Preece hit Joe Gibbs Racing driver Ty Gibbs on Lap 101 of the Wurth 400 at Texas Motor Speedway, which sent #54 Toyota Camry hard into the wall – ending his day early.
The driver of the #60 Ford Mustang foreshadowed his actions, stating over the radio: “All right, when I get to that #54, I’m done with him. F***ing idiot.”
He continued: “It’s just, that car is so fast, it f***ing pisses me off. Stupid. I’m going to vent for 15 seconds. I can’t stand when idiots like him have fast race cars that they can do stupid shit and get away with it. End of rant.”
Preece was penalised under Sections 4.3 and 4.4.A of the NASCAR Rule Book which lists “wrecking or spinning another vehicle, whether or not that vehicle is removed from competition as a result” as a punishable offence.
NASCAR vice president of race communications Mike Forde said Preece’s comments made over the radio in the lead-up to the incident were taken into consideration.
On top of the financial sanction, Preece was also deducted 25 points from the drivers’ championship.
RFK Racing contested that Preece hit Gibbs intentionally.
After being sanctioned, the team appealed the decision but was ultimately unsuccessful.
In a statement, the National Motorsports Appeals Panel said there was no conclusive evidence to overturn the decision.
“Although not a unanimous decision, NASCAR and RFK Racing presented competing interpretations of common data,” the National Motorsports Appeals Panel said in a statement.
“Neither side clearly proved their point, but Mr. Preece’s comments showed that he chose to not cut his competitor any breaks.”
Following the decision to uphold the penalties, RFK Racing issued a statement expressing its frustration.
“RFK Racing is extremely disappointed in today’s ruling by the national motorsports appeals panel,” the team said.
“We stand by Ryan Preece and believe our argument was fair, sound, and without question.
“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!”
RFK Racing can continue to push its case via the Final Appeals Officer.
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