The next time NASCAR fans want to offer a toast, they may want to consider Kickstand Cocktails as their liquid libation of choice.

In a unique partnership with Roush Fenway Keselowski (RFK) Racing that begins with this weekend’s race at Kansas Speedway, Kickstand Cocktails is launching the season-long “Heat Up The Track” sweepstakes that will get fans’ motors running.

Fans who enter the sweepstakes on Kickstand’s website can win VIP experiences, driver-worn gear, exclusive merchandise, and more throughout the season. The partnership has Kickstand Cocktails as RFK’s “Official Bold Canned Cocktail,” according to RFK and Kickstand officials.

In addition to the season-long contest, there will also be special one-off prize drops tied to key races and moments throughout the 2026 NASCAR Cup campaign. Fans can also visit key retailers, including Total Wine & More, Whole Foods Marketplace, The Fresh Market, and many other fine retailers. 

“This is about bringing fans into the heart of the action,” said Elisa Baker, CEO of Kickstand Cocktails. “We’re a brand that’s built on bold flavor and big moments, and there’s no better place to deliver that than at the track. Partnering with RFK Racing allows us to create unforgettable experiences for fans all season long.”

Team co-owner Brad Keselowski and driver Ryan Preece will take part in a variety of promotions tied to the contest, along with charitable donations to the Checkered Flag Foundation, which supports veterans and first responders, as well as programs that train service animals for those living with PTSD.

Fans can enter the sweepstakes and learn more about upcoming prize drops by visiting KickstandCocktails.com.

Preece will carry Kickstand’s colors on his No. 60 Ford Mustang at Kansas Speedway this weekend, while the drink company will also serve as a season-long associate partner on Keselowski’s No. 6 Ford Mustang.

“Part of my job is, is educating people and making them aware of it,” Preece told EssentiallySports in an exclusive interview. “So for me, I feel like when you go to a race racing event, it doesn’t matter what it is. There’s typically alcohol and people are walking around with it, right? Well, if you’re not somebody who drinks beer and, or maybe you just, you like vodka sodas, it’s a great refreshing beverage to have.”

Preece continues to improve since coming to RFK Racing

Preece is now in his second full season with RFK Racing, which he joined at the beginning of 2025 after Stewart-Haas Racing dissolved operations. Last season was somewhat of a learning experience for Preece, who unfortunately came close but missed qualifying for the playoffs and finished 18 in the season standings, with three top-five and an impressive 14 top-10 finishes.

Thus far in the first eight races of 2026, the 35-year-old Connecticut native has two top-10 showings, including a season-best eighth place showing this past Sunday at Bristol Motor Speedway. Tied with Carson Hocevar for 13 in points, Preece is looking forward to Kansas, where he earned a career-best seventh at the 1.5-mile track in this event last season.

He’s hoping to build upon last year’s outing and potentially even come away with his long-anticipated first career win in the Cup Series.

“We’ve been consistent and have finished every lap this season,” Preece said. “(That’s) going to be extremely important because the NASCAR points system has gone back to a more traditional format and there’s really not going to be any mulligans.

“You need to go out, you need to qualify well, you need to get stage points and you need to finish well. So all those things matter. And I feel like we’ve been checking those boxes and we’ve been climbing the mountain. Every single week we’ve been running better than we did last year.

“The potential is really high. The ceiling’s really high. And it makes me feel really good about going to Kansas because I’m known as a short-track racer. I’m known to go out and excel at a Martinsville, a Bristol, a New Hampshire, a Dover or a Richmond. Since I’ve come to RFK and I’ve really leaned on Brad and Chris (Buescher), I feel like I’ve gotten a lot more comfortable at mile-and-a-half’s. I feel like this could be a weekend where we can go and show people that.”

Racing with the boss

Preece and Buescher (comes into this weekend’s race in 10 place) are in a unique position in that not only is Keselowski (11 place) their teammate, he’s also their boss.

“He’s just another guy you’ve got to try to get past and beat (and) I believe in my contract it says, ‘Do not wreck your teammates for the win, unless it’s the last lap,” Preece said with a laugh. “I’m not the one who wrote that or Brad did. But honestly, the nice part about being where I am and being teammates with Brad and Chris is I feel like we race each other with respect and, ‘Hey man, if you run me down, I’m not going to hold you up. I’m not going to aero-block you.’

“I would imagine if we’re racing for the lead with 10 to go, it’s a little different, but we try to help each other, which then in return helps the company. It’s a good environment; a good teammate relationship.”

While Kansas is his first priority, Preece knows that the next five or six races are one of the biggest and most crucial parts of the season. After Kansas are Talladega, Texas, Watkins Glen, Dover, Charlotte and Nashville. Two of his top career performances have been third at ‘Dega and fourth at Nashville – and one that, shall we say, got away.

“At Kansas last spring, Brad was running down the leader in second and blew a tire and that took his chance at winning that race away,” Preece said. “We went to Talladega last spring. I finished second. Ultimately we had a little issue (illegal spoiler shims) that was overseen and got DQ’d because of it, but we almost won that race.

“And then Texas, same thing with Chris running second, blew a tire, just, we were pushing the issues. Then Watkins Glen, Chris won. So four racetracks where we all have the opportunity and RFK has the resources and speed to go win. I wanted to give you examples because I know every race, our driver comes on to an interview and we’re always going to say, ‘Hey, we’re going to go out and win. Well, I got to beat 36, 37, 38 of the drivers to do that. But I confidently feel like we, as an organization, as a team, we can do that.”

With the win-and-you’re-in playoff qualifier rule gone, Preece feels he has a much better chance of making the playoffs this year and potentially go a few rounds or more.

“It’s taken some of the kamikaze away from some of the guys on late race restarts,” he said. “The way it was last year, you didn’t have to put 26 races to advance. You can just win one day and then essentially not even worry about it until the playoffs.

“I’m with an organization that is really pushing hard and I put a lot of that on on Chris and Brad, Brad’s direction, leadership within the organization and Chris, he’s done a lot of hard work over the years trying to give solid feedback with their (No. 17) program and a lot of those things.

“So I feel like the foundation is super strong, we’re consistent and we’re a threat and we’re climbing the mountain, not just necessarily we’re there and stumbling down and having good runs here and there. I feel like the potential of RFK and what Brad and Jack (Roush), the Fenway group have really been building, it’s really solid.

“So I’m, I’m grateful to, to be here, you know, with RFK and represent the partners that I do like Kickstand Cocktails this weekend, as well as Kroger and, and the many other partners that we have.”