NASCAR Cup Daytona II
Ryan Preece issues confident RFK warning to field before Daytona finale
This weekend at Daytona is a race Ryan Preece has to win to be in the playoffs, but the driver is confident in the car he's driving at the superspeedway
Alex Harrington
Published: Aug 22, 2025, 10:31 PM
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Ryan Preece, Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing Ford
Photo by: Chris Graythen - Getty Images
Ryan Preece has sent a warning to the NASCAR Cup field ahead of Saturday night's Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway. The RFK driver has the utmost confidence in his car, but he has to translate this into a win if he's to avoid being shut out of the playoffs.
Ford Performance is strong at superspeedways, but the Connecticut driver isn't exactly where he wants to be heading into the regular season finale as he sits 18th in the standings. He has also finished 31st or worse in four of the last five Daytona races. But his confidence is sky-high, especially with his 'extremely fast' machinery.
All three RFK drivers are looking for a win on Saturday, but Preece instead sends a warning to the rest of the field.
“For me, when I sit in our meetings it’s the will to win. I see Chris’s [Buescher] team. I see Brad’s [Keselowski] team. I see our team, and I see fast race cars when we come to superspeedways.
Ryan Preece, Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing Ford
Photo by: Samuel Corum / Getty Images
"Honestly, yeah, [Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing] have three cars that are locked in, but we have three race teams that have extremely fast race cars that take control of these races, so if you’re gonna try to win this race, I guarantee you’re gonna have to go through an RFK car to win.
"I feel like we’re in a strong position to get one of our cars in and good luck to the other ones that are gonna have to get through us.”
With consistently competitive packages at superspeedways, Ford Performance will likely impress this weekend. And after the strongest season of the driver's Cup career since moving from Stewart-Haas Racing, it's no surprise that confidence is at an all-time high. But it is his priority to see the Blue Oval in victory lane.
"Whether that be Chris out front or Brad or myself, you want to be selfish as a driver, but understanding the main goal for the company and the employees and everybody there it’s very important that one of these cars gets into the playoffs because our speed, we’ve shown it throughout this year.
"Chris has had multiple times where things didn’t come together, myself included as well as Brad, so I think if one of our cars can get into the playoffs, it’s gonna be a serious threat.”
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