Fans thought of Ryan Preece as the least favorite Stewart Haas Racing driver who could land in a new seat after the team’s closure. Well, for the most part, it turned out to be true. Chase Briscoe found his new home at Joe Gibbs Racing. Front Row Motorsports signed Noah Gragson, and even rookie Josh Berry landed on his feet at Wood Brothers Racing. It looks as if Preece would be forced to race in the lower series without an opportunity to continue his Cup racing for 2025. But Brad Keselowski and RFK Racing rescued Preece and entrusted him with an opportunity to lead their third car, #60. From the outside looking in, it feels like RFK Racing took a bet on Preece despite the option of nurturing a talented driver.

However, Keselowski doesn’t care about the outside noise as he has faith in his new driver. Sharing his take on his new signing, he further outlined the reason why he feels Ryan Preece is the right pick for his team.

There’s more to Ryan Preece than meets the eye

It is indeed hard to judge Preece’s pedigree as a race car driver if we are to look at his statistics in the Cup Series. Despite running five full-time schedules, the driver hasn’t been able to clinch a single race win to his name. The closest he came to winning a race was during his time at JTG Daugherty Racing in his rookie year at Talladega Superspeedway. He finished 3rd in that race, but that’s about it. Apart from a couple more top 5 results, he’s just been a driver who hopped from one team to another and raced in mid-pack.

But if you divert your attention to his Xfinity Series run and early days of racing in the Whelen-modified series, the script changes drastically. Despite running a single full-time run in the Xfinity Series, Preece has two series wins, both of which came at the short tracks, Iowa and Bristol. He is also among the few drivers to have won a race at the iconic Bowman Gray Stadium from his days competing in the Whelen Series. And his expertise on the short ovals is something that Brad Keselowski is banking on for the next year.

“I felt really good about how all this came together, and I’m glad it happened to the driver and looking forward to see what he can do, particularly on the short tracks and Superspeedways. He’s got a lot of talent. Short tracks have been a spot where RFK has room for improvement. I think he’s gonna elevate the ramp for all our teams, and so it’s a good opportunity for him.” Keselowski said this on MRN’s NASCAR Live podcast.

The veteran owner/driver also touched upon his unique partnership with Kroger. The $43 billion retail company jumped ships from JTG Racing to RFK for the 2025 season. And not just Preece, but the sub-brands of Kroger will sponsor all three race cars. “Now you’re gonna see Kroger be a part of all three of our race cars next year on the #60, on the #6, and the #17. Which really gives us brands an opportunity to showcase with different drivers and different fan bases and engage that. I think it’s really important for our partners but also for our fans,” he added.

If anything, Brad Keselowski has hit a master stroke in getting a good driver, sponsor, and a charter deal with Rick Ware Racing. But, how exactly has RFK acquired a third charter?

RFK Racing has leased a charter from RWR

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The first thought that most of the race fans had in mind was that NASCAR allowed RFK to get hold of one of the two SHR charters. Both 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports have purchased a charter each from SHR to expand to a three-car team. However, with the ongoing legal tussle between the two parties, NASCAR has yet to sanction the transfer of these charters to the new owners.

But RFK Racing didn’t break the bank to add a permanent charter; rather, they leased one from Rick Ware Racing. Team President Steve Newmark confirmed this, stating that leasing the charter is a “short-term fix.” They are hoping to get a permanent charter, but with the current state of chaos and uncertainty, this seemed like a sensible approach to expanding to a three-car lineup.

However, Keselowski opted to remain tight-lipped about the charter situation while speaking with MRN on the podcast. “Yeah, we are going to run with the charter. Not really getting into details on how or where, but we’re gonna run this charter the next year, and that will be good for everybody.”

On the flip side of this expansion driver, Corey LaJoie now finds himself stranded, as he was hoping to continue with RWR on a full-time run. But, with that charter now passed onto RFK Racing, he will have to look for new opportunities.