Ryan Preece could be the odd man out in NASCAR free agency

With Stewart-Haas Racing shutting down at the end of the 2024 season, all four of their Cup Series drivers will need a new home. While three of their drivers may have options, Ryan Preece could be kicked to the curb.

Josh Berry is rumored to possibly fill a seat at Front Row Motorsports, while Chase Briscoe is the top candidate to replace Martin Truex Jr. at Joe Gibbs Racing. 

Noah Gragson has had many rumors fly across the garage pertaining to his future, but it seems Richard Childress Racing could be a potential home for him. 

This leaves the 33 year-old Preece as the potential odd man out of the NASCAR Cup Series in 2025. While Berry and Gragson are also winless in the Cup Series, Preece currently sits 27th in Cup Series points through the first 17 races of 2024, the worst of the four SHR drivers. 

In 2023, Preece's first year with Stewart-Haas, he finished a middling 23rd in points, only collecting two top-10 finishes. In five full-time seasons — including the first 17 events of this season — Preece only has 12 top-10 finishes across 161 starts in the Cup Series. 

His best points finish came in the aforementioned 2023 season, and with the best Cup Series opportunity of the year — albeit with a regressing Stewart-Haas team — he has failed to meet both his expectations and the performance of his teammates. 

Preece is certainly a talented racecar driver, but with just two wins each in the Truck and Xfinity Series, it doesn't seem he has staying power in the Cup Series. The question for Preece now becomes whether or not a top Xfinity or Truck Series team would be willing to pick him up.

If an opportunity in the Xfinity or Truck Series doesn't open up, Preece will likely have a seat warm for him in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, a series Preece routinely dominates in his limited starts. 

Preece has cranked up his engine for 173 Modified Tour races, and has won 26 of them - an above average winning percentage of 15%. He's also collected 82 top-fives and 111 top-10's over his starts in the Modified Tour, and while he'd likely be disappointed to drop out of the top three series, returning to a circuit where you're a champion would be a good way to boost Preece's confidence before making another run to the top. 

Preece's 2025 plans are unknown, but he would be wise to treat the final 19 Cup Series weekends of 2024 as audition tapes for a future that seems rockier than ever.