Prior to the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season, Ryan Preece had never seriously hunted a playoff berth.
So, naturally, the thought of Preece being a legitimate playoff contender in this his first year with RFK Racing probably seemed pretty farfetched to most observers.
But with the playoffs right around the corner and Preece well within striking distance of teammate Chris Buescher to become the final entry in the 16-driver field, Preece is relishing the opportunity that’s in front of him.
Especially when he considers that, almost undoubtedly, hardly anyone expected him to be in this position so late in the regular season.
Ryan Preece Is Enjoying A Career Season By Every Meaningful Measure
Just 23 points behind playoff bubble driver Chris Buescher with three races left in the regular season to make up the difference, Ryan Preece is in a really good spot. It helps, too, that Preece is a fairly comfortable 50 points ahead of his closest pursuer, Kyle Busch.
Preece still has work to do, though. But 23 points is a very manageable deficit to overcome in three races, provided none of those races produces a first-time 2025 winner.
Of course, if Preece is the first-time winner, he wouldn’t even have to sweat points. He would punch an automatic ticket into the playoffs. But if that doesn’t happen and points are his ticket in, Preece still has a real shot to make the playoffs for the first time.
And that in itself is a huge accomplishment for the 34-year-old Berlin, Connecticut native. After all, his best points finish in five previous seasons as a full-time Cup Series driver is 23rd.
Currently, Preece is 13th in the standings and has already set a career-high for top-fives (3) and top-10s (10) in a season. His average finish this year — 16.0 — is by far his best ever in a season when he competed full time.
“I really feel strongly that we are coming into our own and really starting to execute races really well, even on days when we aren’t the fastest car,” Preece said on a recent Zoom call with reporters. “That makes me feel pretty good about these next few weeks.”
Motivation Is In High Supply For RFK Racing Driver To Prove Doubters Wrong
Ryan Preece is feeling optimistic about all three of the upcoming races, starting with Sunday’s showdown on the road course at Watkins Glen International in Upstate New York.
“I think road courses have been pretty good to us,” Preece said. “You never know. There’s a lot of chaos at the end of them. At the end of the day, we just need to put ourselves in position to execute if SVG (Shane van Gisbergen) were to have something go wrong or whatnot.”
If beating road course ace van Gisbergen at Watkins Glen proves too difficult for Preece, his playoff hopes will still be alive. Despite being winless in 210 career Cup Series starts, Preece likes his chances at not only Watkins Glen but also the following weekend at Richmond Raceway, and the weekend after that at Daytona where the playoff field will be set.
“It would be nice to go out and win this weekend or one of these next three weeks, or have the opportunity to point our way in,” Preece said. “I want to make the playoffs. That’s what (our team) kind of said going into the year.”
Regardless of whether he ultimately secures a playoff berth, Preece is admittedly competing with somewhat of a chip on his shoulder knowing that virtually no one at the beginning of the season thought he would be in the mix.
“To be honest with you, I could tell there weren’t a lot of people that had us on their Bingo card,” he said. “And I like that. I thrive off that. So, for me, now from a racer’s standpoint, I want to win. And I don’t want to just win once. I want to win a lot. We’re building that notebook together as a group to be able to do that.”
