Ryan Preece was one restart away from a shot at NASCAR’s $1 million All-Star Race when a barely seen observe marking wiped all of it away — and his response left little question how he felt.
Preece, driving the No. 60 RFK Racing Ford, surged to second late within the All-Star Open at North Wilkesboro Speedway, poised to race his method into the principle occasion.
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However NASCAR hit him with a penalty for crossing the “Select Cone” dedication line — a painted V on the observe almost obscured by rubber from earlier occasions. The outcome: he was despatched to the again, ending his possibilities and setting off a dramatic meltdown.
“In the end, we had a quick… Ford Mustang,” Preece in a uncooked post-race interview. “Sorry, I’m simply actually, actually [expletive] pissed. So, I imply that, not less than we may, a rule’s a rule, however… I don’t know.”
Ryan Preece earlier than the Wurth 400 race at Texas Motor Speedway. Jerome Miron-Imagn Photographs
The incident turned the flashpoint of the evening. Preece, visibly livid, marched to pit street, grabbed an orange site visitors cone, and slammed it on the within wall — a silent protest that rapidly went viral.
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NASCAR responded by repainting the Select Cone marking earlier than the All-Star Race, however for Preece, the harm was already finished.
“You’ll be able to’t see it,” he defined. “So I simply hooked a tough left going throughout the road, figuring it’s in that space. In case you have a scenario like that, put a cone on the market so we are able to see it.”
The penalty reignited criticism of NASCAR’s officiating, particularly concerning observe visibility and rule enforcement. Preece’s crew and followers argued the decision was avoidable — and that NASCAR’s reactive repair got here too late.
Now fifteenth in factors, Preece leaves Wilkesboro with extra questions than solutions. However his fireplace — and frustration — could have simply compelled NASCAR to take one other take a look at the way it attracts the traces that outline a driver’s destiny.
