“I love the way our cars are driving right now, and our potential is much higher,” said RFK owner and racer Brad Keselowski. It’s been a brutal start for RFK Racing. Five races, no top-10s for Brad Keselowski, a crash in Phoenix, and a pit crew suspension right before Homestead-Miami on March 23. Josiah Wright’s out, Coleman Dollarhide’s in, and it feels like the hits just keep coming. Brad’s been here before as the 2012 Cup champ and RFK co-owner since 2022, but this season’s testing every ounce of his grit. “I told them I was really encouraged,” he said after Phoenix, rallying his team in the garage. Still, you can feel the weight on him.
Meanwhile, Ryan Preece is quietly stealing the show. Third place in Vegas last weekend was his best in six years which proves Brad’s bet on Tony Stewart’s old driver wasn’t a bust. With Stewart Haas Racing, Preece flipped his car at Daytona in 2023 and came back with scars. Determined to succeed, he worked hard, got back in the seat, and now he’s clawing his way up the ranks. Crew chief Derrick Finley can’t stop raving about him. “No one deserves it more than him. He works hard. He’s in the gym at 6 o’clock every morning we get here,” Finley said. “He’s got every gadget you can imagine on his phone… SMT, video, everything.” It’s not just talk as Preece’s grind is now finally paying off.
Ryan Preece is grateful to his crew for his turnaround
This isn’t luck. It’s a guy who’s been discarded, doubted and is now rising. Ryan Preece was the last driver from the SHR closure to secure a seat for 2025. His teammates, Josh Berry and Chase Briscoe, both got seats in June and July with Wood Brothers Racing and Joe Gibbs Racing, respectively. However, Preece had to wait till late November to get his seat. After a long wait, his time has finally arrived to shine, and he has grasped it with both hands.
From simulator hours to mid-race tweaks with Finley, Preece is RFK’s heartbeat right now. Keselowski’s still searching, Chris Buescher has been a steady competitor, boasting an average finish of 11.1, but he was expected to do well, considering he is a multiple-cup race winner. Ryan Preece is the spark. And he knows it. Homestead-Miami Speedway welcomed its lone 2025 NASCAR Cup Series race on March 23, where RFK Racing boasted 11 all-time wins, including seven in Cup, under Jack Roush. Brad Keselowski and Chris Buescher had led laps in three of the last four races there, but this time around, no RFK Racing driver led laps, but Ryan Preece stole the show.
Preece notched up a ninth-place finish, making it two top-10s in a row! He said after the race, “Yeah, I felt really good, I feel like we made some really good adjustments on the car, and just kept getting track position. Our pit crew, man, was really proud of those guys. They come through in pressure moments, and we want to be aggressive, we want to, as a team, just keep pushing each other. Great job by Derek, great job by everybody on this team… This Ford Mustang was pretty good.”
PREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEECE.
Consecutive Top-10s for our guy. pic.twitter.com/ilabTtdQSv
— RFK Racing (@RFKracing) March 23, 2025
Ryan Preece rolled in fresh off a career-tying third at Vegas in the No. 60 Ford. At Homestead, he’d averaged a 21.8 finish over six starts, peaking with a 10th the prior year. In 2025, he has already equaled his tally of top-five finishes from last season and he looks incredible on the track. With speed off the charts and determination to go past anyone in his way, Preece feels like a different person at RFK, and listening to his thoughts after the third place at Vegas, it’s not hard to understand why.
Speaking to SiriusXM NASCAR after the Vegas race, Ryan Preece said, “We’ll work on it for next time. 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 then doubled down: “We’re going to be a factor this season.” He was confident of a turnaround even before. Finley’s all in too. “When you see his commitment level… there’s no question in my mind he’s going to win a race. And I fully 100% intend to be there when he does,” Finley said.
At 34, with 200 Cup starts, Ryan Preece isn’t done but just getting started. His owner Brad Keselowski is preaching “Work Hard, Work Smart, Work Together, Have Fun,” but it’s Preece who’s literally living it and we know now that he will give his all to keep the fire burning.
Preece’s homecoming to modified roots
Ryan Preece will come back to where it all started—the Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series. After grinding it out on the big stage, he’s teaming up with RaceChoice.com for two special races in 2025, with Thompson Speedway on May 14 and Stafford Motor Speedway on July 16. And this isn’t just a side gig.
He’s dusting off his Modified roots, where he’s a legend with 26 wins and the 2013 Whelen Modified Tour title. “The competition level on the Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series continues to grow,” Preece said. “The series has a great payout for asphalt modified racing and with the jump to 10 races, they have established a strong schedule that we want to support.” He’ll not just show up. He’ll be there to win.
RaceChoice.com’s David Prinz feels it too. “Ryan Preece embodies the passion and drive that define RaceChoice.com, and we are excited to be a part of his journey in the Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series,” he said. They’re not messing around either with supplying gear from brands like Sparco and MyChron to racers everywhere. Renee Dupuis, the series director, also knows this is big. “For our fans, the combination of Ryan Preece and RaceChoice.com is an exciting add to our 2025 schedule,” she said. “While Ryan is a Connecticut native, it feels like the entire Northeast roots for him on Cup racing’s national stage. Our Thompson and Stafford shows will be a great opportunity for his legion of followers to come out to these ultra-competitive venues and see him return to his roots racing against some of the best short-track competitors in the country.”
Seeing Ryan Preece back in a Modified, chasing wins where his heart first raced, it’s like watching a kid come home. It might work wonders for him the way it did for Christopher Bell was allowed to race on dirt tracks this offseason and followed it up by breaking records just 4 weeks into the season. May and July can’t come fast enough for Ryan Preece.
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