Ryan Preece stood in victory lane at Bowman Gray Stadium on Wednesday with wet gloves and a raw smile. His win in the Cook Out Clash came after a chaotic night that tested drivers and tires. RFK Racing team president Chip Bowers said the club raced with the memory of Greg Biffle close to their hearts as they chased the front and claimed the checkered flag.
The short quarter mile track saw sleet, and a record number of cautions. The field ran on slicks early, then switched to treaded wet weather tires. Preece started 18th after an early draw and worked forward through traffic and restarts. He moved into the lead on Lap 156 and led the final 45 laps to take the win.
Bowers remembered Biffle, who raced for Jack Roush for most his NASCAR Cup career, after the team’s first win following his tragic death in December last year.
“This is our first opportunity to do that and we do it with heavy hearts like we do it with Greg and his family in our hearts and our minds. And it’s been a tough few months for us right we’ve had a little bit of tragedy to deal with. But it’s real testament to the family atmosphere that we have in our organization and the collective commitment to be ourselves and be committed to one another,” Chip Bowers said.
“And Ryan exemplifies that, I don’t know that there’s anyone in our organization that’s not got a little bit of a tear in their eye right now.”
Bowers praised the team’s close, family style culture and said Preece showed those values on track. Biffle, the 55-year-old former NASCAR star, died in a private jet crash near Statesville Regional Airport in North Carolina, which also killed his wife, Cristina, his two children, and three others.
The Cessna Citation jet crashed short of the runway after just about 10 minutes in the air. The aircraft hit lighting structures and trees before bursting into flames.
Ryan Preece Gets First Exhibition Race Before NASCAR Cup Points Race
Ryan Preece won the 2026 Cook Out Clash by 1.752-second margin and joined Jeff Gordon and Denny Hamlin as drivers who won The Clash before earning a points win in the Cup Series. The win sends him to Daytona with strong momentum for the first race of the season, Daytona 500, on February 15.
The 35-year-old came up through modified racing in the Northeast and reached NASCAR’s national level in 2013. Now, in his seventh full Cup season, he spoke about how close he came to losing his career. Two years ago, he thought he was out of NASCAR and ready to return to Connecticut.
Ryan Preece spent the next two seasons with Stewart Haas Racing, which shut down after 2024 before joining RFK Racing in 2025.
