13 races into his first season with RFK Racing, I think it’s safe to say Ryan Preece has proved that he belongs in the NASCAR Cup Series. Some questioned this fact for several years as Preece attempted to gain footing with JTG Daugherty Racing, and then, after a year away from full-time status in Cup, again with Stewart-Haas Racing.
However, driving the No. 60 Ford Mustang Dark Horse in 2025, Preece is finally getting a chance to flash the promise that was shown as he collected two wins in the NASCAR Xfinity Series with Joe Gibbs Racing between 2017 and 2018, and again as he collected two wins in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in 2021 and 2022.
With 23 races left in the season, Preece has already matched his career-highs for top-fives in a season (one) and top-10 finishes (five). Now, he heads into a track, Nashville Superspeedway, where he has won twice in the NASCAR Truck Series, and he heads there on a two-race top-10 finishing streak.
Both of Preece’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series wins came at the 1.333-mile concrete oval in both of his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series starts at the facility. Preece also recorded a fourth-place finish at the track in the NASCAR Cup Series a season ago, and he finished sixth in his lone NASCAR Xfinity Series start at the track in 2022, while driving for BJ McLeod’s race team.
Preece has found comfort with Nashville Superspeedway, and while he’s not totally sure why, he feels that the track suits his driving style perfectly.
“That’s a great question, and to be honest with you, I think it just somewhat fits the style that I have, the style that I grew up racing. It seems to be a little bit more forgiving when it comes to some of the things that I tend to do, and I really like it,” Preece said in a weekly media availability. “I enjoy racing there, and a lot of it is about being disciplined with the line there. I don’t necessarily know other than when I’ve gone back and looked and really continue to go back and look, I just like it.”
However, if Preece is going to collect his first-career NASCAR Cup Series win this weekend, he knows he’ll likely have to improve in one distinct area — qualifying. In the last two races, Preece has had to rally from starting positions of 30th and 28th to score top-10 runs.
“…The one thing that seems to be a normal occurrence is qualifying from 28th to 32nd,” Preece explained. “There have certainly been times when we qualify really well, and then there are other times when we qualify really badly. There doesn’t seem to be much of an in-between, and that’s just something we’re gonna continue to keep working on.”
Of Preece’s five top-10 finishes this season, only one came from a starting position better than 21st, and that was his season-best finish of third at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, which Preece achieved from the 12th starting spot. That third-place run also tied Preece’s career-best finish in the NASCAR Cup Series.
If the driver, who finds himself six points above the Playoff cutline heading into this weekend, can knock out a solid qualifying lap on Saturday at Nashville Superspeedway, Preece will likely have enhanced optimism that he can compete for a race win in the Cracker Barrel 400.
However, if Preece doesn’t win on Sunday, it feels like a win has to be around the corner. Preece’s No. 60 RFK Racing team has been building momentum all season long.
