“We need more friends behind”: Ryan Preece weighs in on the ‘shi**y situation’ that cost him a playoff spot despite a fast car

Ryan Preece looked set to race his way into the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs in the regular-season finale at Daytona International Speedway. Instead, he finds himself on the wrong side of the cutoff after a late shuffle in the draft left him buried in traffic.

Heading into the Coke Zero Sugar 400, Alex Bowman held the final playoff spot (+60), while Preece (-94) and RFK Racing teammate Chris Buescher (-60) were still mathematically alive. For Bowman, the danger was a victory for one of the winless drivers below the line. It would have ended his playoff hopes.

That win nearly materialized as Ryan Blaney's dramatic overtime sprint led to one of Daytona's closest finishes and saved Bowman's season, closing the door on Preece. After the race, Preece didn't hold back when describing how the closing laps played out. Speaking to Frontstretch, he said:

"I felt like we were going to win that race. You want to talk about having the best scenario play out for how we wanted it to. I was just leaving the (Justin Haley) seventh there. The 17 (Chris Buescher) was doing a great job just letting them stay there. And there's nothing you can do. The problem is the 9 (Chase Elliott) and the 5 (Kyle Larson) were worried about their teammate that would have been bumped out. So shi**y situation, thought we were going to win that one because we did everything right today and just didn't work out."

Ryan Preece had a strong night up to that point. After starting 31st, he methodically worked his way forward, finishing eighth in both stages. On the final restart, the No. 60 Ford lined up inside the top five and pushed into the lead.

Ryan Preece (60) and Justin Haley (7) lead the NASCAR Cup Series Coke Zero Sugar 400. Source: Getty

With five laps remaining, he was side by side with Justin Haley for control of the pack. But when Kyle Larson made a move on the outside with Chase Elliott glued to his bumper - and Buescher lined up behind Haley - Preece was caught in the middle lane with no one to push. He slid back to 15th in a single corner and never recovered.

"We have fast fu**ing cars. So it pisses me off that this is the second time that we've been on the front row with two to go and didn't win. We need more friends behind you. I can't control what teammates do to help their teammates. That was the right thing for them," Preece added (2:33 onwards).

It was the second time this season that the No. 60 Ford of Ryan Preece looked capable of carrying him to victory, but alliances in the draft went elsewhere. Earlier in the year at Talladega, Austin Cindric had edged him by 0.022 seconds with an assist from Larson.

Ryan Preece misses the playoffs as the field is set

(L-R) Brad Keselowski (6), Ryan Preece (60), and Chris Buescher (17) before the Clash at Bowman Gray. Source: Imagn

Ryan Blaney's victory sealed the 16-driver playoff field and ended the hopes of several contenders. Chris Buescher managed a seventh-place run, while Ryan Preece ended 15th. Brad Keselowski, who needed a miracle result, was eliminated alongside his teammates after an 18th-place finish.

For Preece, it marks a cruel end to what has otherwise been a strong first season with RFK Racing. Driving the No. 60 Ford, he has consistently been in the mix - a major step forward from his time at Stewart-Haas Racing, where playoff contention was never realistic. To miss the postseason by the smallest of margins shows both how far he has come and how far he still has to go.

The 34-year-old is still chasing his first career Cup Series win, but he will have 10 more opportunities this year to break through as the playoff field fights on without him. The Round of 16 begins next Sunday at Darlington Raceway, where Ryan Preece will aim to play spoiler and prove that the fast RFK cars he keeps talking about can finally carry him to victory lane.