Ryan Preece’s appeal against the $50,000 NASCAR penalty issued after his Texas Motor Speedway clash with Ty Gibbs has officially been rejected.
NASCAR confirmed Wednesday that the National Motorsports Appeals Panel upheld both the financial punishment and the 25 driver points deduction handed to the RFK Racing driver.
The ruling followed an appeal hearing connected to the May 3 incident at Texas, where Gibbs crashed after contact from Preece during the race.
NASCAR upheld Ryan Preece’s penalty after Texas review
The original penalty stemmed from NASCAR rules covering “wrecking or spinning another vehicle” following the incident involving Gibbs at Texas Motor Speedway.
Preece’s radio traffic during the race became a major focus after the RFK Racing driver repeatedly vented frustration about Gibbs over team communications.
During the race, Preece vented frustration about Gibbs over team radio communications.
“What a f—— idiot that kid is… He’s so lucky his car is so f—— fast… Alright, when I get to that 54, I’m done with him. F—— idiot…
“It’s just, that car is so fast, it f—— p—– 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 s— and get away with it… End of rant.”
NASCAR ultimately fined Preece $50,000 and deducted 25 driver points under sections 4.3 and 4.4.A of the NASCAR Rule Book.
The appeals panel later stated that neither NASCAR nor RFK Racing fully proved their interpretation of the available data during Wednesday’s hearing.
RFK Racing reacted after appeal decision was announced
The National Motorsports Appeals Panel included former Truck Series team owner Tom DeLoach, former sports marketing executive Dixon Johnston and former NASCAR driver Lake Speed.
After reviewing the evidence, the panel released a statement explaining why the punishment remained in place.
“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.”
RFK Racing later released a strongly worded response criticizing the outcome of the appeal.
“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.”
“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 and see you in Nashville.”
RFK Racing still has the option to continue the process through NASCAR’s Final Appeals Officer system, although Wednesday’s statement suggested the organisation may now move on from the dispute.
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