THOMPSON — Under the bright blue skies and spring-like temperatures on Sunday, Ryan Preece sat on the bumper of his No. 6 Whelen Modified Tour car, signing autographs for Northeast short-track racing fans during a pre-race pit party.

It’s a far cry from Daytona, Indianapolis, Texas, Talladega and other places of note along the NASCAR Xfinity Series tour that Preece made the rounds at last racing season.

Late last year, he walked away from all that.

“It was a life decision,” Preece said.

The owner of his Xfinity ride, Johnny Davis, general manager and chief executive officer of JD Motorsports, was ready to take him back for another season, according to a published report.

Preece didn’t see the deal going the way he wanted it to.

“I thought long and hard and I’m sure there are people who don’t agree with my decision, but they’re not in my shoes,” Preece said. “At the end of the day, I’m a racer. I don’t want to just be out there, being a pack filler where somebody who watches Xfinity every week doesn’t even know that you’re running in it. That’s not what I was there for. I want to try to win, to contend for races, and do what I dream of doing: being one of the best in racing.”

He would have liked to win a race and felt he had a legitimate shot on the road course at Mid-Ohio, but finished 17th.

“I loved the road racing. That was a lot of fun. We had our moments where we shined. The average person sees you out there running 20th and thinks you’re lying down, but really, you’re driving harder than you ever have. I showed that I was no slouch, that I can get the job done if everything was right. No regrets,” Preece said.

The dream has been put on hold for now.

He’s been talking with a lot of people, hoping he can put together “something with somebody.”

“I don’t feel like driving, doing what I was doing, was going to enhance my resume. I’ve gone through NASCAR’s approval process, went to every single race track. I think I have a good grasp on the tracks — mile and a halfs and short tracks — and I would like to keep getting seat time, but I feel like I have to keep racing,” Preece said.

Money is a key.

Preece knows if he had a sponsor who would come on board and help him, he would be in a competitive race car.

It’s the nature of the business.

“It’s a huge disappointment in racing right now and that’s why I’m here at your short tracks, racing for an owner (Ed Partridge) that I feel wants to be at the races and I’m looking forward to working with,” Preece said.

Preece plans to run a full schedule (seven races) with the 31 Sunoco Modified at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park. He also plans to run full-time, for the most part, on the Whelen Modified Tour as well as Tour-type modified races. He plans to run some races at Stafford Motor Speedway, although it likely won’t be a full-time effort.

“I like being the guy with a car who shows up and is a threat to win. I might show up, I might not,” Preece said.

Was it tough to come back?

In Preece’s mind, not at all.

It might be difficult for those who don’t have the rides that Preece has in the Northeast. But even when he was driving on the Xfinity circuit, he kept flying back to run the Whelen Modified Tour and honored many of his SK responsibilities.

“I’m a racer. This is what I was born to do,” Preece said. “Why would it be tough to come to a short track where you have fans who appreciate you being here as much as you appreciate them coming. I’ve been racing since I was six years old. There is nothing I would rather be doing.”