"Charter got sold": NASCAR world questions Ryan Preece's SHR status after study group oversight

Shortly before kicking off his Advent Health 400 run at Kansas Motor Speedway, Stewart Haas Racing driver Ryan Preece's future with the Kannapolis-based outfit came under scrutiny as fans questioned the #41 Ford driver's absence from their recently birthed study group.

Stewart Haas Racing had a disastrous 2023 season, with zero wins to their name. In a bid to resurrect the dominance they once exercised on the asphalt, a study session was created, including Noah Gragson, Josh Berry, and Chase Briscoe. The trio analyzed data from their race statistics to level up their performance in Kansas.

However, Ryan Preece was uninvited to the group which was unearthed after NASCAR insider Toby Christie revealed that the SHR drivers had been studying their race data while Preece was absent from the study group (via X):

The #41 Ford driver was caught off guard and replied to the Tweet:

"Study group that I wasn’t aware of 🤷🏻‍♂️"

After seeing how Ryan Preece got sidelined, many speculated that SHR is releasing one of their charters to downsize their operations amid poor showdowns. One fan commented:

"Your charter get sold bro"

"Tells me all I need to know about how well things are going at SHR when one of the drivers doesn’t get invited to the study session," another fan wrote.

"They have to be selling the 41 charter after this season," concurred another fan.

One fan opined that Ryan Preece should look out for his 2025 prospects and commented:

"Bro you gotta start looking for a new job now"

This fan outlined that the Connecticut native's time with SHR is on the verge of termination and wrote:

"I’d say that’s a hint"

One fan took a jibe at Stewart Haas Racing and added:

"What a mess SHR is."

Ryan Preece castigated his team after a "preventable" occurrence sabotaged his Monster Mile run

While Denny Hamlin savored the weekend in Dover after securing his third Cup Series win in 2024, Ryan Preece suffered a fatal blow during his 400-lap run, which lasted only 66 laps.

While Preece eyed to rise from his dismal P29 rank, with only a solitary top 10 finish until now, Lap 60 had something else written for the #41 Ford Mustang driver. After smoke and fire in the left rear rocker panel seeped in, Ryan tried to address the issue but to no avail.

It turned out that the fire arose due to the incorrect installation of the bolts that acted as a binding force between the headers and the collectors. Feeling frustrated from a "preventable" mishap that added misery to his lackluster season, Preece blasted at SHR and said (via Bob Pockrass on X):

"I felt like I was on fire and I went the first seventy laps just trying to push through and then it got so bad that I couldn't put my hands on the wheel. Whatever happened, it's completely unnecessary and we can't afford days like this. It wasn't necessary it could have been prevented."