Chicagoland Speedway hosted its last NASCAR Cup Series race in 2019. Seven years of nobody racing there meant NASCAR had to come in and fix the place before it was fit to host a Cup race again. New SAFER barriers, repaved infield roads, restored garage stalls, and a 50-minute practice window to let drivers figure out a track that had gotten rough just from sitting. Most drivers got on with it. But Ryan Preece had a different issue to deal with.
NASCAR wanted Preece’s headrest taller. He wanted it wider. NASCAR’s concern was this: too much of a gap in the headrest means too much room for the neck to pivot in a crash. Safety call. Preece heard it and went straight to the radio.
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“I’m gonna argue with NASCAR about this adjustment that they want and I don’t,” he said. “This headrest is a pain in the [expletive]. It’s knocking my [expletive] head everywhere. Sorry, I’m not trying to swear. I’m just absolutely aggravated that I’m being told to change something that I don’t want to change.”
The headrest was the spark. The powder keg had been sitting there since May 3. Texas Motor Speedway, Lap 101. Preece hit the back of Ty Gibbs entering Turn 3 and sent him into the wall. On its own, a racing incident.
The problem was what Ryan Preece had said on the radio during a caution earlier in the race. “When I get to that 54, I’m done with him.” NASCAR heard it, called it premeditated, and handed down a $50,000 fine and a 25-point deduction.
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RFK Racing took it to appeal. They brought telemetry. They argued the data did not prove anything deliberate. The panel voted 2-1 to uphold the penalty anyway. And here is the part that really stung: the panel said out loud that neither side clearly proved their case, then sided with NASCAR regardless because of what Preece said on the radio.
The same weekend, Kyle Busch wrecked John Hunter Nemechek in what looked a lot like retaliation. Busch stayed quiet. Denied everything. NASCAR called the data inconclusive and let him go. Dale Earnhardt Jr. said what most of the garage was already thinking, that Preece got punished for being honest while Busch got away with keeping his mouth shut.
Ryan Preece is currently 15th in the NASCAR Cup Series standings with 402 points, sitting 1 point above the provisional playoff cut line. That 25-point hit is the difference between being safely in and sweating every single lap.
Going Back to Where It All Started for Ryan Preece
There is one place where none of this follows him. On July 15, Ryan Preece races at Stafford Motor Speedway in Connecticut. His home track. The place where he won 37 features and the 2011 SK Modified championship in Connecticut.
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The race is the GAF Modified Masters, the fourth stop of the Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series and one of the biggest Modified events in the Northeast all year. Preece does this regularly.
When the Cup schedule opens a mid-week gap, he goes back to the Modifieds. Keeps his reactions sharp. Reminds himself why he started racing in the first place.
For Stafford, it is the box office. Tickets are already moving. Connecticut racing fans do not often get to watch one of their own come back home while fighting for a playoff spot. This time, they do.
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The post “Not Trying To Swear”- Ryan Preece Rips NASCAR’s Mandatory Safety Change in Aggressive Chicagoland Outburst appeared first on EssentiallySports. Add EssentiallySports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
