Chances now vanish quickly in NASCAR. Sometimes it can be an engine blowout while leading a race, or the ‘Big One,’ derailing everything. And for Ryan Preece, it came in the form of a challenging four-race stint, right after consistency proved to be his only strength this season. However, as he finally emerges from the difficult run, the RFK driver understands the pressure of racing in the Cup Series.

“When you have weeks like we had, it can be extremely challenging and, those are the days that you need to have to kind of make you feel, I don’t know, get you back to where you need to be,” he told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio after his eleventh-placed finish at the Naval Base Coronado.

Considering the series of DNFs (three of the four races before San Diego) he faced since Charlotte, the 11th-place finish at San Diego was relatively one of his stronger finishes in weeks. Preece had been building on consistency since the start of the season, managing to keep himself within the top 20 in almost all races.

In fact, he was a solid 13th in the NASCAR Cup Series standings through the first 12 races of 2026 and had finished on the lead lap in all 12 events. But his slump, beginning in Charlotte, dropped his average finish to 17.8 – which was 15.7 at the end of the 2025 season – and he landed himself in 19th place in the standings.

Moreover, Preece would have been enjoying a much better position in the standings right now if it weren’t for his 25-point penalty at Texas Motor Speedway earlier for “rough driving,” which led to an incident with Ty Gibbs.

And consistency matters more than ever this season, as proven by the San Diego race. Ryan Preece jumped three spots in the points table, getting back into the top 16. He was 33 points behind the cutline before this race. Interestingly, he is now ahead of his team owner, Brad Keselowski.

“And, yeah, proud of the speed and you know, likely moving forward for the next nine races, it’s important to keep stacking a lot of points. And, that’s something that we need to keep trying to hustle on and do,” he added.

The momentum comes as positive news about his future has also begun to emerge.

Ryan Preece has to keep the momentum going

RFK Racing has made it clear that it’s committed to fielding three full-time Cup cars in 2027, even if that means doing so without a charter. Team president Chip Bowers recently confirmed that if the organization can’t secure a third charter before next season, it’ll simply run the No. 60 as an open entry instead.

“Short of being able to access one or acquire one, we’ll run open,” Chip Bowers said earlier. “That’s a decision we’ve already made as an organization.”

According to reports, sponsors like Kroger have already been informed that the No. 60 could compete as an open car in 2027 and remain fully supportive of the arrangement.

During a recent episode of Dirty Mo Overdrive, NASCAR reporter Jordan Bianchi of The Athletic also hinted at the same.

“We expect that Ryan Preece is going to return to RFK Racing. The team likes him a lot, the sponsors like him a lot, and Ryan is in a good situation that he likes at RFK Racing…Everyone involved thinks that Ryan Preece is going to return to RFK Racing.”

So, Ryan Preece’s only goal right now must be to maintain the momentum he’s built at San Diego, given that his seat appears safe for 2027. But again, with the pressure that he is under with his recent finishes, it will be interesting to see how his remaining season pans out.