Ryan Jeffrey Preece Bio
Ryan Jeffrey Preece (born October 25, 1990) is an American professional stock car racing driver who competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 60 Ford Mustang Dark Horse for RFK Racing. He is a veteran of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, and previously competed in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, the ARCA Menards Series East, and the ARCA Menards Series West. Preece established himself as one of the most resilient drivers in modern NASCAR after surviving multiple violent airborne crashes and consistently advancing through the sport’s regional and national ladder systems.
Early Life and Background
Ryan Jeffrey Preece was born in Berlin, Connecticut, to Jeff and Jodie Preece, and grew up as the youngest of three sons immersed in the motorsports culture of central Connecticut. Berlin’s proximity to some of the Northeast’s most historic short tracks gave Preece regular access to competition and mentorship from a young age. He attended Xavier High School in Middletown, Connecticut, graduating in 2009 while already building a competitive racing resume that set him apart from most of his peers.
Heather DesRochers, whom Preece married in 2017, is also a professional racing driver. The two first met at Stafford Motor Speedway in 2009 and later competed against each other in the SK Modified Series in 2011, the same year Preece won the championship and DesRochers was named Rookie of the Year. DesRochers participated in NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity combine in 2009 and 2010, though she was not selected either year. Together, Ryan and Heather have two children: Rebecca Marie, born in 2023, and Bentley, born in 2025.
Path to NASCAR
Preece’s introduction to organized racing came in 2007 when he entered the Northeastern Midget Association with the Bertrand team, finishing 32nd in the championship standings in his first year. A podium finish at Monadnock Speedway the following year marked his first career top-three result and signaled that he had the speed to compete at a high level. The SK Modified Series at Stafford Motor Speedway quickly became his proving ground, and in 2011 he captured the series championship while Heather DesRochers earned Rookie of the Year honors in the same series.
The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour represented Preece’s most significant early career proving ground. In 2009 and 2012, he finished as series runner-up, and in 2013 he broke through to win the championship driving for Flamingo Motorsports, owned by Eric Sanderson, with four wins in fourteen races. He returned to the team in 2014, winning the final two races of the season and finishing second in the final standings, before moving to TS Haulers Racing for the 2015 season. Preece also made multiple starts in the defunct NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour, gaining valuable experience across different regional racing formats.
Ryan Jeffrey Preece Career
Early Career (2007–2014)
Preece’s early career was defined by his dominance in the modified ranks and his steady progression through regional NASCAR-sanctioned series. His 2013 Whelen Modified Tour championship with four victories in fourteen races validated years of consistent performance and put him on the radar of national NASCAR team owners. Those years in the modifieds forged a driving style built on car control, patience on tight tracks, and an aggressive yet calculated racecraft that would define his approach in every series he entered afterward.
Preece made his first foray into NASCAR’s national series in 2013, debuting in what was then the Nationwide Series at Loudon, finishing 24th driving the No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro for Tommy Baldwin Racing. He added two more Nationwide Series starts in 2014, driving the No. 36 Camaro for TBR at Loudon and Homestead with a best finish of fourteenth. These early national series appearances served as his introduction to the larger NASCAR ecosystem and helped him build relationships with team owners and crew chiefs who would open doors in later years.
NASCAR Xfinity Series Breakthrough (2015–2019)
On August 8, 2015, Preece announced he would make his NASCAR Cup Series debut for Tommy Baldwin Racing at Loudon, a milestone that reflected the growing confidence team owners had in his abilities. He joined JD Motorsports full-time in 2016, driving the No. 01 Chevrolet in the Xfinity Series with Flex Seal as his primary sponsor, posting several competitive runs for the mid-pack organization and narrowly missing the inaugural Xfinity Series playoffs. A breakthrough opportunity came in July 2017 after Kevin Manion contacted Preece regarding openings at Joe Gibbs Racing following the retirement of Carl Edwards.
Preece’s first career Xfinity Series win came at Iowa Speedway, where he won the pole and held off teammate Kyle Benjamin on a late restart for the victory. Joe Gibbs Racing expanded his schedule to include Kentucky Speedway and Homestead-Miami, where he finished fourth at Kentucky and secured a top-five finish at Homestead despite controversy involving championship contender Elliott Sadler. In 2018, Preece ran at least ten races in the No. 18 Safelite Toyota for JGR, winning at Bristol Motor Speedway and capturing the $100,000 Dash 4 Cash bonus in the process. In 2019, he competed in four part-time Xfinity Series races for JR Motorsports, finishing in the top ten in all four events with a best finish of fourth at Pocono Raceway.
NASCAR Cup Series Breakthrough (2015–2021)
Preece made his Cup Series debut through a partnership between Tommy Baldwin Racing and Premium Motorsports, finishing 32nd in the Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire. The defining opportunity of this era arrived on September 28, 2018, when JTG Daugherty Racing announced that Preece would drive the No. 47 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 full-time in 2019, replacing the departing A. J. Allmendinger and competing for Rookie of the Year honors. He also joined JR Motorsports for a part-time Xfinity schedule that year, balancing both series while establishing himself in the Cup paddock.
The 2020 season tested Preece’s resilience. He earned his first unofficial Cup Series pole at Darlington Raceway via field inversion for the Toyota 500, though his engine failed on lap 69 and he finished last. In July at Kansas Speedway, he was involved in a violent crash on a restart in which Christopher Bell’s contact with Ryan Newman sent Bell into the outside wall and Newman into Preece, whose car hit the inside wall head-on. Preece walked away unscathed but recorded eight DNFs for the season and finished 29th in points. Preece returned to JTG’s No. 37 Chevrolet in 2021, but the team lacked a charter and carried only enough sponsorship for 24 of 36 races, ultimately shutting down after the season and leaving Preece without a full-time ride.
Stewart-Haas Racing Era (2022–2024)
On January 6, 2022, Stewart–Haas Racing hired Preece as a reserve driver and simulator driver, while also arranging Cup Series starts for Rick Ware Racing and Truck Series starts for David Gilliland Racing. At Nashville Superspeedway in June 2022, Preece earned his first career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series pole, led 74 of 150 laps, won Stage 2, and claimed his second career Truck Series victory. On November 16, 2022, Stewart–Haas Racing announced that Preece would replace Cole Custer in the No. 41 Ford full-time for the 2023 season, with Chad Johnston returning to the team as crew chief.
The 2023 season brought both high drama and significant setbacks. Preece opened with a 36th-place DNF at the Daytona 500, then scored his first career Cup Series pole at Martinsville Speedway. He struggled through much of the regular season, recording only one top-five finish at Richmond Raceway. On August 26 at Daytona International Speedway in the Coke Zero Sugar 400, Preece was pushed from behind by Erik Jones on lap 157, sending his car into teammate Chase Briscoe and then into a violent barrel roll that saw the car flip roughly ten times before coming to rest. He exited the car under his own power, was taken to a nearby hospital for evaluation, and was discharged the following morning. The crash raised safety concerns when film revealed the roof hatch had detached early in the accident, and it eliminated Preece from playoff contention. In May 2024, Stewart–Haas Racing announced it would cease NASCAR operations at the end of the season.
RFK Racing Era (2025–Present)
On November 19, 2024, RFK Racing announced that Preece would drive the No. 60 car full-time in the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season, with Derrick Finley as his crew chief. The Daytona 500 brought another harrowing moment on lap 196 when Christopher Bell spun and made contact with Preece, lifting his car into a wheelie before it went airborne. Preece emerged uninjured and showed remarkable composure in the aftermath. A few weeks later at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Preece earned his first top-five finish of the season, finishing third and tying his career-best Cup Series result since Talladega in 2019. At Talladega Superspeedway, Preece finished second to Austin Cindric by 0.022 seconds but was disqualified after post-race inspection revealed the spoiler had three shims instead of the allowed two.
Driving Style and Strengths
Preece’s background in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour and SK Modified Series gives him a distinct advantage on short tracks and restrictor-plate superspeedways, where car control, throttle precision, and aggressive yet calculated racecraft are paramount. His experience surviving multiple high-speed airborne crashes reflects both his composure under extreme pressure and the respect he commands from competitors in tight drafting packs. The partnership with crew chief Derrick Finley at RFK Racing has shown encouraging signs, with Preece’s early 2025 results suggesting that the team is building toward consistent top-ten and top-five finishes.
Notable Races and Milestones
Preece’s most significant career milestones span multiple series and include his 2013 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championship, his first career Xfinity Series win at Iowa Speedway in 2017, his first career Truck Series win in his debut start at Nashville Superspeedway in 2021, and his first career Cup Series pole at Martinsville Speedway in 2023. His runner-up finish at Talladega in 2025, before the post-race disqualification, marked his best career Cup finish since a top-five at Talladega in 2019. Stafford Motor Speedway remains his signature track, where he won the SK Modified Series championship and met his wife.
Ryan Jeffrey Preece Career Wins
Ryan Jeffrey Preece has recorded victories across multiple NASCAR national and regional series, with his most significant wins coming in the Xfinity Series, the Truck Series, and the Whelen Modified Tour. His ability to win in his Truck Series debut and secure victories at high-speed superspeedways and short tracks alike reflects the versatility forged during his years in modified racing. Each win represents a different chapter of his progression through NASCAR’s competitive ladder systems.
NASCAR Xfinity Series Highlights
Preece won two career NASCAR Xfinity Series races, both in 2018 while driving for Joe Gibbs Racing. His first career Xfinity win came at Iowa Speedway, where he started on the pole and held off teammate Kyle Benjamin on a late restart for the victory. His second Xfinity Series win came at Bristol Motor Speedway, where he also captured the $100,000 Dash 4 Cash bonus in the same race, marking one of the most accomplished weekends of his national series career. He also recorded four top-ten finishes in four part-time Xfinity Series starts for JR Motorsports in 2019, including a fourth-place finish at Pocono Raceway.
Other Wins and Performances
Preece’s 2013 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championship, earned with four wins in fourteen races driving for Flamingo Motorsports, remains his most prestigious career accomplishment and established him as one of the finest modified drivers of his generation. His 2011 SK Modified Series championship at Stafford Motor Speedway further cemented his reputation in the Northeast racing community. In the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, Preece won in his career debut at Nashville Superspeedway in 2021, passing Grant Enfinger with six laps remaining to become only the fifth driver in series history to win in a first career start.
Ryan Jeffrey Preece Family
Family Background and Racing Lineage
Ryan Jeffrey Preece was born to Jeff and Jodie Preece in Berlin, Connecticut, and is the youngest of three sons. His family’s support was instrumental in his early racing career, providing the foundation for a path that would take him from local modified racing to the national NASCAR spotlight. The Preece family’s deep roots in New England motorsports are reflected in the strong community ties that characterized Ryan’s formative years at Stafford Motor Speedway and across the Northeast modified circuit.
Personal Life
Preece married Heather DesRochers in 2017, a racing driver in her own right who participated in NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity combine in 2009 and 2010 and earned SK Modified Series Rookie of the Year honors in 2011, the same year Preece won the championship. The couple met at Stafford Motor Speedway in 2009 and have two children: Rebecca Marie, born in 2023, and Bentley, born in 2025. Preece attended Xavier High School in Middletown, Connecticut, graduating in 2009, and remains connected to his New England roots throughout his NASCAR career.
2025 Season Performance
Ryan Jeffrey Preece’s 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season with RFK Racing marks a new chapter following the closure of Stewart–Haas Racing, and the early results reflect both the challenges and promise of this transition. The season opened at the Daytona 500 with another airborne crash on lap 196 when contact from Christopher Bell sent Preece’s car flipping, though he climbed out uninjured, demonstrating the composure that has become his trademark. A third-place finish at Las Vegas Motor Speedway a few weeks later provided his first top-five of the season and tied his career-best Cup Series finish since his top-five result at Talladega in 2019.
At Talladega Superspeedway, Preece drove one of his best races of the season, finishing second to Austin Cindric by just 0.022 seconds before being disqualified after post-race inspection revealed the No. 60 Ford Mustang’s spoiler contained three shims instead of the allowed two. The disqualification was a significant disappointment for Preece and the RFK Racing team, who had celebrated what would have been a landmark runner-up result. With Derrick Finley as crew chief, the No. 60 team is building competitive momentum early in the season, and Preece’s modified racing experience on superspeedways makes him a consistent threat on the sport’s fastest tracks. At 34 years old and with years of experience across every level of NASCAR, Preece enters the remainder of the 2025 season with the confidence and race craft to compete for consistent top-ten finishes and potentially his first career Cup Series victory.
