NASCAR Defends Preece Penalty as RFK Appeals
Officials point to radio chatter and data review in Texas decision.
NASCAR Defends Preece Penalty as RFK Appeals Icon Sportswire - Getty Images RFK Racing will appeal the penalties NASCAR assessed Ryan Preece for an incident between him and Ty Gibbs at Texas Motor Speedway in Sunday’s Wurth 400. “We appreciate the opportunity to share our findings with the National Motorsports Appeals Panel at the appropriate time,” RFK Racing said in a statement released Thursday evening. “Additionally, our organization respectfully embraces the forum provided by NASCAR to present our case.
” Tuesday evening, NASCAR assessed Preece a $50,000 fine and the loss of 25 driver points for spinning Gibbs into the third-turn wall on lap 101 of the 267-lap race. The incident eliminated Gibbs from the race and relegated him to a 36 th -place finish in the 38-car field. Preece finished 14th.
NASCAR Cup Series Managing Director Brad Moran says NASCAR issued the penalty after reviewing audio, video and SMT data. “This was very similar to the same penalty that was handed out to Denny Hamlin a few years back with Ross Chastain,” Moran said Wednesday on SiriusXM’s The Morning Drive. Statement on Ryan Preece’s Penalty.
pic. twitter. com/1S5eJKvwlu — RFK Racing (@RFKracing) May 7, 2026 “We get reports throughout the entire event.