Ryan Preece battled his way to a 10th-place result in his first Chase event as a Chase contender following the 2026 Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway on Sunday, September 6.
The 2013 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion from Berlin, Connecticut, took the green flag from third place and spent the entire first stage period racing in the top-10 mark. At the conclusion of the first stage period, Preece racked up four stage points by settling in seventh place.
Prior to the start of the second stage period, Preece’s Chase run at the front took an early hit when he made a second trip to pit road to have the wheels on his No. 60 Consumer Cellular/Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing Ford Mustang Dark Horse entry inspected and tightened. Mired outside the top-20 mark for the stage’s remainder, he was the first competitor scored a lap down in 20th place when the second stage period concluded, but he was the recipient of the free pass to cycle back on the lead lap prior to the third and final stage period that commenced with 130 laps remaining.
With Preece managing to remain on the lead lap and within the midregion of the top-20 mark on the track, he managed to carve back up within the top-15 mark with less than 80 laps remaining. After being as high as 12th place on the track while the laps dwindled, Preece was one of four Chasers along with Kyle Larson, Austin Cindric and Joey Logano who elected to remain on the track while the rest of the field pitted for tires and fuel amid a caution that flew with 33 laps remaining.
During a 24-lap shootout, Preece quickly dropped back wihtin the top-10 mark, but he managed to retain 10th place on the leaderboard when he took the checkered flag. As a result, Preece notched his first-ever top-10 result at Darlington Raceway in a Cup Series entry and his eighth top-10 result of the 2026 season. Despite seeking more on the track, Preece was left satisfied with his result.
“It was a good night,” Preece said. “I’ll take a 10th. For starting upfront and really working on it all day, those are the nights that we just need to take tonight and figure out what can make us better for next week. It was tough, it wasn’t easy.”
Preece, who combined with the 10th-place result following the late strategic call to remain on the track with worn tires and seven stage points from the first stage period, only gained a single spot in the Chase standings from 16th to 15th. Nevertheless, he sets his focus on the remaining nine Chase events, starting with next weekend’s second Chase event at World Wide Technology Raceway, to charge forward towards his championship hopes and contend for additional race victories with his regular-season finale win at Daytona International Speedway in mid-August.
“It was definitely a team effort,” Preece said on the USA Network. “I thought the Consumer Cellular Ford Mustang was good, but not phenomenal. [Crew chief] Derrick [Finley] and everybody, they just kept trying to make it better. Some nights, you got to persevere like this. Just keep clipping away. Nine more [Chase races], and I feel good about Gateway. Looking forward to it.”
Ryan Preece’s 2026 Chase for the NASCAR Cup Series championship resumes next Sunday, September 6, at World Wide Technology Raceway for the Enjoy Illinois 300. The event’s broadcast time is slated to commence at 3 p.m. ET on USA Network, MRN Radio, SiriusXM and HBO MAX.
