Ford Racing Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Media Availability — EchoPark Speedway
Saturday, February 21, 2026
NASCAR Cup Series qualifying was postponed today due to rain, but Ford Racing drivers Brad Keselowski and Ryan Preece were among a group that came in the media center to answer questions.
BRAD KESELOWSKI, No. 6 BuildSubmarines.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse – WHERE DO YOU FEEL RFK IS NOW IN TERMS OF THE GARAGE? “We’re just trying to break out of that fringe top of tier two, bottom of tier one status into the full-time tier one status. We’re making a lot of moves to solidify that, specifically when we added the third team full-time last year. I thought that was a big step for us. We keep signing partners that are stronger and stronger that enable us to do the things we need to do, particularly with investments to have the vehicle speed and to have the talent, so it’s just watching all the pieces slowly come together. It’s really a fun time for us.”
HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT COTA NEXT WEEK? WILL THAT BE DIFFICULT FOR YOU? “COTA will be one of the most difficult races of the year for everybody. For me, even more so with the injury that I have, but we’re gonna play it day by day and get through Atlanta and make some decisions then.”
IS IT POSSIBLE FOR A RACE CAR DRIVER TO GENUINELY FEEL BAD FOR THEIR COMPETITION IF SOMETHING HAPPENS AND DO YOU HAVE AN EXAMPLE? “Absolutely, yeah. I have had races where I felt bad for people who had done everything right and it just doesn’t come together. I can’t speak for everybody else, but, yeah. I mean, you’re running and you’ll see someone who is doing a great job and it all falls apart for them and you’re like, ‘Man, I hope that’s not me,’ particularly as the more you do this and the more that you have the bad things happen to you, I think the more empathy you have for others when it happens to them.”
ISN’T THAT AN INTERESTING DYNAMIC IN A SPORT WHERE IT’S ALL ABOUT RESULTS? “The reality is that when you get in that race car you’re in control, but you’re really not. There’s a lot of factors, whether it be things that happen on the racetrack or things that happen before the race ever started with the way their team put the car together. There are a lot of factors you can’t control and what really makes a great driver to me is someone who controls their part at a high level. That’s not always easy to see because you’ll see a race car driver who will run 20th and you’re like, ‘Yeah, they didn’t do a great job.’ Well, no, if they had a 30th-place car and ran 20th, I’d say they did an excellent job and vice versa, you’ll see somebody who had a dominant car and they just missed some moves, didn’t do things right, and they run fifth to tenth and people are like, ‘That’s a good top five, a good top 10.’ No, it wasn’t. That’s hard for people to see. It’s hard to communicate, but that’s just how I look at it.”
RYAN PREECE, No. 60 Kroger/Red Baron Ford Mustang Dark Horse – HOW DID YOU GET IN THE POSITION TO HAVE TO RUN THE FINAL LAP OF THE 500 IN REVERSE? “The turn one wall really helped a lot and is what made that happen. It completely killed the splitter and when it came to trying to go in the normal direction, the car wouldn’t move, so going in reverse was the only way it would go. That’s how it came about. You guys hear it on the broadcast or on radio or in these interviews that every point matters. I hope that trying to get into the playoffs isn’t gonna be that close, but I’m not gonna say, ‘Man, what happens if I found a way to get it to the line.’”
WAS IT EASIER DRIVING YOUR FORD MUSTANG DARK HORSE IN REVERSE AROUND DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY OR YOUR FORD TRUCK INTO THE RFK PARKING LOT? “There’s a lot of similarities with that. With a lot of new technology, we have rearview cameras in our vehicles, and it makes it a lot easier to back up. The old school way, which was throwing your arm over the passenger side seat and looking over your shoulder, there’s a lot more going on now that you can see what’s happening.”
COULD YOU HEAR THE CROWN CHEERING WHEN YOU STARTED GOING BACKWARDS? “No. I was like, ‘I just want to get this thing across the line.’ But I did see a lot of videos after.”
HOW DIFFERENT WAS IT IN THE DUELS WITH FOUR RFK MUSTANGS OUT THERE IN DAYTONA? “From a strategy standpoint, it helps us try to do what we want to do sometimes with controlling races. I say it a lot that superspeedway racing is a game of chess and numbers dictate what game of chess you’re playing that day. The Toyotas kind of stacked the field up in stage three and backed the pace down to 51-plus second laps and kind of made different strategies in play that they were trying. For us, that day in the Duels we said, ‘Hey, we’re gonna push the pace here and dictate what everyone else is gonna do and how much they can save.’ So, I guess I would like to be able to have more opportunities like that.”
ATTENTION ON YOU HAS PICKED UP WITH ALL OF YOUR SUCCESS SO FAR THIS YEAR. IS IT A CASE OF SOMETIMES WAITING FOR SOMETHING MAKES IT MEAN A LITTLE BIT MORE? “Sometimes taking the long road is the best road. It’s not necessarily the most fun or the quickest, but it certainly teaches you a lot of life lessons. I feel like I’ve earned a lot of respect from the ones I’m racing against, from the garage and from the fans that have seen this road because there have been key moments throughout my national series career that have helped me stay in the game. So, yeah, it’s neat for other people around the country because I love doing t-shirts and sweatshirts. I’ve always done my own merchandising when it comes to Ryan Preece and my website, and RFK, I go into their store and have conversations and it used to be when we went there I have a massive northeast following, mainly because of modifieds and being from up there and the success we’ve had. So, a lot of the orders always came from the northeast. Well, now, it’s like, ‘We’ve got a lot of orders from Florida, or a lot of orders from Iowa, Arizona.’ It’s kind of growing, so that’s nice to see because when you go to New Hampshire Motor Speedway and you see the RFK merch trailer, it’s slammed. To have some success a couple weeks ago was really nice and I want more.”
