Ryan Preece is not a happy figure in NASCAR currently, and this time, too, a radio recording is at the centre of it. 

Just weeks after his penalty for ‘intentionally taking out’ Ty Gibbs on Lap 101 in Texas, another Preece radio message has spiralled in the wrong direction for the 60 RFK Ford driver. Preece was in conversation with his crew chief in the garage about NASCAR asking the 60 car to increase the headrest height.

“I’m going to argue with NASCAR about this adjustment that they want and I don’t," Preece said over the radio as put out on X by Steve Taranto on July 4. "I mean, it’s just rubbish. This headrest is a pain in the a**. It’s f***** knocking my head everywhere."

Preece said he wasn't trying to swear. He explained that he was just frustrated about being told to change something he didn't want to change.

Preece spoke to the media in Chicagoland. In a video uploaded on X by Peter Stratta, Preece was asked about how this was the second time a radio message of his was blown out of proportion. Preece stopped the reporter and shared his views.

“It’s very out of context in my opinion," he said. "I didn’t key up when I was on the racetrack, by the way. I was in my garage stall.” Preece then clarified,” I thought I was speaking to my team, my crew chief, about the fact that my head was. I wasn’t talking about another driver. I was talking about a comfort issue.”

Preece will now be a driver hesitant to talk over the radio because of the way his messaging was being treated. In the case of his penalty, which RFK appealed but was upheld, Preece was penalized not just $50,000 but also 25 points. 

Precce was clear on why he didn’t want to adjust the headrest height

In the same interaction with the media, Preece spoke about how it was the same headrest he used when his car got airborne not once but twice at Daytona in two years. 

Preece’s car got airborne and flipped once in 2023 and once in 2025, both times he was able to walk away safely and without any sort of injuries to the neck. 

He said that in the off-season, as well as about three weeks ago, NASCAR had asked him to make changes to the headrest. Increase the height and reduce the width. 

Preece felt that it was a driver comfort thing, and the closeness of the side on a bumpy track like Chicagoland, his head was constantly getting bumped to the sides. Although the 60 RFK driver ended up making the changes requested, he wasn’t happy about it. 

“What you heard was some frustration that I thought was between my team and I," Speaking about a radio message to his team being taken out of context, Preece said. "And apparently it wasn’t. I don’t know if we need to bring back digital radios so we can communicate within practice on things, but I don’t know.”

While Preece cleared up that the frustrations stemmed from his head constantly bumping into the headrest, we will have to see how NASCAR reacts to his frustrations expressed on the radio. 

How do you think NASCAR should tackle the ongoing radio messaging issues? 

Read more at RFK Racing Digest.

Written by

Debrup Chaudhuri

Edited by

Soheli Tarafdar