NASCAR explains reasoning behind Busch, Preece penalty ruling

Richard Childress Racing driver Kyle Busch. Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

NASCAR explains reasoning behind controversial Kyle Busch, Ryan Preece penalty ruling

By Samuel Stubbs | Last updated May 5, 2026 7:59 PM ET

NASCAR issued its post-Texas penalty report on Tuesday, and to the surprise of many, it was Ryan Preece who was penalized for intentionally spinning a competitor in the Wurth 400 rather than Kyle Busch.

Preece spun Ty Gibbs after previously being frustrated with how Gibbs had raced him. Preece later went on a radio rant about Gibbs, saying he was "done with him" if he got back to him.

Preece did get back to Gibbs, spinning him. The move earned him a $50,000 fine and a 25-point penalty on Tuesday.

Surprisingly, Kyle Busch did not receive a penalty after an incident with two laps to go in Sunday's race. Busch made contact with John Hunter Nemechek on the backstretch, which put both drivers into the outside wall. Busch, clearly frustrated, made contact with Nemechek in turn 3 that saw the latter spin and hit the wall.

Several penalties have been issued following this past weekend's action at Texas Motor Speedway. pic.twitter.com/XhN9ZZ5jZc
— NASCAR Communications (@NASCAR_Comms) May 5, 2026

Busch later defended the move on social media.

How NASCAR made its call

The deciding factor, according to NASCAR, was Preece's message over the radio, which signaled a clear intent for his spinning of Gibbs. Meanwhile, a review of the data surrounding the Busch-Nemechek incident resulted in NASCAR determining that Busch did not intentionally crash Nemechek.

Per NASCAR on “Hauler Talk”:

- Preece penalized because the in-car audio was evidence of his intent. “He said what he said, and he did what he said”

- KyBusch not penalized because after a review of the data “There were zero things, in our opinion, that told us he did it…
— Alan Cavanna (@AlanCavanna) May 5, 2026

The penalty bumps Preece from 12th to 13th in the Cup Series standings going into the 12th race of the season at Watkins Glen on May 10. Preece is now only 38 points above the Chase cut line.

For Busch, who is 26th in the series standings, a similar penalty would've been a crushing blow.

Samuel Stubbs

Hailing from the same neck of the woods as NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin, Samuel has been covering NASCAR for Yardbarker since February 2024. He has been a member of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) since October of 2024. When he’s not writing about racing, Samuel covers Arkansas Razorback basketball for Yardbarker

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