“Sorry, I’m just really, really, f—— pissed.” That is the most apt reaction that a driver can have just after losing his seat in a race. Ryan Preece has been a high-flyer in the 2025 season. After a disappointing string of seasons at Stewart-Haas Racing, he recreated his purpose in RFK Racing. Preece has already clinched four top-five finishes across 12 points-paying races so far. But as he hoped to leave a mark in the non-points-paying race at North Wilkesboro Speedway, NASCAR came in his way.

The sanctioning body has been under fire for inconsistent rules since last year. Ranging from the erratic Damaged Vehicle Policy to irregular green-white-checkered flag runs, NASCAR’s executive decisions have a bad reputation. The scuffle with Ryan Preece was another hit, with the RFK driver making his emotions clear with his actions.

Ryan Preece rolls up his sleeves to deliver a message

When you are out to prove a point, you are ready to get your hands dirty. Ryan Preece was ready to get his hands dirty with paint at North Wilkesboro. Ahead of the All-Star Open race, a Whelen Modified Race laid down a ton of rubber on the track. That made it difficult for drivers to spot the restart commitment box, ahead of which they are supposed to choose the inside or outside lane.

So when Ryan Preece’s No. 60 Ford was running 2nd during a restart with 17 laps remaining, Preece ran over the ‘choose cone.’ As a result, Preece incurred a penalty from NASCAR and was sent to the rear of the field. That fallout effectively axed his chances to get into the $1 Million All-Star Race, despite having a solid chance to do so with his track position.

Instead of falling back on social media to lament about his position, Ryan Preece decided to deliver an actual warning to NASCAR. The RFK Racing star took an orange traffic cone from the garage and walked out to the pit road. Then he set it atop the pit wall closest to the racing surface. Preece explained his action to FS1’s Regan Smith: “You can’t see it. So I just hooked a hard left going across the line, figuring it’s in that area. I’m frustrated because if you have a situation like that, put a cone out there so we can see it.” He added, not mincing his words: “Heartbreaking to have a heartbreaking run like that taken away by someone in the (NASCAR scoring) tower.” And what happened next may make your jaws drop further!

NASCAR immediately realized its mistake and headed out to correct it. After penalizing Ryan Preece and after concluding the Open race, NASCAR officials had track workers immediately repaint the commitment box, whose colors had visibly faded. Clearly, Preece drove his point home with the message. Yet the damage was done to his RFK Racing team’s million-dollar chances. Preece said, “I’m just frustrated, but I think the thing to be said about it is that our Boston Common Golf Ford Mustang was super fast. It could run and get around guys and not waste time, and I think we were really the only ones that were making some waves. …We were in a position there.”

Clearly, Ryan Preece was frustrated with the authorities. That was expected, considering the storms that the driver has weathered to reach this point.

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Preece came close to hanging up his suit

Well, all the grim signs were in place. Over two seasons in the Stewart-Haas Racing fold, Ryan Preece picked up only seven top-ten finishes. In 2024, his SHR teammates – Noah Gragson, Josh Berry, and Chase Briscoe – held a group study excluding Preece. Clearly, the Ford driver was at the bottom of the SHR storylines. One by one, his teammates scored future seats in the NASCAR Cup Series, as Preece remained without a job after SHR planned to shut down.

Feeling left out, the Berlin, Connecticut, native planned to move back to his hometown just to secure employment. When he was right at the cusp of making a drastic decision, he got a call from Brad Keselowski. There was an opening in the No. 60 Ford seat at RFK Racing, and the NASCAR Modified Division champion got a renewed opportunity.

What followed was a rollercoaster ride of good finishes to start off the 2025 season. In fact, Ryan Preece ranks better in the championship standings (15th) than any of his former SHR teammates. The speedster reflected on how things had rapidly changed for the better since he was in the doldrums last year. He told Motosport.com: “I think there’s always doubt, or a moment of uncertainty. I remember in August, September, I was looking at properties in Connecticut to go and possibly move back there and do that, so it was just…I didn’t really know. I’m thankful that it all did come together because it does take a lot of things. And really, I feel like it made me a better person, being here. A better driver, a better teammate. It’s been a lot of great life lessons I’ve learned in a short period of time.”

Evidently, Ryan Preece is not willing to let anything go without a fight right now. That is why he openly warned NASCAR about his unfair All-Star Race penalty. Let us see what develops in this regard.