NOTE: The No. 60 has since been disqualified for failing post-race inspection. The RFK Racing car had too many spoiler shims in violation of the NASCAR Rule Book.
LINCOLN, Ala. -- Ryan Preece continues to capitalize on his opportunity at RFK Racing. This time, he delivered a runner-up finish for the Modified crowd.
The Connecticut native led the outside lane coming to the white flag while Austin Cindric led the inside lane. The two Ford Performance drivers continued to battle around the 2.66-mile superspeedway while side-drafting each other.
They came to the checkered flag side-by-side, but the replay showed that Cindric was just ahead. The Team Penske driver scored his first win of the season while Preece posted a career-best finish.
MORE: Talladega Cup Series results
"I'm happy, but as a racer, you want to win," Preece told Fox Sports' Jamie Little after the race. "I thought -- coming through the tri-oval -- like, 'All right, we're all sticking together, and nobody was really leaving me.
"I wish I didn't have to shade up and side draft Austin to pull him back, but ultimately, thank you to RFK Racing, BAM, Kroger, Celsius, all the partners we have over at RFK, because as I said earlier, without this opportunity, probably be back in Connecticut racing Modifieds.
"So, this one's for the Modified crowd."
Preece, who has dozens of Modified wins in his career, didn't capture the elusive win, but he ended up with a much stronger day than his two teammates. Brad Keselowski and Chris Buescher were both bystanders in stage 1 wrecks that ended their days and sent them to the garage.
Keselowski finished 38th after completing 42 laps. Buescher finished 36th after completing 51 laps.
Preece is only 10 races into his first season at RFK Racing, but he has already set a career-best mark with two top-five finishes. He needs two more top-10s to set a new high-water mark.
Despite starting the season with a flip at Daytona, he has an average finish of 16.5, which is 4.3 positions better than his previous best mark set in 2023.
Sixteen races remain in the regular season, and only 10 playoff spots remain. This doesn't create much cushion, but Preece continues to make the necessary moves. For example, he gained two spots in the Cup Series standings with his runner-up finish and landed in 12th.