Ryan Preece, who has been hitting his stride this season with RFK Racing, already has one top-five and two top-10 finishes under his belt. However, with a new team and better performance comes added responsibility. Alongside his driving duties, he now juggles a slate of sponsor commitments — attending events, promoting brands, and staying visible off the track.
Advertisement
When asked how he balances it all, Preece didn’t mince words and compared it to his earlier days working in his father’s family business. He shared that his father runs a small plumbing and HVAC operation in Connecticut with around ten employees.
Growing up, he spent his summers helping out, sometimes fabricating ductwork as a tin knocker, and during the colder months, climbing onto rooftops in freezing conditions.
Reflecting on those days, Preece quipped that handling sponsor appearances is a walk in the park compared to sweating it out in attics or braving icy winds on a roof. So, for Ryan Preece, handling sponsor obligations and race prep is all in a day’s work — an essential part of the job description.
He emphasized, “It’s not a 40-hour week. My family and my wife support me, and they understand that there are a lot of commitments to this and obviously a lot of benefits, so I deal with it fine because I’m the type of person that even when I was racing in Connecticut, my life revolved around racing.”
The RFK Racing driver made it clear that he’s never been the kind to pack up early or cut corners just to get home. On the contrary, he’s always been wired to go the extra mile to do everything that can help him win.
For him, winning goes hand in hand with having strong partnerships, and he remains fully invested in nurturing those relationships. In his eyes, it’s business as usual — just with a different set of tasks.
Preece talks about having a racer wife
Having a spouse in the same profession often means shop talk doesn’t stay at the shop — still, Ryan Preece wouldn’t have it any other way. While some might choose to leave racing behind once the checkered flag waves, Preece embraces the feedback that follows him home. He sees more value in a direct critique than in applause that lacks substance.
His wife clearly reads from the same playbook. Even in moments of celebration, she doesn’t lose sight of the bigger picture. For instance, he shared that after Preece secured a third-place finish at Las Vegas, she was thrilled with the result, but didn’t shy away from pointing out a misstep.
As Preece recalled, “She brought up this one thing that I said, and she’s like you better never do that again.”
Their openness dates back to 2011 and 2012 when Preece and Heather DesRochers went head-to-head on the racetrack. She’s long been his silent evaluator, offering feedback that, more often than not, helped sharpen his skills behind the wheel.
And while constantly breaking down races can take a toll, Preece acknowledges that her perspective often brings something new to the table — something he doesn’t take for granted.
