Sixteen drivers were far too many for the Chase. Many NASCAR insiders, including former Cup Series driver Kyle Petty, have made that argument in recent weeks. Petty even went as far as saying that fans shouldn’t bother following the bubble drivers once the Chase begins. Ryan Preece’s performance at Daytona, however, offered a very different perspective.
Preece had already stated that he had nothing to lose as he looked to secure the 16th seed. He was going for the win. And after surviving a chaotic overtime finish to reach Victory Lane at this level for the first time in his career, he now carries that confidence into Darlington next weekend. The RFK Racing driver believes he can make some noise among NASCAR’s championship contenders.
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“I feel like momentum is on our side, and we’re going to do our best to, you know, be a contender and be a part of the battle that Kyle Petty thinks even if you’re 16th in the chase, you can’t be a part of,” Preece said in the post-race press conference in Daytona, which marked his 249th career start.
When the Coke Zero Sugar 400 began, things didn’t look like they were going in favor of Preece. He was 31 points behind Shane van Gisbergen, who won Stage 1, collecting 10 valuable points. Preece finished eighth and was collected in a wreck involving Kyle Larson and Chris Buescher, although he escaped without damage.
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Luck then favored him as SVG’s advantage gradually disappeared. Mileage issues with the Trackhouse Racing driver’s No. 97 Chevrolet forced him — along with several others — to pit and give up track position toward the end of the final Stage. SVG dropped to 27th after pitting, while Preece found himself toward the front of the pack.
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On the final lap of overtime, Preece passed Zane Smith and moved into the lead, only for the Front Row Motorsports driver to be caught in a chaotic multi-car wreck that brought out the caution flag. The running order froze, and Preece, who was leading at the time, was declared the winner. The result left SVG 17 points behind Preece for the final Chase position.
Now, the No. 60 driver enters the post-season for the first time in his career. He also believes the schedule could play into his hands. Preece pointed toward Darlington, World Wide Technology Raceway, Bristol, Talladega, Martinsville, Homestead, Phoenix, Las Vegas and Kansas as tracks where the No. 60 team can perform well. And after everything that happened at Daytona, dismissing him could prove costly.
For Preece, however, this victory meant far more than simply securing the final Chase spot. During the closing laps of the 2023 Daytona summer race, Preece’s No. 41 Ford made contact and spun down the backstretch. The car hit the grass and was launched into a violent series of barrel rolls before miraculously coming to rest on its wheels.
Preece walked away without serious injuries, though the enormous forces involved left him with black eyes and bloodshot eyes. The frightening memory resurfaced in February 2025, when he was involved in another airborne crash at Daytona during the Daytona 500. To return to the same track years later and leave it with his first Cup Series victory made Sunday’s triumph all the more meaningful.
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“Daytona almost took my life or ended my racing career. It could’ve. We were about inches away from something possibly really bad happening,” Preece said in the same interview.
Not many had given Preece much of a chance of making it to the Chase. The gap to SVG was considered too big, but he kept saying he would leave no stone unturned in his pursuit of the postseason, and he was true to his word. So why don’t the insiders believe him when he says he can make an impact in the postseason? Drivers like Preece, along with bubble outsiders such as Austin Cindric and Bubba Wallace, may not be favorites like those toward the front of the field, such as Denny Hamlin and Ryan Blaney, but their grit is what helped them make it through.
With a bit of luck on their side, there is no reason why they can’t pull off victories in the Chase and cause some major upsets. The “Rocket Man” proved that at Daytona.
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The post “Kyle Petty Thinks You Can’t”– Ford Star Drops Fiery Reality Check on Chase Critics After Daytona Triumph appeared first on EssentiallySports. Add EssentiallySports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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