Ryan Preece

Ryan Jeffrey Preece (born October 25, 1990) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 60 Ford Mustang Dark Horse for RFK Racing.

Preece has previously competed in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, ARCA Menards Series East, and the ARCA Menards Series West.

Preece is also a veteran of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour and won the series championship in 2013 after being the runner-up in 2009 and 2012. He also made multiple starts in the defunct NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour.

Racing career Early career

Preece began racing in 2007 and became 32nd in the championship in the Northeastern Midget Association with the Bertrand team. A year later, he finished on the podium for the first time in his career with a third place finish at Monadnock in his only Northeastern Midget race that year.

Preece competed in and won the championship in the SK Modified Series in 2011 at Stafford Motor Speedway, while his future wife, Heather, was the series' Rookie of the Year.

Whelen Modified Tour

That same year, Preece got his first career victory in the Whelen Modified Tour after dominating the Made In America Whelen 300 at Martinsville. In 2009 and 2012, he was runner-up in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, but he became champion in 2013 with four wins in fourteen races, driving for Flamingo Motorsports, owned by Eric Sanderson. In 2014, he returned to the team and won the last two races of the year, coming home in second place in the final standings. In 2015, he drove for TS Haulers Racing, owned by Ed Partridge.

On November 24, 2016, it was announced that Preece would remain at JD Motorsports for another full season in 2017. However, on December 8, 2016, it was announced that Preece and JD Motorsports had parted ways, letting Preece explore other opportunities. The primary reason why Preece left JD is that he wanted to be on a team to win races and expected to be back in the Whelen Modified Tour in 2017. He rejoined Partridge's team in the Modified Tour.

Xfinity Series 2013–2017

Preece made his debut in the Nationwide Series in 2013 and finished 24th at Loudon driving the No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro for Tommy Baldwin Racing. In 2014, he drove two races driving the No. 36 Camaro for TBR at Loudon and Homestead, with a best finish of fourteenth.

On August 8, 2015, Preece announced he would make his NASCAR Cup Series debut for TBR at Loudon. Preece joined JD Motorsports full-time in 2016, driving the No. 01 Chevrolet in the Xfinity Series. The primary sponsor was Flex Seal. Preece had several decent runs for the mid-pack organization in 2016, just missing the first-ever Xfinity playoffs.

2017–2018: Joe Gibbs Racing In July 2017, Preece returned to the Xfinity Series, racing at Loudon in the No. 20 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing with sponsorship from Mohawk Northeast and Mizzy Construction, finishing a career-best second behind teammate Kyle Busch. The opportunity originally came after Kevin Manion contacted Preece about openings at JGR after the retirement of Carl Edwards.

At Iowa, Preece returned to the No. 20 with Mohawk and Falmouth Construction sponsoring. Preece won the pole and held off teammate Kyle Benjamin on a late restart to win his first career Xfinity race.

After his Iowa win, JGR announced that Preece would also drive for the team at Kentucky Speedway in September (a standalone Xfinity race), and later Homestead (where Cup drivers, regardless of experience, are prohibited from participating). Preece, with the American Red Cross on the No. 20 car, finished fourth at Kentucky.

Preece moved to Gibbs’ No. 18 Safelite Toyota at Homestead. Preece was involved in a controversy, as championship contender Elliott Sadler placed the blame on Preece for blocking him on the final restart of the season. Preece still managed a top-five finish.

On November 15, 2017, it was announced that Preece would run another partial schedule with JGR in 2018, running at least ten races in the No. 18 car, sharing it with JGR Cup drivers Kyle Busch, Erik Jones and Daniel Suárez, JGR development driver Kyle Benjamin, and Australian James Davison. While he was listed for ten races, more races were possible. Sponsorship of Preece's races in the No. 18 would come primarily from Rheem. A few of the races were instead supported by Ruud and its affiliate businesses.

Preece began his season with a ninth-place finish at California, his first time finishing outside the top five at Gibbs. He got back in the top five a week later at Texas.

Preece became eligible for the Xfinity Dash 4 Cash after his good run at Texas. The next week at Bristol, Preece won the race and the bonus, taking home the $100,000. It was Preece's second career Xfinity Series win.

Preece did not run any of the other Dash 4 Cash races. He returned to the No. 18 car at Daytona.

2019: JR Motorsports For 2019, Preece joined JR Motorsports to drive their No. 8 part-time. He competed in four events, all finishing in the top ten with a highest of fourth at Pocono.

Cup Series 2015: Premium Motorsports Preece drove the No. 98 Chevy out of the TBR shop in partnership with Premium Motorsports. After starting 37th, he finished 32nd in the Sylvania 300. Preece returned to the Cup Series for the final four races of the season with Premium. TBR did not assist his races at Martinsville, Texas, and Phoenix, though they returned to help field the No. 98 at Homestead out of their shop.

2019–2021: JTG Daugherty Racing

On September 28, 2018, Preece was announced as the new full-time driver of the No. 47 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for JTG Daugherty Racing in 2019, replacing the departing A. J. Allmendinger and competing for 2019 Rookie of the Year honors. Preece also joined JR Motorsports for a part-time Xfinity Series schedule in the No. 8 Camaro.

On August 16, 2019, Preece confirmed that he would remain with the team for the 2020 season. However, he moved to JTG's No. 37 car as new teammate Ricky Stenhouse Jr. took over the No. 47. For the Toyota 500 at Darlington Raceway, Preece started on the pole via field inversion, unofficially marking his first career pole at the Cup level; he had finished twentieth in the previous race, and a field inversion placed him in first. Despite running with the leaders for much of the Toyota 500's early stages, he finished last after his engine failed on lap 69. Preece was involved in a violent crash on a restart at Kansas Speedway in July 2020. On a restart down the backstretch, Christopher Bell came up in front of Ryan Newman, sending Bell into the outside wall. Bell came back across traffic, where Newman tagged Preece, and Preece hit the inside wall head-on and nearly sent Preece on his side. Fortunately, Preece walked out unscathed. It was Preece's fourth straight DNF, but he broke a string of last-place finishes. Preece scored a total of eight DNFs during the season and finished out the year 29th in points.

Preece returned to the No. 37 in 2021, but the car did not have a charter that would have guaranteed it a spot in every race and only carried enough sponsorship for 24 of 36 races. The performance and funding of the team suffered. The No. 37 would be shut down after 2021, leaving Preece without a ride.

2022: Part-time driver On January 6, 2022, Stewart–Haas Racing hired Preece as a reserve driver, as the backup driver for all related teams and simulator driver for SHR. Preece will also race two Cup races for Rick Ware Racing at Dover and Charlotte, three Xfinity races for B. J. McLeod Motorsports at Richmond, Charlotte, and Nashville, and seven Truck races for David Gilliland Racing. Preece started thirteenth in the No. 15 Rick Ware Racing car for his Cup Series start in the 2022 DuraMAX Drydene 400 at Dover and finished 25th. Preece would run all three races during the Coke 600 weekend. He finished eleventh in the Truck Series event after being involved in an accident with Carson Hocevar. On June 24, 2022, Preece would win his first career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series pole at Nashville Superspeedway. He would go on to lead 74 of the 150 laps, winning Stage 2 and his second career Truck Series race. He would also race in the Xfinity Series event the following day.

2023–2024: Stewart–Haas Racing

On November 16, 2022, Stewart–Haas Racing announced that Preece would replace Cole Custer in the No. 41 for the 2023 season while Custer would return to the 00 Xfinity Series entry. In December, Chad Johnston returned to SHR to replace Mike Shiplett as crew chief of the No. 41, after Shiplett moved to Richard Childress Racing.

Preece started the 2023 season with a 36th-place DNF at the 2023 Daytona 500. He scored his first career pole at Martinsville. He struggled throughout the regular season, scoring only one top-five finish at Richmond.

On August 26, at the Daytona summer race, Preece was running toward the tail of the lead pack in the closing stages of the race. On lap 157, while racing down the backstretch, he was pushed from the rear by Erik Jones. The contact sent Preece down the track, where he collided with teammate Chase Briscoe, and spun onto the apron. As the car slid, aerodynamic forces lifted the car off the ground and rolled it onto its roof. The car landed upside-down in the grass before violently barrel-rolling roughly ten times before finally coming to a rest on its wheels. After a few moments, Preece exited the car under his own power, was put on a stretcher, and taken to a nearby hospital for further evaluation. During his time in the hospital, he tweeted that he would be coming back to race again and expressed disappointment that his race ended in the fashion it did. He was discharged the next morning and would be in the next race at Darlington. Preece would come into the next race at Darlington revealing in his interviews that he had two black eyes and both of his eyes were bloodshot from the wreck. The car was taken back to the NASCAR Research and Development center to be studied. Safety concerns emerged as film of the crash showed that the roof hatch, designed to allow the driver to escape from the car through a method other than via the driver's side window, was detached from the car early in the crash, exposing the cockpit during the remainder of the crash. Given his points situation entering the race, the crash eliminated Preece's chances of contending in the NASCAR playoffs.

Preece started the 2024 season with a 23rd-place finish at the 2024 Daytona 500. Following the Atlanta race, the No. 41 was hit with an L1 penalty and docked 35 owner and driver points after pre-race inspection revealed unapproved roof rails.

On May 28, 2024, Stewart–Haas Racing announced it would shut down its NASCAR operations at the end of the season.

2025–present: RFK Racing

On November 19, 2024, RFK Racing announced that Preece would drive the No. 60 car full-time in 2025. During the Daytona 500, Preece was involved in another airborne crash at Daytona. The incident occurred when Christopher Bell spun on lap 196, making contact with Preece and causing his car to lift into a wheelie before going airborne and flipping over. Preece then hit the wall, narrowly missing Erik Jones before it came back on all four wheels. After the wreck Preece climbed out of the car and was uninjured. A few weeks later at Las Vegas, Preece would earn his first top-five of the season, a third place finish, tying his career best finish since Talladega in 2019. At Talladega, Preece finished second to Austin Cindric by 0.022 seconds, but was disqualified after post-race inspection revealed the spoiler had three shims instead of two.

Preece started the 2026 season with a win at the Cook Out Clash. Following the race at Texas, he was penalized 25 points and fined 50,000 for wrecking Ty Gibbs. NASCAR determined Preece's actions were premeditated during a radio conversation with his team after an earlier run-in with Gibbs during the race.

Throughout the summer, Preece and the No. 60 team found themselves in contention for a coveted spot in the Chase for the Cup, newly rebranded from the elimination-style playoff format used in the NASCAR Cup Series from 2014 to 2025. Going into the final race of the regular season at Daytona, Preece sat 17th in the championship points standings with a 31-point deficit to Shane Van Gisbergen, who held the 16th and final spot in the Chase. After recovering from an early-race incident, Preece took the race lead on an overtime finish, and held it to a race-ending caution to secure his first points-paying victory and the final spot in the Chase. The win was Preece's first in 249 starts over seven years of full-time Cup series competition.

Camping World Truck Series Preece made his debut in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in 2021, driving the No. 17 for David Gilliland Racing in the races at Nashville Superspeedway and Pocono Raceway. Despite driving for a Chevrolet team in the Cup Series, Preece drove for DGR, a Ford team, in these starts. At Nashville, he passed Grant Enfinger with six laps remaining, which enabled him to become the fifth driver in series history to win in his first career start.

Personal life Preece was born in Berlin, Connecticut to Jeff and Jodie Preece. He is the youngest of three sons. In 2009, he graduated from Xavier High School.

Preece married his longtime girlfriend, Heather DesRochers, in 2017. DesRochers is also a racing driver and was a participant in NASCAR's Drive for Diversity combine in 2009 and 2010, attempting to become one of the drivers selected to be in the D4D program, although she was not selected either year. The two met at Stafford Motor Speedway in 2009 and competed against each other in the SK Modified Series in 2011, where Preece won the championship, and DesRochers was the Rookie of the Year.

DAY ATL LVS PHO CAL MAR TEX BRI RCH TAL KAN CLT DOV POC MCH SON DAY KEN NHA IND POC GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH CHI

DOV CLT KAN TAL

2019

47

26th 495 2020

29th 477 2021

27th 557 2022 Rick Ware Racing 15

DAY CAL LVS PHO ATL COA RCH MAR BRD TAL

DAR KAN

GTW SON NSH ROA ATL NHA POC IRC MCH RCH GLN DAY DAR KAN BRI TEX TAL ROV LVS HOM MAR PHO 55th 01 2023

23rd 637 2024

26th 584 2025

18th 861 2026

GTW BRI KAN LVS CLT PHO TAL MAR HOM -* -* Daytona 500 Year Team Manufacturer Start Finish 2019 JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 21 8 2020 31 29 2021 11 6 2023 Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 20 36 2024 25 23 2025 RFK Racing 27 32 2026 19 25

Xfinity Series NASCAR Xfinity Series results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 Pts Ref 2013 Tommy Baldwin Racing 8 Chevy DAY PHO LVS BRI CAL TEX RCH TAL DAR CLT DOV IOW MCH ROA KEN DAY NHA24 CHI IND IOW GLN MOH BRI ATL RCH CHI KEN DOV KAN CLT TEX PHO HOM 72nd 20 2014 36 DAY PHO LVS BRI CAL TEX DAR RCH TAL IOW CLT DOV MCH ROA KEN DAY NHA14 CHI IND IOW GLN MOH BRI ATL RCH CHI KEN DOV KAN CLT TEX PHO HOM28 53rd 46 2016 JD Motorsports 01 DAY40 ATL22 LVS18 PHO21 CAL25 TEX28 BRI19 RCH23 TAL15 DOV39 CLT22 POC17 MCH19 IOW32 DAY34 KEN15 NHA19 IND25 IOW34 GLN27 MOH17 BRI15 ROA11 DAR10 RCH26 CHI17 KEN30 DOV18 CLT23 KAN32 TEX22 PHO22 HOM21 17th 597 2017 Joe Gibbs Racing 20 Toyota DAY ATL LVS PHO CAL TEX BRI RCH TAL CLT DOV POC MCH IOW DAY KEN NHA2 IND IOW1* GLN MOH BRI ROA DAR RCH CHI KEN4 DOV CLT KAN TEX PHO 29th 202 18 HOM5 2018 DAY ATL LVS PHO CAL9 TEX5 BRI1 RCH TAL DOV CLT POC MCH IOW CHI DAY39 KEN NHA3 IOW GLN4 MOH BRI ROA DAR IND28 LVS6 RCH18 ROV4 DOV4 KAN21 TEX31 PHO5 HOM6 21st 483 2019 JR Motorsports 8 Chevy DAY ATL7 LVS PHO CAL8 TEX BRI RCH TAL DOV CLT POC4 MCH IOW CHI DAY KEN NHA IOW GLN10 MOH BRI ROA DAR IND LVS RCH ROV DOV KAN TEX PHO HOM 86th 01 2022 B. J. McLeod Motorsports 5 Ford DAY CAL LVS PHO ATL COA RCH16 MAR TAL DOV DAR TEX CLT5 PIR NSH6 ROA ATL NHA POC IRC MCH GLN DAY DAR KAN BRI TEX TAL ROV LVS HOM MAR PHO 82nd 01

Camping World Truck Series NASCAR Camping World Truck Series results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 Pts Ref 2021 David Gilliland Racing 17 Ford DAY DRC LVS ATL BRD RCH KAN DAR COA CLT TEX NSH1 POC9 KNX GLN GTW DAR BRI LVS TAL MAR PHO 94th 01 2022 DAY LVS4 ATL7 COA MAR BRD DAR7 KAN TEX3 CLT11 GTW SON KNX NSH1* MOH POC2 IRP RCH KAN3 BRI TAL4 HOM4 PHO 18th 410

Season still in progress Ineligible for series points

K&N Pro Series East NASCAR K&N Pro Series East results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Pts Ref 2008 Maxie Bush 28 Ford GRE IOWDNQ SBO GLN NHA THO FAI ADI LIM MFD NHA DOV STA N/A 0 2015 Ranier Racing with MDM 41 Chevy NSM GRE BRI IOW BGS LGY COL NHA IOW GLN MOT VIR RCH14 DOV 51st 30 2016 Marsh Racing 31 Chevy NSM7 MOB GRE BRI VIR DOM STA COL NHA9 IOW GLN GRE NJM DOV 36th 72 2017 NSM GRE BRI SBO SBO MEM BLN TMP6 NHA IOW GLN LGY NJM DOV 46th 38

Whelen Modified Tour NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour results Year Car owner No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Pts Ref 2007 Jeff Preece 40 Chevy TMPDNQ STADNQ WTO27 STA11 TMP31 NHA18 TSA14 RIV10 STA30 TMP10 MAN17 MAR18 NHA14 TMP29 STA31 TMP7 19th 1573 2008 Jan Boehler 3 TMP19 STA29 STA7 TMP10 NHA8 SPE25 RIV5 STA18* TMP24 MAN3 TMP27 NHA3 MAR1* CHE18 STA28 TMP14 10th 1948 2009 TMP4 STA3 STA10 NHA24 SPE5 RIV1** STA1 BRI3 TMP10 NHA3 MAR3 STA3 TMP2 2nd 2004 2010 TMP2 STA23 STA4 MAR16* NHA3 LIM4 MON23 RIV2 STA16 TMP22 BRI8 NHA20 STA6 TMP2 6th 1933 2011 John Lukosavage 11 Ford TMP4 STA17 STA24 MON TMP 22nd 1310 Jeff Preece 40 Chevy NHA26 NHA7 BRI DEL TMP3 LIM NHA14 STA2 Barbara Park 20 RIV4 STA Eric Sanderson 16 Ford TMP26 2012 TMP16* STA2* MON1** STA11 WAT3 NHA12 STA6 TMP17 BRI3 TMP3* RIV1* NHA10 STA5 TMP2* 2nd 545 2013 TMP3 STA4 STA1 WAT1 RIV1* NHA3 MON5 STA16 TMP13 BRI4 RIV1 NHA12 STA17 TMP3 1st 549 2014 TMP9 STA24 STA9 WAT6 RIV4 NHA5 MON2* STA9 TMP4 BRI11 NHA12 STA1* TMP1* 2nd 489 2015 Ed Partridge 6 Chevy TMP5 STA3* WAT1* STA1* TMP7 RIV8 NHA6* MON10 STA1* TMP6 BRI1 RIV8 NHA19 STA2* TMP7 2nd 602 2016 TMP2* STA30 WAT STA TMP6 RIV23 NHA6 MON STA TMP5 BRI6 RIV OSW SEE NHA STA TMP2 24th 277 2017 MYR4 TMP28 STA1 LGY TMP1* RIV4 NHA2* STA1 TMP1* BRI5 SEE3 OSW1 RIV4 NHA STA2* TMP26 6th 562 2018 MYR TMP4 STA1* SEE27 TMP4 LGY1* RIV2 NHA28 STA TMP23 BRI OSW19 RIV TMP4 13th 381 Mike Curb 77 Chevy NHA5 STA 2019 Ed Partridge 6 Chevy MYR SBO TMP STA WAL SEE TMP14 RIV NHA19 STA TMP OSW RIV NHA STA TMP 49th 55 2020 JEN WMM WMM JEN MND TMP19 NHA STA TMP 43rd 26 2021 MAR12* STA17 RIV23 JEN OSW2 RIV NHA1 NRP STA1* BEE OSW RCH1* RIV STA 17th 268 2022 Jan Boehler 3 NSM10 RCH RIV LEE JEN MND RIV WAL TMP17 MAR31 30th 151 Ryan Preece 40 NHA6 CLM Lawney Tinio 44 TMP6 LGY OSW RIV 2023 Jeff Preece 40 N/A NSM RCH MON RIV LEE SEE RIV WAL NHA LMP THO LGY OSW MON RIV NWS THO MAR1* 54th 48 2024 NSM13 RCH THO MON RIV SEE NHA26 MON LMP THO OSW RIV MON THO NWS MAR 52nd 49 2025 NSM THO NWS SEE RIV WMM LMP MON MON THO RCH8 OSW NHA RIV THO MAR 53rd 37 2026 NSM7 MAR THO SEE RIV OXF SEE CLM WMM MON THO NHA3 STA OSW RIV THO -* -*

Whelen Southern Modified Tour NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour results Year Car owner No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Pts Ref 2007 Jeff Preece 40 Chevy CRW5 FAI GRE CRW CRW BGS MAR ACE CRW SNM CRW CRW 38th 155 2012 Jodie Preece 41 CRW CRW SBO CRW CRW BGS11 BRI LGY THO CRW CLT2 27th 75 2013 CRW SNM2* SBO CRW CRW BGS1** BRI LGY CRW CRW SNM CLT15* 20th 123 2014 CRW SNM SBO LGY5 CRW BGS BRI LGY9* CRW SBO SNM CRW CRW 22nd 102 Mike Curb 98 Chevy CLT20 2015 Ed Partridge 6 Chevy CRW14 CRW3 BGS2 BRI LGY SBO 13th 206 Mike Curb 98 Chevy SBO1* LGY CRW CLT2 2016 Ed Partridge 6 Chevy CRW CON12* SBO CRW CRW BGS BRI ECA SBO CRW 18th 81 Mike Curb 77 Chevy CLT1

ARCA Menards Series West (key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.) ARCA Menards Series West results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Pts Ref 2008 Maxie Bush 28 Ford AAS PHO CTS IOWDNQ CNS SON IRW DCS EVG MMP IRW AMP AAS N/A 0 2019 Jefferson Pitts Racing 47 Chevy LVS IRW TUS TUS CNS SON20* DCS IOW EVG GTW MER AAS KCR PHO 59th 26 2023 Stewart–Haas Racing 9 Ford PHO IRW KCR PIR SON1* IRW SHA EVG AAS LVS MAD PHO 36th 49

Superstar Racing Experience (key) * – Most laps led. 1 – Heat 1 winner. 2 – Heat 2 winner. Superstar Racing Experience results Year No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Pts 2023 41 STA STA II13* MMS BER ELD IRP 27th 01

SMART Modified Tour SMART Modified Tour results Year Car owner No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Pts Ref 2021 N/A 6 N/A CRW FLO SBO1* 21st 58 2 FCS12 CRW DIL CAR CRW DOM PUL HCY ACE 2022 Ryan Preece 40 N/A FLO SNM CRW SBO FCS CRW NWS4 NWS4 CAR DOM HCY TRI PUL N/A 0 2024 Curb Racing 77 N/A FLO CRW SBO TRI ROU HCY FCS17 CRW JAC CAR CRW DOM SBO NWS 50th 27