Ryan Preece and the No. 60 RFK Racing Ford arrive at Iowa Speedway 38 points outside the top 16 in the driver standings and 13 points below the cut in the owners’ standings.
With just four races left in the regular season, Preece needs to close the gap to 16th-placed Austin Cindric, who was very fast in practice, but Preece faced a small setback at Iowa on Saturday.
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The RFK Racing car failed pre-race inspection twice, resulting in the ejection of car chief Jerry Cook for the remainder of the weekend. The No. 60 is also losing their pit stall selection.
The same penalty was issued to the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford of Todd Gilliland, with car chief Joe Marra ejected and a loss of pit stall selection.
Both cars passed on the third attempt, so there will be no further penalties. One more failure would have resulted in a drive-through penalty at the start of the Cup race.
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Preece finished fifth at Iowa one year ago, but he’s still searching for his first top-five finish of the 2026 season. Unfortunately, they also struggled on Saturday, slow in practice and qualifying 35th.
Gilliland had a better day, qualifying 17th. Gilliland and FRM also earned the $1 million prize for winning the In-Season Challenge at Indianapolis.
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Opportunity knocks for Blaney in race to the NASCAR Chase
Photos from Iowa – Saturday
Ryan Blaney, Team Penske
Chris Graythen – Getty Images
Chase Elliott, Hendrick Motorsports
Chase Elliott, Hendrick Motorsports
Chris Graythen – Getty Images
Ty Gibbs, Joe Gibbs Racing
Ty Gibbs, Joe Gibbs Racing
Chris Graythen – Getty Images
Joey Logano, Team Penske
Sean Gardner / Getty Images
Carson Hocevar, Spire Motorsports
Carson Hocevar, Spire Motorsports
Sean Gardner / Getty Images
Tyler Reddick, 23XI Racing, Bubba Wallace, 23XI Racing
Tyler Reddick, 23XI Racing, Bubba Wallace, 23XI Racing
Sean Gardner / Getty Images
Josh Berry, Wood Brothers Racing
Josh Berry, Wood Brothers Racing
Chris Graythen – Getty Images
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Bubba Wallace, 23XI Racing
Bubba Wallace, 23XI Racing
Sean Gardner / Getty Images
Erik Jones, Legacy Motor Club
Erik Jones, Legacy Motor Club
Chris Graythen – Getty Images
Shane van Gisbergen, Trackhouse Racing
Shane van Gisbergen, Trackhouse Racing
Sean Gardner / Getty Images
Ricky Stenhouse Jr., HYAK Motorsports
Ricky Stenhouse Jr., HYAK Motorsports
Chris Graythen – Getty Images
Ty Gibbs, Joe Gibbs Racing
Ty Gibbs, Joe Gibbs Racing
Sean Gardner / Getty Images
Ryan Preece, RFK Racing
Chris Graythen – Getty Images
Cole Custer, Haas Factory Team
Cole Custer, Haas Factory Team
Sean Gardner / Getty Images
Ricky Stenhouse Jr., HYAK Motorsports
Ricky Stenhouse Jr., HYAK Motorsports
Sean Gardner / Getty Images
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Joey Logano, Team Penske
Chris Graythen – Getty Images
Tyler Reddick, 23XI Racing, Bubba Wallace, 23XI Racing
Tyler Reddick, 23XI Racing, Bubba Wallace, 23XI Racing
Chris Graythen – Getty Images
Brad Keselowski, RFK Racing
Brad Keselowski, RFK Racing
Chris Graythen – Getty Images
Ty Gibbs, Joe Gibbs Racing, Chase Briscoe, Joe Gibbs Racing
Ty Gibbs, Joe Gibbs Racing, Chase Briscoe, Joe Gibbs Racing
Chris Graythen – Getty Images
Christopher Bell, Joe Gibbs Racing
Christopher Bell, Joe Gibbs Racing
Chris Graythen – Getty Images
Joey Logano, Team Penske
Sean Gardner / Getty Images
Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing
Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing
Sean Gardner / Getty Images
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Michael McDowell, Spire Motorsports, Daniel Suárez, Spire Motorsports
Michael McDowell, Spire Motorsports, Daniel Suárez, Spire Motorsports
Sean Gardner / Getty Images
Carson Hocevar, Spire Motorsports
Carson Hocevar, Spire Motorsports
Sean Gardner / Getty Images
Michael McDowell, Spire Motorsports
Michael McDowell, Spire Motorsports
Sean Gardner / Getty Images
Ryan Blaney, Team Penske
Chris Graythen – Getty Images
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