Ryan Preece sends a clear message to William Byron ahead of NASCAR tournament clash

Ryan Preece, the No. 15 seed for NASCAR’s in-season tournament, will be up against the No. 18 seed, William Byron. The first round kicks off on Saturday (June 28) at Echopark Speedway, formerly known as Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Having previously driven for the now-defunct Stewart-Haas Racing, Preece moved to RFK Racing in 2025. He is one of the drivers vying for their maiden win of the season. Sitting 14th in the driver standings, the Berlin, Connecticut native has 383 points to his name, including a top-5 and seven top-10s.

Firing shots at his Hendrick Motorsports rival ahead of the upcoming Quaker State 400 at Echopark Speedway, Preece said (6:10),

“I'm the higher seed, but I'm going against (William) Byron, who is the points leader. So that was a little bit challenging.”

However, Preece feels quite strong about his team’s performance lately. In his last six starts, the #60 driver has brought home three top-10s. His best finish this year was a P3 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway back in March.

“We've been really strong, so I feel like it's a great little, I don't know how many weeks it is...five weeks or something like that...it's a great five-week stretch to have something, you know, build some buzz. Yeah, Byron, you're going down, bud,” he added with a smile.

Fans can watch the 260-lap race live on TNT Sports, or listen to its exclusive radio coverage on PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, 7 pm ET onwards. Preece will start the race 5th and on row three, alongside his boss and teammate, Brad Keselowski. Joey Logano, driver of the No. 22 for Team Penske, is the defending winner of the event and will start from the pole.

---

Back when Ryan Preece was ready to move back home due to unemployment

When Stewart-Haas Racing shut down ahead of the 2025 season, many people lost their jobs, including Ryan Preece. The NASCAR Modified champion got a call from Brad Keselowski shortly after, but he wasn’t sure if he would be on RFK Racing’s roster in 2025.

Speaking of the same, during an exclusive interview with Motorsport.com, the Celsius-backed driver said,

“I think there’s always doubt, or a moment of uncertainty. I remember in August, September, I was looking at properties in Connecticut to go and possibly move back there and do that, so it was just…I didn’t really know.”

Soon, RFK Racing announced its expansion to a three-car team, procuring its third and final charter from Rick Ware Racing. Needless to say, it worked out for Preece.

“I’m thankful that it all did come together because it does take a lot of things. And really, I feel like it made me a better person, being here,” he added.

Notably, in 2021, Ryan Preece ended a three-year stint with JTG Daugherty Racing (now Hyak Motorsports) before joining Stewart-Haas as a reserve driver in 2022. There is just one thing missing from his resume, and that is a Cup Series win.