NASCAR revealed the penalty report following this past weekend’s triple-header weekend of racing, which featured the Cup, O’Reilly Auto Parts and Craftsman Truck Series divisions, at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas (May 1-3).
In the Cup division, Ryan Preece, driver of the No. 60 Roush Fenway Keselowski (RFK) Racing Ford Mustang Dark Horse entry, was levied a $50,000 fine and a 25-point penalty. This was in response to an on-track retaliatory incident with Ty Gibbs during Sunday’s Cup event, won by Chase Elliott.
The issue began on Lap 100 of 267, when Preece appeared to bump the rear bumper of Gibbs’ No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry XSE entry. The contact sent Gibbs sideways and into the Turn 3 outside wall, where he sustained significant right-side damage. Ultimately, the incident relegated Gibbs to a 36th-place result with a DNF while Preece continued and finished in 14th place.
Preece’s on-track actions towards Gibbs violated Sections 4.3 & 4.4A from the NASCAR rule book. It pertains to NASCAR’s Member Code of Conduct Guidelines. Before the incident, Preece voiced his frustrations with Gibbs over their on-track battle at the conclusion of the first stage period. He also hinted at paying back Gibbs.
Before Preece’s penalty was revealed, he offered his perspective on the on-track incident and the feud with Gibbs on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90).
“There are people that you can race with respect around and cut breaks to,” Preece said. “Like, I can think of multiple times yesterday that instead of putting another driver in a pretty tough spot, you make the decision not to do that. I just grew up racing against people that I learned that lesson a long, long time ago, when I was a lot younger. Sometimes, I question if those same lessons are learned by the time you get to Cup.
“For me, it was more along the lines of [Gibbs] pretty much was very close to clear getting into [Turn] 3, and I could lift, but I didn’t,” Preece added. “I was right there and I felt like he came down, and I was not going to cut him a break because in the past, him and I have had problems. So I’ve got a little bit of a short fuse with him and I, with how we’re racing. And that was just one of those situations that could I cut him a break? Probably could have, but I didn’t. And ultimately, I didn’t feel like I hit him. I felt like I stayed right on him, and he got loose, and from there on, unfortunately, he wrecked.”
Preece was previously 12th in the driver’s standings with 298 points. With the penalty, he dropped a position to 13th place with 273 points and is 38 points above the top-16 cutline to be in contention to make the Chase. Gibbs dropped two points positions from fifth to seventh.
In the Truck division, Dylan Cappello, crew chief for Layne Riggs and the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford F-150 team, received a fine of $2,500. He is also suspended from the upcoming event at Watkins Glen International. Cappello’s penalty was due to improperly installed lug nuts on Riggs’ entry. This violated Sections 8.8.10.4a of the NASCAR rule book that pertains to Tires and Wheels, along with lug nut(s) not properly installed.
Amid the penalty, Riggs finished in sixth place during Friday’s Truck event at Texas. He is currently third in the driver’s standings and trails teammate Chandler Smith for the points lead by 19 points.
There were no penalties levied against any drivers and teams following Saturday’s O’Reilly event at Texas. Kyle Larson won the event.
The 2026 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season resumes with the Bully Hill Vineyards 176 at The Glen on Friday, May 8, at 4:30 p.m. ET on FS1, NASCAR Racing Network and SiriusXM.
The 2026 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series season follows suit with the Mission 200 at The Glen on Saturday, May 9, at 4 p.m. ET on the CW Network, MRN Radio and SiriusXM.
The 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season continues with the Go Bowling at The Glen on Sunday, May 10, at 3 p.m ET on FS1, MRN, SiriusXM and HBO MAX.
