When NASCAR Ford team Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) announced it would cease operations at the end of the 2024 racing season, four Cup Series drivers suddenly found themselves without solid plans for 2025. With three drivers already committed to other teams, Ryan Preece was the lone racer without confirmed plans for 2025. Now, though, the rumors have been confirmed – Preece will pilot a Ford Mustang Dark Horse for Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing (RFK) next season.
For the past several seasons, RFK has fielded two Mustang race cars full-time. The organization dabbled with a third Cup Series team on a part-time basis through its Stage60 program, inviting the likes of Supercars’ Cam Waters to compete in stock car racing. That No. 60 NASCAR Ford Mustang will join the stable as a full-time entry in 2025, and Preece will be the talent behind the wheel.
Preece’s No. 60 Mustang will carry the colors of Kroger, which recently wrapped up a longtime partnership with Chevy team, JTG Daugherty Racing.
“Ryan Preece is who we identified from day one when discussing this third entry, and his young talent from the grassroots level all the way up to the Cup Series is something that excites us moving forward,” said Steve Newmark, President of RFK Racing, in a team release. “On behalf of the entire team at RFK, we can’t wait to roll out the No. 60 with Ryan Preece, and our larger Kroger partnership encompassing all three of our Ford Mustangs, in 2025.”
Preece will join the two existing Cup Series entries, including the No. 6 Mustang of RFK part-owner Brad Keselowski and the No. 17 Mustang for Chris Buescher. Preece’s first race in the No. 60 Mustang will be the Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium on February 2nd, 2025.
As for the rest of the former SHR drivers, Chase Briscoe signed on with a Toyota team, but the other two are staying in the NASCAR Ford stable. Josh Berry will drive the No. 21 Mustang for Wood Brothers Racing, and Noah Gragson will drive a Mustang Dark Horse for Front Row Motorsports, a team that is currently locked in a legal battle with NASCAR over its charter system.
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