Ryan Preece may not have either of his Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing teammates in the NASCAR Cup playoffs, but he still has the back of the two fellow Ford-powered drivers who are in the Round of Eight semifinals, which begin this weekend in Las Vegas.
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At the same time, Preece – who is wrapping up his first season with RFK – is going to do everything in his power to keep the six other drivers that remain in the playoffs, three from Chevrolet (Hendrick Motorsports drivers William Byron, Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson)and three from Toyota (Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Denny Hamlin, Chase Briscoe and Christopher Bell).
“That’s challenging,” Preece said during media availability on Wednesday in Las Vegas. “Every situation is different and at the end of the day we’re still racing for our team and the seasons that we still have going on. I didn’t make the playoff format. In other forms of sports, when you’re not in the playoffs, you’re not playing.
“Well, we’re still playing. We’re still a part of these races, so from a bigger picture standpoint within the Ford group, Joey and Ryan Blaney, we want the best for them.”
But there is a significant problem for the two Ford drivers, as well as others like Preece, who is trying to support them: heading into Las Vegas, Logano – the defending champion and three-time Cup champ – is way behind the eight ball already.
He’s the last of the eight remaining playoff drivers, 24 points behind the cutoff line. In a sense, Logano has to make each of the next three races – Las Vegas, Talladega, and Martinsville – must-win races to assure he’ll be in the Championship 4 race at Phoenix Raceway on November 2.
Blaney, on the other hand, who won the 2023 Cup championship, comes into this weekend second in the playoff standings, but he’s only six points above the cutoff line.
“We want them to go to Phoenix and go get Ford another title, but, at the same time, going to Las Vegas, Talladega, Martinsville, and Phoenix, we need to go capitalize for Jack, for the Fenway Group, for Brad, and put ourselves in contention to win,” Preece said. “If I just chose to ride around in 15th or 10th or whatever and not try to win the race, I wouldn’t be doing myself justice, my family justice, or the team justice. Every situation is different, but I didn’t make this format, and I still have to race for my team.”
The key is to maintain a balance: work hard for a win for his team, but if that doesn’t appear likely, he still has to do everything he can to help the two Team Penske drivers.
“You don’t know the situation you’re gonna be in or not be in, so with that being said, it’s really difficult to say what you’re going to do in the moment because as a race car driver, your number one focus is to win,” Preece said. “That is our job, and how I approach a weekend from a racing perspective as a race car driver is to win, and you adjust your goals accordingly throughout that event.
“For me, I feel more prepared going into this Las Vegas race than I did earlier this season, so I’m looking forward to that.”
But there is one key caveat that is omnipresent for Preece, or his RFK teammates, Brad Keselowski or Chris Buescher. And that goes back to the whole balance thing.
“I’m not gonna wreck Joey Logano or Ryan Blaney or anybody to win, but if I’m leading at the end of that race, I don’t know,” Preece said when asked what he’d do in that situation. “What am I gonna do, give up a win?
“So, at the end of the day, if any competitor is faster than me and they’re able to beat me without me rolling over, then good for them. They won, but I’m not gonna lift.”
But don’t be surprised if Roger Penske or some high-ranking Ford officials have something to say about that if it impacts Logano or Blaney from reaching the championship-deciding race in the Valley of the Sun.
