“All those to me are critical”: NASCAR champion speaks his mind on Ryan Preece’s ‘success’ and ‘work ethic’ since stepping into RFK

RFK Racing owner and former NASCAR Cup Series champion Brad Keselowski is not surprised by Ryan Preece’s success behind the wheel of the No. 60 Ford Mustang. The year 2025 marks his first season with the organization, and the veteran racer already has one top-five and three top 10s to his credit, including a P3 at Las Vegas, a P9 at Homestead, and a P7 at Martinsville.

According to Keselowski, Preece can even win races this year. The most “crucial” aspect behind Preece’s recent success is his work ethic, the Rochester Hills native pointed out in a recent interview.

"Right now what I like about Ryan is he's taking what we have and he's executing at a level that's probably as good or better than the equipment he's got,” Keselowski noted (quoted via CBS News). “I like his work ethic, the moves he makes, how he takes smart risks – All of those to me are critical to being successful at this level.”

“I think I saw those things and felt like if he was surrounded by the right pieces, whether that be people or equipment, that he could certainly capitalize,” he added.

Ryan Preece delivered his career-best performance at Martinsville Speedway last week. However, he wasn’t expecting it. During a post-race interview, the Berlin, Connecticut native said,

“I didn’t expect that one. We’ve got some work to do to be able to drive through like some other cars do, but I think we’ve got some good ideas and obviously a little luck went our way today.”

As of today, Ryan Preece sits 14th in the driver standings with 165 points to his name. He is ahead of his eighth race of the season, scheduled for Sunday, April 6. Named Goodyear 400, the 293-lap event will be held at Darlington Raceway, where Brad Keselowski happens to be the defending champion.

Ryan Preece reflects on chaotic Cup Series debut with RFK Racing

Ryan Preece made his official debut with RFK Racing in this year’s Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. But it didn’t end well for him. He was hit by Joe Gibbs Racing driver Christopher Bell on lap 197, following which his car went airborne before flipping over and landing on its roof.

Here is a video showing Preece's crash (0:13) :

It was the second time in two years that something like that happened to Preece. Luckily, he walked away unscathed on both occasions.

“Yeah I don’t know if it’s the diffuser or what that makes these cars like a sheet of plywood when you walk out on a windy day,” Preece said during a post-race interview with Fox Sports. “But when the car took off like that, it got real quiet. All I thought about was my daughter, so I’m lucky to walk away, but we’re getting really close to somebody not being able to, so I’m very grateful.”

Racing at superspeedways has always been a risky affair, and Preece knows that. He has a family to look after, and on that note, he added,

“I think we know where there’s a problem at superspeedways. I don’t want to be the example of when it finally does get somebody, I don’t want it to be me. I’ve got a 2-year-old daughter, and just like a lot of us, we have families. So something needs to be done because cars lifting off the ground like that.”

Preece also mentioned that the last time he crashed out at Daytona (August 2023), it didn’t seem as bad as it did this time. Nevertheless, NASCAR reviewed how safe the track was, ultimately paving the backstretch grass and revamping the curbing and concrete pads.