Ryan Preece and the No. 60 RFK Racing Ford arrive at Iowa Speedway 38 points outside the top 16 in the driver standings and 13 points below the cut in the owners’ standings.
With just four races left in the regular season, Preece needs to close the gap to 16th-placed Austin Cindric, who was very fast in practice, but Preece faced a small setback at Iowa on Saturday.
The RFK Racing car failed pre-race inspection twice, resulting in the ejection of car chief Jerry Cook for the remainder of the weekend. The No. 60 is also losing their pit stall selection.
The same penalty was issued to the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford of Todd Gilliland, with car chief Joe Marra ejected and a loss of pit stall selection.
Both cars passed on the third attempt, so there will be no further penalties. One more failure would have resulted in a drive-through penalty at the start of the Cup race.
Preece finished fifth at Iowa one year ago, but he's still searching for his first top-five finish of the 2026 season. Unfortunately, they also struggled on Saturday, slow in practice and qualifying 35th.
Gilliland had a better day, qualifying 17th. Gilliland and FRM also earned the $1 million prize for winning the In-Season Challenge at Indianapolis.
Photos from Iowa - Saturday
26 NASCAR Cup
Iowa - Saturday, in photos
Iowa - Saturday, in photos
Iowa - Saturday, in photos
Iowa - Saturday, in photos
Iowa - Saturday, in photos
Iowa - Saturday, in photos
Iowa - Saturday, in photos
Iowa - Saturday, in photos
Iowa - Saturday, in photos
Iowa - Saturday, in photos
Iowa - Saturday, in photos
Iowa - Saturday, in photos
Iowa - Saturday, in photos
Iowa - Saturday, in photos
Iowa - Saturday, in photos
Iowa - Saturday, in photos
Iowa - Saturday, in photos
Iowa - Saturday, in photos
Iowa - Saturday, in photos
Iowa - Saturday, in photos
Iowa - Saturday, in photos
Iowa - Saturday, in photos
Iowa - Saturday, in photos
Iowa - Saturday, in photos
Iowa - Saturday, in photos
