned to DGM for the second year in a row to run the road course races in the Xfinity Series. In his first race on his schedule, the Daytona Road Course, he was entered in the team's No. 91, a new part-time fourth car for them, but due to there being over 40 cars on the entry list and the race not having qualifying, the No. 91 was excluded and missed the field as a result of being too low in owner points. DGM then moved Pardus to their full-time No. 90 car, which was to be driven byCaesar Bacarella that weekend until he was replaced by Pardus.[9] He came back to the 91 at thePit Boss 250. Pardus posted his best finish of 7th at the Charlotte Roval.
In2023, Pardus returned to driving for his own team in the Xfinity Series, which he last did in2019. However, "Inc." was no longer a part of the re-started Pardus family team's name and the No. 43, which the team used in 2019, was taken byAlpha Prime Racing starting in 2023, so the team switched to the No. 50, a number that Pardus' father Dan used in the Cup Series in1999 driving forMidwest Transit Racing. The first Xfinity Series race Preston and his team would run in 2023 wasCircuit of the Americas.[10] He would race two more races for his own team, which were at theChicago Street Course[11] and theIndianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course.[12] Also, he would race forSS-Green Light Racing in 2023.[13]
Pardus' fatherDan formerly competed in theNASCAR Winston Cup Series,NASCAR Busch Series andARCA Re/Max Series.[14] He graduated fromSpruce Creek High School in 2015.[14]
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]
| Year | Track | Car | Engine | Class | Finish | Start | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Daytona | Mazda Miata | Mazda | Spec Miata | 19 | 5 | Running |
| 2017 | Indianapolis | Mazda Miata | Mazda | Spec Miata | 1 | 2 | Running |
| 2018 | Sonoma | Mazda Miata | Mazda | Spec Miata | 5 | 10 | Running |
| 2019 | VIR | Mazda Miata | Mazda | Spec Miata | 2 | 2 | Running |
| 2020 | Road America | Mazda Miata | Mazda | Spec Miata | 1 | 9 | Running |
| 2021 | Indianapolis | Mazda Miata | Mazda | Spec Miata | 1 | 2 | Running |
| 2022 | VIR | Mazda Miata | Mazda | Spec Miata | 8 | 2 | Running |
| 2023 | VIR | Mazda Miata | Mazda | Spec Miata | 1 | 2 | Running |
| 2024 | Road America | Mazda Miata | Mazda | Spec Miata | 3 | 5 | Running |
(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time.Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)
* Season still in progress
1 Ineligible for series points