Ryan Preece believes the battle between himself and Shane van Gisbergen for a spot in the Cup Series Chase will be one to watch. With one regular-season race remaining this Saturday night at Daytona, Preece enters as the first driver below the cut line, 31 points behind van Gisbergen.
Preece finished ninth in Sunday’s Dollar Tree 301 at New Hampshire. The driver of the No. 60 earned 12 stage points on the way to the top-10 result, helping cut into the deficit he faces against SVG.
Ryan Preece on SVG Chase battle: ‘It’s going to be a heavyweight match’
When speaking to reporters following Sunday’s race, Preece plans on giving it his all in his bid for his first NASCAR Cup Chase appearance. In order to so, the RFK Racing driver will have to go through SVG, who hangs onto the final Chase spot.Daytona is always unpredictable with bumper-to-bumper pack-racing, various fuel strategies, and the threat of “The Big One” getting triggered at any time. With all the uncertainty, there is an added element of unknown for the Cup Series field this Saturday night.
NASCAR is rolling out a new rules package for Daytona. With no practice sessions and only one single-car qualifying run, drivers will have a lot of unknown to navigate at “The World Center of Racing.”
Yet, Preece said he thrives in unpredictable situations, and so does van Gisbergen. The combination of that, Preece believes, will make for an exciting fight for the last Chase position.
“I’m gonna race the hell out of it. I mean, [SVG’s] the one that’s in right now and I’m not. … Usually when things are different and not predictable, I excel and so does Shane. It’s going to be a heavyweight match,” .
A look at Ryan Preece’s, SVG’s 2026 seasons
started off the 2026 Cup Series season with a bang. The Berlin, Connecticut native scored a win in the Cook Out Clash exhibition at Bowman-Gray Stadium, showing a ton of promise for what the 2026 campaign could be.Unfortunately for Preece, he has not been able to score his first Cup Series points-paying win yet. Through 25 races, Preece has totaled five top-10 finishes and has posted an average finish of 17.5.
Preece has stayed in Chase contention for the bulk of the season. However, a 25-point deduction after a penalty at Texas set the 36-year-old back in the standings. Facing a 31-point deficit entering Daytona, the Texas penalty will be one to remember if Preece fails to make the Chase.
, meanwhile, earned two wins this season on road-course races at Sonoma and Watkins Glen, respectively. The New Zealand native has shown improvements on the oval tracks, most notably finishing fifth at Nashville and North Wilkesboro.
