Ryan Preece moved to RFK Racing for the 2025 season after previously driving for Stewart-Haas Racing in 2024. While he hasn’t reached Victory Lane yet this year, he’s been quietly grinding his way into playoff contention. A consistent presence in the top 10, Preece has been outperforming expectations in a car that came together at the last minute- and he is making it count.
If you remember, the RFK team was without a crew chief in place until late January. Now, with just weeks left before the playoff field is set, the RFK No. 60 is suddenly one of the stories to watch. But behind this unexpected surge lies a moment of self-realization. One that may have saved their season before it ever got going.
Ryan Preece closes in on cutoff with grit and guts
With just three races remaining in the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series regular season, Ryan Preece is charging hard toward a playoff berth (despite all odds). After securing back-to-back top-five finishes, including a clutch performance at Iowa Speedway last weekend, Preece has now trimmed his deficit to the playoff cutline to just 23 points. His run at Iowa earned him a critical 19-point gain on RFK Racing teammate Chris Buescher, who currently holds the 16th and final playoff spot.
What makes this push all the more impressive is the path it took to get here. “I live by my team, and the one thing I say to them is hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard enough,” Preece said on the Dale Jr. Download podcast. And that mindset has shown on the track. In his debut season with RFK Racing’s new third car, the No. 60 Ford Mustang, Preece has posted five top-three finishes and ten top 10s. And the highlight? A third-place run at Las Vegas.
But this isn’t a story of a plug-and-play success. The No. 60 team came together under rushed circumstances. “Because it’s so difficult to go to lunch with somebody and say, yeah, I’m going to work with this guy,” Ryan Preece explained the reasoning behind it. They even lacked a crew chief until late January. “We didn’t have a crew chief until the end of January,” Preece said. “I’ve kind of said to them, we didn’t pick the team, the team picked us.”
That crew chief turned out to be NASCAR veteran Derrick Finley, who officially took the reins in mid-January. With over two decades of experience, Finley’s résumé includes leadership stints as Competition Director, Technical Director, and Director of Operations across NASCAR organizations.
Since joining RFK in 2022, he’s become a key strategic asset. And now, he leads the No. 60’s transition as RFK expands to a three-car operation in 2025. Together, Preece and Finley have built something unexpectedly potent. With three races left, they’ve gone from an afterthought to a legitimate playoff threat.
Can Ryan Preece make it to postseason?
Ryan Preece enters the final stretch of the regular season just 23 points below the playoff cutline, with his team fighting for every spot with teammate Chris Buescher. With only three races left, Watkins Glen, Richmond, and Daytona, the path is narrow, but not impossible. Preece’s best chance is either winning outright or delivering consistently strong finishes while hoping rivals falter, making every lap and stage point crucial.
Preece has shown promise at Watkins Glen. Last year, he posted a career-best ninth-place finish in the Cup Series at this fast road course, demonstrating he’s capable of making moves on technical layouts. In his Xfinity days, he finished fourth in 2018, proving road courses can play to his strengths. He’ll need to capitalize on chaos often seen at the end of Glen races to hunt for the upset win and crucial points.
Preece’s short-track experience shines at Richmond. He scored a fifth-place Cup finish at the track in 2023 and has seven top-tens in Xfinity and Cup combined, consistently running well when tire management and strategy come into play. Richmond is the site of his first Cup top-five, underlining it as a track where he’s comfortable and competitive.
The wild-card race at Daytona presents Preece with a genuine shot. Talladega earlier this year saw him race up front, nearly pulling off the upset before a technical infraction nixed his result. Superspeedway chaos could open the door if he avoids wrecks and finds drafting partners. The unpredictability means anyone near the bubble has a chance; one win locks Preece in.
Can Preece make the playoffs? It will take a mix of ambition, resilience, and flawless execution. With three distinct tracks ahead and a razor-thin margin, his fate is in his hands (and maybe a little luck). Will this underdog story end in victory, or is the mountain too steep to climb?
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