It’s been a season to forget for Ryan Preece. The 33-year-old is the only Stewart-Haas Racing driver who hasn’t secured a Cup Series seat for the 2025 season. With the team ceasing operations at the end of the ongoing campaign, inevitable departures by backroom staff and key personnel have meant that the cars have struggled to remain competitive. This has severely affected the Tony Stewart team’s postseason hopes, as none of their drivers have qualified for the playoffs yet.

With two races remaining before the regular season ends, the only way for Preece to salvage his season is with a victory at Daytona or Darlington. However, the Connecticut native doesn’t have much faith in his car’s performance, which has added to the uncertainty surrounding his future.

Tony Stewart’s mentee struggling with lack of pace

NASCAR is heading to Daytona International Speedway for the penultimate race of the regular season. The track represents Preece’s best opportunity to secure his first Cup Series victory. After all, anything can happen on a superspeedway, but last year’s memories will be fresh on his mind. The 33-year-old made contact with Erik Jones before his car went airborne and flipped several times before settling on the ground. While he managed to escape the incident unscathed, the accident will undoubtedly be at the back of his mind.

Speaking to Fox Sports journalist Bob Pockrass about his challenges, Ryan Preece said, “As far as what I’m doing, I’m not really sure. The biggest challenge in my career has been the timing of a lot of things with speed, and it’s tough. A lot of us all talk about it — there’s only so much, so many things you can do. You can’t drive a slow car fast right now, and the biggest thing is trying to find speed and put that speed together. Because when you have speed, it just opens up that box and opportunity. So I’m not sure yet.”

None will know better than Preece that his future in NASCAR depends on the upcoming races. A strong finish would not only salvage his season but also pave the way for future opportunities. And Tony Stewart’s driver will certainly hope that his No. 41 crew is up for the challenge, as the Coke Zero Sugar 400 will test his team’s ability to adapt to different circumstances.

Ryan Preece will undoubtedly focus on devising a solid race strategy with his crew, as well as aim to get stage points without risking potential wrecks. With his future riding in the upcoming races, the 33-year-old will leave nothing to chance before playoffs begin in Atlanta.

Ryan Preece sums up his Cup Series season

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After his fourth-place finish at Nashville Superspeedway earlier this season, Tony Stewart’s driver Ryan Preece would have undoubtedly thought he had finally crossed a corner. Why wouldn’t he? It was his highest finish in over two years, on a superspeedway no less. However, the 33-year-old couldn’t keep his momentum, and the results afterward didn’t live up to expectations. Since then, his best finish was 11th place at Michigan International Speedway.

Reflecting on his season so far, Ryan Preece said, “It’s certainly been challenging. I’m happy that [crew chief] Chad [Johnston] and the team is certainly fighting for it and continually trying to make the car better. There is no quit, which is what you want. But what I’d like to do is see more speed on our side. It seems like always during races, we can drive forward, but starting in such a hole [from poor qualifying], that seems to be a problem. It’s tough to say. I felt like at the beginning of the season, we had opportunity, we were kind of definitely moving forward. But, man, it’s been a challenge.”

Few drivers have had to face the challenges Ryan Preece has overcome this season. With Stewart-Haas Racing ceasing operations at the end of the 2024 season, Tony Stewart’s mentee has been forced to compete under very limited resources. The uncertainty surrounding his future hasn’t helped matters as well, as job security helps drivers perform at their optimum level. Bob Pockrass has linked Preece with a move to Spire Motorsports for 2025, and victory at Daytona could prompt the team to finally pull the trigger.

What are your thoughts about Ryan Preece’s season so far? Let us know in the comments!