One of NASCAR’s worst-kept secrets is officially official.
Ryan Preece will drive a third car for Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing in 2025. Preece joins Brad Keselowski and Chris Buescher as RFK returns to three cars full-time for the first time since the 2016 season.
Preece joins RFK with longtime NASCAR sponsor Kroger. The grocery chain has been a sponsor of JTG-Daugherty Racing since 2010. The team said Kroger and its various associated brands will serve as a sponsor of its three cars at different times during the 2025 season.
JTG-Daugherty is expected to compete in 2025 with longtime driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and a sponsorship to be announced.
Preece spent the last two seasons with Stewart-Haas Racing after driving for three full-time seasons at JTG-Daugherty from 2019 to 2021. In 187 career Cup Series starts, the 34-year-old has four top-five finishes. first and 16 among the first 10.
Two of those first five came during his SHR tenure. Preece was 23rd in the standings in 2023 and 26th in 2024. He needed a boost for the 2025 season as SHR closed at the end of the 2024 season. The four-car team announced earlier this year that it would cease operations, as co-owner Gene Haas would continue to field a one-car team in 2025.
Cole Custer is set to drive for Haas next season as the team sells three of its charters. One of those charters was purchased by Trackhouse Racing and the other two are for 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports. However, it’s not yet clear what the status of these sales is, as 23XI and Front Row have filed a lawsuit against NASCAR over the new charter deal.
No charter sales have been announced for RFK’s new car, although The Athletic reported that Preece’s car charter will likely come from Rick Ware Racing.
RFK’s performance has improved over the past two seasons as the team has won five times. Chris Buescher has four, although he missed the playoffs in 2024 before winning at Watkins Glen this fall. Brad Keselowski qualified for the playoffs with a victory in the spring race at Darlington.
Keselowski finished 13th in the points standings in 2024 after finishing eighth a season ago. Buescher finished 17th – the highest-ranked non-playoff driver – after finishing seventh in 2023.
