Ryan Preece will inherit the No. 6 Ford Mustang Dark Horse entry for Roush Fenway Keselowski (RFK) Racing for the 2027 NASCAR Cup Series season.
The news comes as RFK Racing’s No. 6 Ford entry is set to be piloted by Brad Keselowski, Preece’s teammate and co-owner, for a final time this upcoming weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway, with Keselowski set to depart, sell his ownership stake and become a passive owner of RFK Racing as he determines his driving plans for the 2027 season.
Preece currently drives RFK’s No. 60 Ford entry, a numbered entry in which he has driven for two years since joining RFK at the start of the 2025 season. By assuming the steering wheel of the No. 6 entry, he will join an exclusive list of competitors who have piloted the iconic number on a full-time basis under the ownership of team owner Jack Roush that includes Mark Martin, David Ragan, Trevor Bayne, Ryan Newman and Keselowski.
“To be trusted with the 6 means more to me than I can put into words,” Preece said. “When you think about what this number means to RFK Racing, you think about Jack Roush, Mark Martin and everything they built together. To know this team believes I’m the right person to carry that number into the future is incredibly humbling.”
“I drove that number (6) for Ed Partridge, who was more than just a car owner to me,” Preece added. “He was one of my best friends and someone who believed in me and helped fund me an opportunity that changed my life. We didn’t know it at the time, but we won our final Whelen Modified Tour race together Richmond 2021. So, when I say the number 6 feels like home, it’s because it represents more than racing. It represents the people who believed in me, the relationships I’ve built, and the memories that got me here. To have the opportunity to carry that number into the next chapter of my career means more than I can put into words.”
Preece, the 2013 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion from Berlin, Connecticut, is currently campaigning in his seventh full-time season as a Cup Series competitor. He notched his first career victory during this year’s regular-season finale at Daytona International Speedway in mid-August that enabled him to clinch a 2026 Chase berth. Preece also won this year’s non-points Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium in early February. He is currently ranked in 14th place in the Chase standings with 2,214 points and he trails the top-10 mark by 34 points entering this Sunday’s Cup Series Championship Race at Homestead.
Preece, who made his first Cup career start at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in September 2015 with Premium Motorsports, has made 258 Cup starts to date, with organizations that include JTG Daugherty Racing, Rick Ware Racing, Stewart-Haas Racing and RFK Racing. In addition to his lone victory at Daytona, he has achieved a pair of poles, eight top-five results, 40 top-10 results, 428 laps led and an average-finishing result of 21.0 as he remains in pursuit for additional victories and his first Cup Series championship.
“Ryan Preece is a true racer making him the perfect fit for the number 6,” Chip Bowers, President of RFK Racing, said. “The 6 car is symbolic in our organization and has contributed to some incredible memories in the Cup Series. Ryan is not just enthusiastic about the opportunity, but more importantly he’s embracing the expectations that come with taking the wheel of an iconic car. More great history is sure to be made with Ryan at the helm.”
Preece’s transition to the No. 6 entry earns big praises from Mark Martin, who first piloted the No. 6 entry under Jack Roush’s ownership and achieved 35 victories, 479 top-10 results and four runner-ups over 19 seasons (1988-2006).
“I like Ryan Preece because he’s a racer, plain and simple,” Martin said. “He came up the hard way, and he’s had to fight for everything he’s gotten. That’s something I respect. When he gets in a race car, he gives you everything he’s got, and he’s not going to be satisfied just riding around. That number means a lot to me, and I think Ryan is a great fit to carry it forward.”
With Preece set to drive RFK Racing’s No. 6 Ford entry in 2027, the organization’s plans for the No. 60 entry remains to be determined. Preece’s first points-paying start in the No. 6 entry will occur at Daytona International Speedway for the 69th annual running of the Daytona 500 scheduled for February 21, 2027.
Ryan Preece’s 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season concludes this upcoming Sunday, November 8, at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The finale’s broadcast time is slated to commence at 3 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN Radio, SiriusXM and HBO MAX.
