There were 17 cautions during Wednesday’s Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray, but Ryan Preece survived the tight corners of the Madhouse and sailed to victory, leading 46 laps in all. It was his first victory in the NASCAR Cup Series, although not under the usual points system.
The Clash is an exhibition-style event, which means that winning it doesn’t go toward a driver’s official total. But for Preece, it was special. He had never won a points race in 214 Cup starts.
Preece was teary, and his boss, Brad Keselowski, was proud. Taking to X, the TFK Racing owner wrote,
“Man that was Awesome! Great job @RFKracing and @RyanPreece.”
Ryan Preece is currently in his second season driving the No. 60 for RFK Racing. He previously drove for the now-defunct Stewart-Haas Racing from 2022 to 2024. During that time, Preece bagged a total of seven top-10 finishes. He has also served stints at Hyak Motorsports (formerly known as JTG Daugherty Racing) and Joe Gibbs Racing.
“We had a really good car,” Ryan Preece said after winning the Clash. “This is as much of a mental game as it is anything. We had a couple restarts go our way. It’s been years and years of grinding. I’m super thankful for Brad Keselowski and all our partners.”
This win does give a head start to Preece’s 2026 Cup Series campaign.
Ryan Preece opens up after surviving his career’s second terrifying crash at Daytona
Ryan Preece has gone through not one, but two harrowing experiences at the Daytona International Speedway. During NASCAR’s second visit to the iconic speedway in the 2023 season, Preece’s Stewart-Haas Racing Ford was caught through the grass and went airborne.
His car flipped a dozen times before landing on all four. Preece was rushed to the nearest hospital, where he was checked and cleared. The following week, he showed up at Darlington with bruises around his eyes. NASCAR chimed in and paved the grass-work in that section.
During last year’s season-opening Daytona 500, Ryan Preece got moved by Christopher Bell off the track and into the side wall. On impact, Preece’s car went upside down, went airborne, and crashed back down.
“When the car took off like that, all I thought about was my daughter,” Preece said after ejecting his Mustang. “I’m lucky I got to walk away, but we’re getting closer and closer to someone not being able to.”
“When it finally does get someone, I don’t want it to be me. I’ve got a two-year-old daughter; just like a lot of us. We have families. Something needs to be done cause cars lifting off the ground like that felt honestly worse than Daytona in ’23,” he added.
Next up for Ryan Preece is the 68th running of the annual Daytona 500. Fans can watch the driver in action on FOX, starting at 2:30 pm ET, or listen to live radio updates on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
College Sports Network has you covered with the latest news, analysis, insights, and trending stories in college football, men’s college basketball, women’s college basketball, and college baseball!
