RFK Racing’s Ryan Preece says he has no regrets about how he raced Ty Gibbs at Texas this past weekend, pointing to past issues as the reason he didn’t cut the Joe Gibbs Racing driver a break during a recent interview.
Ryan Preece and Ty Gibbs managed to have one of the shorter-lived on-track scuffles at Texas Motor Speedway last weekend.
While Preece says he did not touch the No. 54 before Gibbs’ car went into the wall, the RFK Racing driver had shared some open-minded thoughts about Gibbs prior to this incident.
Though it’s hard to tell whether or not Preece wrecked the No. 54, he maintained his innocence during an interview with SiriusXM NASCAR Radio this week, all while admitting that he could have cut the team a break.
Preece says that there are moments where you can give other drivers respect and cut them a break, “I can think of multiple times yesterday that instead of putting another driver in a pretty tough spot, you make the decision not to do that.”
The veteran modified driver then added that his history with Gibbs has resulted in a “short fuse,” and, when Gibbs came down on him in turn three prior to his crash, he opted not to give the No. 54 a break.
“He almost, or pretty much, was very clear getting into three, and I could lift, but I didn’t, I was right there and I felt like he came down and I was not going to cut him a break because in the past him and I have had problems. So I’ve got a little bit of a short fuse with him and I, with how we’re racing, and that was just one of those situations that, could I cut him a break? Probably could have, but I didn’t.” — Ryan Preece
While he admits there was room to give in the situation, Preece maintains that he did not hit Gibbs, instead saying that the No. 54 “got loose.”
“I didn’t feel like I hit him,” Preece said. “I felt like I stayed right on him and he got loose, and from there on, unfortunately, he wrecked.”
This Sunday’s race at Texas Motor Speedway had quite a few storylines.
Of course, NASCAR’s most popular driver heading to victory lane will always be noteworthy. However, a back-and-forth between Legacy Motor Club’s John Hunter Nemechek and Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch stole the show.
Still, lost in the shuffle of all that excitement was some heated mid-race beef between Ty Gibbs and Ryan Preece.
The two drivers had traded spots early on in Sunday’s race, and, per radio communications prior to their run-in, Preece was already over it with Gibbs, saying to his team under caution, “When I get to that 54, I’m done with him, fucking idiot.”
Shortly after that, Preece went on to lay out his feelings in a now viral radio rant.
“That car is so fucking fast, fucking pisses me off,” Preece said. “I’m gonna vent for 15 seconds, I can’t stand when idiots like him [Gibbs] have fast race cars that they can do stupid shit and get away with it. End of rant.”
True to his word, 23 laps into stage two, the No. 54 found itself in the turns three and four wall.
During the replay, FOX Sports analyst Clint Bowyer remarked, “I think he got help,” and to no surprise, the car behind him was Preece.
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