Tony Stewart’s Forgotten Mentee Excluded by SHR Teammates Expected to Announce His New Destination

Months of dropping clues have left fans on the edge of their seats. RFK Racing has been hinting at a third Cup Series car alongside the No. 6 and 17 Fords since August. For instance, the team posted a meme about Chris Buescher earlier this month. But what stood out was the time stamps of a voice note: "06:17:59." As the speculation grows more intense with the season wrapping up, RFK's hottest prospect, Ryan Preece, cannot wait to be part of the big news.

The No. 14 driver has not been the brightest star of Stewart-Haas Racing. For the past two years, he has struggled to put up decent finishes for Tony Stewart's team. Last year, he scored only 2 top tens and 1 top five. This year he notched that up a bit to 5 top-tens and 1 top-five. Whatever his growth was, clearly his team was not interested in it, and Preece is ready to leave SHR once and for all.

Ryan Preece is not shedding tears Tony Stewart's creation has been a venerated fixture in NASCAR for 16 years. Collecting 70 wins and two championships—2011 by Tony Stewart and 2014 by Kevin Harvick—SHR has been a marvel. There was a time when Harvick and his crew chief, Rodney Childers, contended for wins every weekend. They turned it into a powerhouse team. However, post-2020, SHR faltered, and as it lost its glory days, it also lost its ability to hail its drivers. Although Ryan Preece has been part of the team since 2023, he has time and again been excluded from events. And the Ford driver is ready to pack his bags.

That is what Eric Estepp emphasized in a recent YouTube video. Earlier in May, Chase Briscoe, Noah Gragson, and Josh Berry participated in a study group that Ryan Preece was not even aware of. So Estepp said, "Lord knows he's ready to get the hell out of Stewart-Haas Racing. If him being excluded from that driver study group earlier in the year wasn't evidence enough, this weekend in Phoenix, he skipped the team's cooldown lap photo...Then Stewart-Haas posted this video which notably excludes Ryan Preece. So yeah, he is ready to put his two years at Stewart-Haas behind him."

Following the Phoenix race, SHR took a breathtaking sunset shot of its drivers—and Preece was not one of them.

Soon after Tony Stewart announced his team's closure in May, SHR was in tumult. Over 300 employees, including the drivers, faced uncertain futures. Yet both Stewart and Gene Haas committed to helping their SHR compatriots. One by one, the drivers got placed. Joe Gibbs Racing booked Briscoe, Wood Brothers Racing roped in Berry, and Front Row Motorsports tapped Gragson. Only Ryan Preece was left out and is still uncertain. Even fans bashed SHR for its discriminatory attitude.

Yet Brad Keselowski and his fold have dropped hints about inducting the left-out driver. Although the process is still taking time, Preece may announce his ride soon.

All paths lead to RFK Ryan Preece may have a hard time feeling left out in SHR, but the 2024 season is already over. Now the racer can turn over a new leaf and look forward to his future, which looks bright. Brad Keselowski recently dropped a thread of thoughts about the season on X. One of those posts included, "Look for several (official) big announcement from RFK in the next 2 weeks."

That should be music to Preece's ears. In mid-August, Kroger announced its intention to sponsor RFK instead of JGR. This is the same sponsor that Preece raced with on the hood of his car 55 times from 2019 to 2021. Yet a few hiccups lie on the path. For instance, Keselowski can acquire a third charter only if Michael Jordan and Co. lose the NASCAR lawsuit and their SHR charter as well.

Then Rick Ware Racing may also sell its team—but it is only a rumor now. Although the matter is still disorganized, all paths lead to RFK for Ryan Preece. Eric Estepp underlined this: "Y'all thought this was going to be a slow off-season...Just a couple of weeks ago, he participated in a wet-weather tire test for RFK Racing. So expect one of the announcements to be Ryan Preece joining RFK in a third car...Kroger is joining as a major sponsor as has been previously reported. Perhaps the other announcement will be that they have acquired a third charter or maybe they're leasing a third charter from Rick Ware."

Evidently, not everything is sad for Ryan Preece at the moment. As he bids a forgettable adieu to SHR, Preece is preparing for his new venture.