It looks like Brad Keselowski’s prediction about Ryan Preece, who, according to the RFK Racing owner, wasn’t “in the right situation before to truly showcase his ability,” has started to come true. With seven years in the NASCAR Cup Series under his belt but no victories and only four top-5 finishes to his name before this weekend’s race in Las Vegas, Preece’s third-place finish is a big upturn. He entered the race with an oversized confidence in his #60 team.
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Having started the race in the P12 position, Preece finished stages 1 and 2 in the P19 and P11 positions, respectively, despite incurring a speeding penalty on pit road during Lap 33. In the final stage, he navigated through the field and capitalized on a late-race skirmish between Ross Chastain and William Byron on Lap 254, which pushed him to secure a top-five finish.
The result equaled his career-best Cup finish from the spring race at Talladega in 2019, marking Preece’s first top-five finish on a 1.5-mile track.
During the pre-race media session, Preece praised his team’s dynamics, stating, “It’s chemistry. From the car chief side, within the core road crew group, they seem to all be getting along really well. Great attitudes.”
“(They are) whatever-it-takes type of people, and that’s been great. As well as our pit crew. That can be very, very instrumental in getting off pit road, not losing spots, and things like that,” he added.
Looking ahead, Preece will compete at Homestead-Miami, where the RFK Racing driver has recorded one career top-10 finish, achieved in the 2024 race at the track.
What did Preece say after the Las Vegas race?
While Preece’s former teammate from the Stewart-Haas Racing team, Josh Berry, bagged his first NASCAR Cup win, Ryan Preece was thrilled to secure a top-3 finish. Reflecting on his huge statements made before the race, Preece articulated that his intentions for the season were unequivocally ambitious, aimed at optimizing his competitive edge.
“Going into the season, the motto is live by the fire, die by the fire, and take chances, be aggressive, be on the offense, and just put us in position,” he declared. Moreover, Preece also shared his delight at Berry’s success, saying:
“Man, I’m happy for Josh. I really liked him when we were teammates and I’m just super proud of everybody on this Consumer Cellular Ford Mustang Dark Horse.”
After five Cup races so far, of which Preece finished two in the top 20, he currently ranks 18th in the championship standings. Meanwhile, Chris Buescher, leading RFK Racing, holds the P9 spot in the standings. Yet, Preece is positioned ahead of his teammate and boss, Brad Keselowski, who is ranked P30.
