Halfway via the 2024 Coca-Cola 600, Ryan Preece discovered himself but once more languishing in the back of the pack. What had been billed as a dream alternative for him to affix Stewart-Haas Racing, a multi-car powerhouse with a championship pedigree, had by this level turned to the grim actuality of being collateral harm of the group’s terminal decline.
Regardless of taking the wheel of a No. 41 automobile that had gained the Daytona 500 and plenty of extra races up to now, it had develop into effectively and obvious that Preece didn’t have what he wanted to win races. Quite, he needed to shoulder many burdens in attempting to hold his automobile and his workforce ahead — all the way in which to the purpose of getting to play crew chief from the cockpit and inspire his precise crew chief atop the pit field.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. to serve as crew chief for the first time in NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Pocono
Steven Taranto
“I am gonna go together with that didn’t wake the entrance up, and it did not do what we have to,” Preece said after a caution came out. “So, I do not care how a lot observe place we lose proper now, I am unable to even keep what I’ve.”
“OK, however every thing that I do that’s the path that I feel is mistaken,” replied his crew chief, seemingly sulking. “So, I can choose a path on the entrance, however I do not know that it is gonna be proper as a result of every thing else that I’ve performed is mistaken.”
“Nicely, you’ll want to be proper now the chief — like I do know you could be — and let’s determine it the f–k out,” Preece mentioned in return. “As a result of we have got 600 miles, 220 laps to drag this collectively. Let’s make a path and determine it out.”
In simply over a yr since then, the state of affairs for Preece has modified dramatically. After Stewart-Haas Racing offered its property and shut down on the finish of 2024, Preece not solely landed with a brand new third workforce at RFK Racing, however has been higher for it. As the driving force of RFK’s No. 60 Ford, Preece is in the course of the very best season of his Cup profession, with a career-high six prime 10s via 16 races placing him proper within the thick of the combat to make the NASCAR playoffs later this season.
On the floor, Preece reaching his potential as a Cup driver after a few years of clawing his method up from stardom within the Whelen Modified Tour is the product of him being put in the suitable state of affairs at RFK Racing, the place he’s each a part of a company on the rise and has a automobile proprietor in Brad Keselowski that believes in him. However chatting with CBS Sports activities, Preece shared that there is one other contributing issue at play: an open thoughts, significantly on the subject of the automobile he is driving and trusting the individuals engaged on it.
“I went in with an open thoughts of ‘I am gonna work on me, I am gonna belief the method and I am gonna proceed to push myself.’ And that comes with doing extra listening than I do speaking, having a special perspective going into the weekends, and actually simply having a giant, open thoughts on the subject of quite a lot of issues,” Preece mentioned. “There’s undoubtedly occasions the place I virtually know an excessive amount of for my very own good on the subject of race vehicles, and you’ll give you preconceived notions. So, I am attempting to undoubtedly get again to the Ryan Preece that simply drove race vehicles as an alternative of simply ones that I arrange.
“There is definitely occasions the place you may assist discover the path of what you’ll want to make the automobile higher, however proper now it is simply attempting to concentrate on the little areas that I have to be higher at, after which maximizing and utilizing the strengths that I’ve in the suitable alternative.”
Contemplating he made his strategy to Cup in a tough scrabble, old school method — from brief observe stardom in Modifieds to lesser Xfinity vehicles, to higher Xfinity vehicles after which lesser Cup vehicles — Preece can communicate on good authority to what goes into hitting the steadiness, from spring splits to wedge to nostril weight, aerodynamics and the way it all comes collectively to make a automobile deal with correctly. Trusting the method, although, has gotten Preece nearer and nearer to the texture he desires in his vehicles. And following via on the roadmap of driver obligations laid out to him by Brad Keselowski earlier than the beginning of the season has optimized Preece’s efficiency each on the racetrack and as a workforce chief.
As issues stand, there is a good probability Preece can get his first profession win earlier than the tip of the common season. In actual fact, it virtually occurred at Talladega, the place Preece ran second in a photograph end earlier than finally being disqualified for improprieties with the rear spoiler present in post-race tech inspection. However there is a subtext in saying that Preece can win. If he desires to contend for a championship come the autumn, he most likely must.
Getting into final weekend’s race in Mexico Metropolis, Preece had been tied for the ultimate spot above the playoff lower line with Kyle Busch, and he ought to have been capable of take command of that spot after profitable a stage and operating fifteenth whereas Busch crashed out on lap seven. However a win by Shane van Gisbergen, a street course specialist who had entered Mexico thirty third in factors, bumped the lower line down and bumped Preece 19 factors under the brand new line coming into Pocono this weekend.
Not that the added diploma of problem is an issue for Preece. In spite of everything, his massive break in NASCAR got here when he opted to take his sponsor to a two-race alternative in one in every of Joe Gibbs Racing’s Xfinity vehicles, realizing that he seemingly wanted to win to get an actual shot shifting forwards — and did so.
“I thrive off strain. I get pleasure from it,” Preece mentioned. “There’s those who when it comes time for the Championship 4 or no matter — I have never been in that state of affairs within the Cup Collection, so I am unable to communicate on that. However what I can communicate on is life-changing moments that I’ve had, and in these moments I’ve succeeded. And that is as a result of when somebody’s again is towards the wall, I am not anyone that is gonna curl up in a nook and simply take what I get. I am gonna combat.
“For me it is approaching each weekend prefer it’s my final and attempting to win. And never doing one thing silly — I really feel like I am at all times fairly sensible in regards to the selections that I make behind the wheel. I undoubtedly have a guidelines of issues that we’re persevering with to work on, I am persevering with to work on. Once we nail all of it down, I am able to go to struggle.”
Apparently, the battle proper now could be between Preece and his RFK Racing teammate Chris Buescher, who had told CBS Sports in Nashville he takes a must-win method to the second half of the common season regardless of being in a sound factors place. When requested if he agreed with Buescher’s mentality, Preece affirmed the reply was sure — to a degree.
“For those who’re in our state of affairs or anyone under us, I feel you are at that time the place you’ll want to take into consideration profitable,” Preece mentioned. “Now, you may’t do it on the sacrifice of ‘Am I gonna take this threat and end third, however on the identical time I’ve the potential to complete thirtieth?’ Since you form of have gotta do each. It’s good to put your self in place to have nice days, however take the alternatives to win the race when you may.
“Since you’ve seen it, there’s some those who run twenty eighth after which Daytona or a street course, if issues go your method, you do not even take into consideration the opposite 17 or nevertheless many races that you will have not ran very effectively, however had one win and it modifications your whole season or outlook on that season. Our purpose is to win and win a number of occasions.”
A win earlier than the tip of the common season would give Preece much more to smile about than he already has. Final weekend in Mexico Metropolis, Preece drove the Colgate Ford coinciding with a brand new advert marketing campaign for Colgate, one of many many shopper manufacturers Preece and RFK Racing have had adorn their vehicles this season via a partnership with Kroger — which, in an period the place so many NASCAR sponsorships are business-to-business offers, harkens again to previous occasions the place shopper manufacturers dominated the grid and related race followers to their favourite drivers and groups via the merchandise they used on daily basis.
“I brush my tooth on daily basis, I exploit mouthwash on daily basis,” Preece mentioned. “And clearly having a accomplice like Colgate, having the ability to do among the commercials we do together with the opposite manufacturers that Kroger and (BAM Advertising and Tad Geschickter) carry to the desk, it is quite a lot of enjoyable for us. As a result of we not solely are simply capable of promote these issues outdoors of simply driving the race automobile, we’re additionally capable of relate and push all of the completely different ones that we use on daily basis, and get our race followers which are loyal to us to go purchase them too.”