The controversy from Wurth 400 continues. Ryan Preece is at the center of this controversy, with a $50,000 penalty along with 25 points docked. The hearing for the appeal of the penalty took place on Wednesday. 

During the Cup Race at Texas, on lap 101 of the race, Ty Gibbs made an aggressive move on Preece. Later, Preece expressed his frustration over the radio, saying, “Alright, when I get to that 54, I’m done with him.”Later, he crashed into the car, causing a wreck, and based on the radio chatter, NASCAR handed him a penalty. 

RFK, along with Preece, had appealed the penalty, and the hearing for the same took place on Wednesday. The team and the No. 60 driver tried to make their case, but it was in vain, as the National Motorsports Appeals Panel upheld the penalty. 

“The National Motorsports Appeals Panel today heard and considered an appeal of a behavioral penalty issued on May 5, 2026 to driver Ryan Preece in the NASCAR Cup Series. Upon hearing the testimony, the decisions of the National Motorsports Appeals Panel are:

1.  That the Appellant violated the Rule(s) set forth in the Penalty Notice.

2.  That the Panel affirms and upholds the original Penalty assessed by NASCAR. Although not a unanimous decision, NASCAR and RFK Racing presented competing interpretations of common data. Neither side clearly proved their point, but Mr. Preece’s comments showed that he chose to not  cut his competitor any breaks.” 

The panel members were former Truck Series team owner Tom DeLoach, motorsports marketing executive Dixon Johnston, and former NASCAR driver Lake Speed.

According to NASCAR reporter Bob Pockrass, the team has till Friday to appeal to the Final Appeal Officer. He also pointed out that the team has no intention of appealing the penalty after the statement they put out on social media. 

RFK ‘Disappointed’ After NASCAR Penalty Hearing

Following the verdict given by the National Motorsports Appeal Panel about Ryan Preece’s penalty, the team put out a statement via their social media expressing their disappointment. 

“RFK Racing is extremely disappointed in today’s ruling by the National Motorsports Appeals Panel. We stand by Ryan Preece and believe our argument was fair, sound and without question,” the team said.

“We appreciate the forum provided by NASCAR to both provide detailed evidence and defend our stance through thoughtful data and digital evidence. Let’s get back to racing – See you in Nashville.” 

Initially, when the penalty was handed to Preece, the driver, along with the co-owner Brad Keselowski, seemed hopeful of evading the penalty. However, that is not the case now. 

With 25 points being docked, Ryan Preece currently sits in 16th place just about the chase cutoff line. It will be interesting to see if Preece can make up for the lost points in the upcoming races. 

What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments.

Read more at the RFK Racing Digest!

Written by

Chionia Libania Colaco

Edited by

Shubhi Rathore