RFK Racing announced Tuesday morning that Ryan Preece will join the team to drive the No. 60 Ford Mustang full-time. But what made him the right pick as the team expands?
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As driver-owner Brad Keselowski explained, Preece is a driver with the intangibles Cup Series teams seek. He just has not necessarily been in the right situation to contend for wins regularly.
"What I look for is people that have specific talent sets, whether that be their talent behind the wheel and combine that with some work ethic," Keselowski said in response to a question from FanBuzz.
"I see Ryan, I see someone who has talent. He has work ethic and probably hasn't been in the opportunities he needs to be in to be successful.
"So my commitment is to taking someone like Ryan and putting him in that spot where he can win and (win) with the right resources, with the right team around him and the right support structure."
Having a serious case of deja vu today!
Glad we’re teammates again and Kroger is back @RyanPreece_. 2025 will be fun 👌🏻 pic.twitter.com/YwrNXjyfbl
— Chris Buescher (@Chris_Buescher) November 19, 2024
Preece has spent time with two different Cup Series organizations. He started his career with JTG Daugherty Racing when the team fielded two full-time entries. He then joined Stewart-Haas Racing for two full seasons as the organization headed toward the end of its tenure in NASCAR.
Neither team was built to consistently contend for wins during Preece's time. RFK Racing is in a totally different situation.
The team has celebrated six wins since Keselowski took over as driver-owner, and it has steadily built itself back up from the struggles of the past over the last three seasons.
Now, the stage is set for RFK Racing to field three teams capable of contending for wins and playoff spots.
But for Keselowski, in particular, it's an opportunity to help another driver rebuild his career. This is something he did back in 2012 when he introduced Roger Penske to a man who would go on to become a three-time champion.
"It's fortuitous timing with Joey Logano winning the championship — I had this video pop up in one of my social media feeds," Keselowski said. "But Joey Logano's career in 2012 and some pundits maybe saying that they didn't think he deserved a Cup ride.
"And now to see that, it seems a little bit laughable now that he's won his third championship. I think it's a testament to not being in the right situation.
"I don't care who you are as a driver, if you're not in the right situation — you take the best driver in Cup and put him in a situation that's not right — it's not gonna work."
Logano won two races in four seasons with Joe Gibbs Racing. He failed to meet the lofty expectations placed on him as he replaced Tony Stewart in the No. 20, and he ultimately lost his ride.
Once Logano moved to Team Penske, he began producing at a staggering rate. He has won in all 12 seasons with Team Penske, and he has celebrated 34 times in victory lane. He has also won three championships.
It's unclear whether Preece will have a similar boost in production with his move to RFK Racing, but Keselowski and the organization will do what they can to make this happen. They will try to find the best crew chiefs, engineers, and pit crews so that Preece can focus solely on contending for wins every weekend.
"Our goal is to be an elite organization, I would say a world-class organization, and to do that in NASCAR you've got to win races," Keselowski said.
"And the more teams you have, the better that opportunity is to do so, the better the opportunity it is to elevate all the programs."
