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 expands to three full-time cars for the first time since the 2016 season.
Preece comes to RFK along with longtime NASCAR sponsor Kroger. The supermarket chain has been a sponsor of JTG-Daugherty Racing since 2010. The team said Kroger and its various affiliated brands will serve as sponsors for all three cars at various points during the 2025 season.
JTG-Daugherty will compete with longtime driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in 2025. and a sponsorship is yet to be announced.
Preece spent the past two seasons with Stewart-Haas Racing after driving three full-time seasons with JTG-Daugherty from 2019-2021. During his 187 Cup Series career, the 34-year-old has recorded four top-five finishes and 16 top-10s.
Two of those top five came during his SHR tenure. Preece was ranked 23rd in the standings in 2023 and 26th in 2024. He needed a lift entering the 2025 season due to SHR folding at the end of the 2024 season. The four-car team announced earlier this year that it would be ceasing operations, as co-owner Gene Haas would continue fielding a one-car team in 2025.
Cole Custer will 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 is currently unclear what the status of these sales is as both 23XI and Front Row have filed a lawsuit against NASCAR over the new charter agreement.
No charter sale has been announced for RFK’s new car, although the Athletic reported that the charter for Preece’s car will likely come from Rick Ware Racing.
RFK’s performance has improved over the past two seasons as the team has recorded five wins. Chris Buescher has four, though he missed the playoffs in 2024 before winning at Watkins Glen this fall. Brad Keselowski qualified for the playoffs with a win 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 best-finishing non-playoff driver – after finishing seventh in 2023.
