The 2025 season has been full of firsts for NASCAR. Alongside the debut of the Driver Ambassador Program and the first international points race after more than six decades, NASCAR has also launched the maiden edition of the In-Season Challenge.
While the new contest’s inception has added a layer of excitement to the sport, it has also polarized the NASCAR community, with some wondering if the new format will prove to be a distraction for drivers and teams.
Several drivers commented on the initiative with the debut race set to kick off in Atlanta. Among these was RFK Racing’s Ryan Preece, who, before going head-to-head with William Byron, issued a warning to his contemporary.
Ryan Preece’s Hilarious Warning to His Contemporary William Byron
Ahead of his Atlanta outing, Preece briefly faced the cameras and opened up about his current state of mind. He began by speaking about the upcoming Chicago contest and revealed that he is a fan of rain during a race.
The No. 60 driver then spoke about the Atlanta race, detailed how it differed from a conventional speedway like Talladega or Daytona, and mentioned his goals for the race. He said:
“This is a little bit different from Talladega and Daytona, where the crashes typically happen on the front row. I don’t think they’re necessarily going to happen on the front row here. I think they’re probably going to be in that 10th to 15th area, on the back. So, my goal is to be aggressive and get as many stage points as we can.”
Following this, the reporter asked Preece, “With the In-Season challenge, how into it have the drivers been? Is there trash talk or bragging rights?”
The RFK Racing driver responded to this with, “No. I almost feel it’s a little like David versus Goliath here. I’m the higher seed, but I’m going against Byron, who’s the point leader. So, that was a little bit challenging, but we’ve been really strong.”
Preece even called the challenge a “great” stretch to build some buzz in NASCAR. After this, he could not hold back his laughter as he issued a warning to the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports driver. He said, “Byron, you’re going down, bud!”
For the first edition of its In-Season Tournament, NASCAR decided to cap the contest pool at a maximum of 32 drivers. Plus, only full-time drivers in the league were eligible for the ultimate prize of $1 million.
Read More: ‘It’s Too Risky’ – Ryan Preece Reveals No-Nonsense Game Plan to Overcome Brutal Playoff Deficit
NASCAR determined the fixtures based on the three seeding races at Michigan, Mexico City, and Pocono. It based the seedings on a driver’s best finish across all three contests. In case of a best-position tie between two drivers, it moved to their second-best finish.
As for Preece’s current standing, he holds the 14th driver rank and has one top-5 along with seven top-10 spots in 17 starts. With only five more playoff spots up for grabs, the RFK Racing driver is desperately on the lookout for a win.
