Preece lands SHR 41 ride, Custer to race for Xfinity title in 2023
Stewart-Haas Racing announced Wednesday that Ryan Preece will drive their No. 41 Ford full-time in the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series.
Preece will replace Cole Custer, who will run for an Xfinity championship with SHR next year.
Each driver has run three Cup seasons and was signed to SHR in 2022 but Preece was their reserve driver after JTG-Daugherty Racing downsized to one car.
In 2022, Preece had one Truck win and 11 top-10s in 10 Truck starts and three Xfinity starts.
Preece appeared likely to replace Aric Almirola, who announced he was retiring after 2022. However, his position shifted after Almirola forewent his retirement and co-owner Tony Stewart vouched for Preece as Custer struggled.
In 2022, Cole Custer was one of three full-time drivers who failed to score a top-5 finish. He also finished 25th in points – five spots below Aric Almirola – with a 20.6 avg. finish – 2.8 spots worse than Almirola.
Custer has also had the fewest top-5s, top-10s and laps led, and the worst average finish and points finish, of any SHR driver in each of his three full-time Cup seasons.
In contrast, Custer’s five Xfinity starts in 2022 resulted in a win and three other finishes of 11th or better. At Road America, he finished 25th after a mechanical failure and subsequent crash, but he led 6 laps and finished third in each stage.
Custer will get to back up his strong 2022 performance with a run at his first Xfinity title in 2023. No word on any specifics about his number or crew chief but it will likely be a Haas-CNC-branded entry similar to what he drove in 2017-19.
In 2017-19, Custer earned nine wins, 38 top-5 finishes, 69 top-10s and 12 poles in 99 starts, with points finishes of 5th, 2nd and 2nd respectively.
Ryan Preece will unofficially start his fourth full-time NASCAR Cup Series season where he started his reserve driver stint – at the Busch Light Clash in the L.A. Coliseum.
The Clash will take place Sunday, February 5, at 8 p.m. ET (TV: FOX; Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Ch. 90). Preece will likely have to race his way into the main event.
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Jonathan Fjeld View All
Jonathan Fjeld is the co-owner of the The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2010.
A Twin Valley, MN, native, Fjeld became a motorsports fan at just three years old (first race was the 2002 Pennsylvania 500). He worked as a contributor and writer for TRE from 2010-18. Since then, he has stepped up and covered 24 NASCAR race weekends and taken on a larger role with TRE. He became the co-owner and managing editor in 2023 and has guided the site to massive growth in that time.
Fjeld has covered a wide array of stories and moments over the years, including Kevin Harvick's final Cup Series season, the first NASCAR national series disqualification in over 50 years, Shane van Gisbergen's stunning win in Chicago and the first Cup Series race at Road America in 66 years – as well as up-and-coming drivers' stories and stories from inside the sport, like the tech it takes for Hendrick Motorsports to remain a top-tier team.
Currently, he resides in Albuquerque, N.M., where he works for KOB 4, an NBC station. He works as a digital producer and does on-air reports. He loves spending time with friends and family, playing and listening to music, exploring new places, being outdoors, reading books and writing among other activities. You can email him at fjeldjonathan@gmail.com