Ryan Preece reflects on impact of Talladega DQ

Ryan Preece has been a revelation during his first season at RFK Racing. He competed for the win at Talladega this past weekend, underscoring the awesome season he’s been having in the No. 60 Ford, finishing as the runner-up — or so he thought.

After celebrating one of the best runs of his career, NASCAR rained on Preece’s parade. His car was disqualified, the punishment stemmed from an unintentional adjustment during pre-race inspection to correct a spoiler angle issue, and not meeting the approved compliance method.

The range of emotions Preece experienced certainly drained him and his team’s morale, but they’re looking to bounce back this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway. Ahead of the race, the 34-year old spoke with FOX’s Bob Pockrass about his mindset at the moment.

“It’s not like it was a performance thing. I don’t think you’d want to add a shim to put spoiler angle in a car. It was to meet the rule that to pass tech, and in the heat of the battle, you’re just trying to get through tech. So, you know, it is what it is,” Preece stated.

“The thing that I like about our group is we’ll go out there, execute, get stage points and keep putting ourselves in positions to have great days like that. Yeah, just keep fighting.”

Alas, Preece’s attitude has certainly changed since joining RFK over the offseason, and he’ll lean on his teammates in Chris Buescher and Brad Keselowski throughout the season. That’s what he’s done so far in 2025, and it’s worked wonders.

“I couldn’t be more proud of being a part of RFK and everything,” Preece added. “The knowledge and the support, and everything that we’ve had, or I’ve had — it’s been a lot of fun.

“Even going into the mindset with Chris and Brad — it was funny, at the beginning of that race, you know, Brad, by Lap 3, was potentially leading that race, coming from where he was. So it’s just — it’s neat to study, and see all the different ways about how you attack a race. Glad to be part of it.”

All told, Ryan Preece is P19 in the point standings, but he’s certainly fighting for a playoff spot at the moment. With three top tens and a top five on the season already, he’s breaking out and looking for more. Bet against the Berlin, Connecticut native at your own risk throughout the summer.