Ryan Preece joins Stewart-Haas Racing as "Reserve Driver"

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    It was announced Thursday morning (1/6/2022) that Ryan Preece has signed a contract with Stewart-Haas Racing, but will not drive a complete schedule in any of NASCAR's Top National Series in the 2022 Season. 

After losing his ride at JTG Daugherty Racing at the end of 2021, Preece became a free agent in the NASCAR garage, looking for a new ride. He has been hired by the team as a "Reserve Driver", which means he will be the designated backup driver for all SHR teams. However, Preece will still receive some seat-time in 2022, in a handful of races across NASCAR's National Series'.

Here is an outlook on the races that Ryan Preece is slated for next season:

• 2 NASCAR Cup Series Events
• Dover, Charlotte ("Coca-Cola" 600)
• Ride - To be announced, but with an SHR alliance team; will likely be Live Fast Motorsports or Rick Ware Racing.
• 3 NASCAR Xfinity Series Events
• Richmond, Charlotte, Nashville
• Ride - To be announced, but with an SHR alliance team: Rick Ware Racing, BJ McLeod Motorsports, Ryan Sieg Racing.
• 7 NASCAR Truck Series Events
• Las Vegas, Atlanta, Darlington, Texas, Nash, Pocono, Kansas
• Ride - David Gilliland Racing

Of course, Preece will have more seat-time if he needs to replace any of the Stewart-Haas Racing drivers throughout the 2022 Season, in the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series' alike. He is a proven winner in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Truck Series but has yet to add a victory to his NASCAR Cup Series stats.

This deal with Stewart-Haas Racing could open new doors for Ryan Preece, like a possible full-time NASCAR Cup Series ride in the near future. The current SHR lineup has some old talent mixed with new talent, but pointing out one driver, who will be most likely the next in line to hang-up his helmet: Kevin Harvick. 

Harvick is almost likely to retire from full-time NASCAR Cup Series competition after his contract ends in 2023, leaving an open ride for somebody in 2024. Ryan Preece has already had ties with the veteran driver, as he is part of Harvick's driver management company, which possibly helped him land this deal at Stewart-Haas Racing. Having a driver who has a few seasons in the NASCAR Cup Series would be smarter than bringing someone else from one of NASCAR's lower series. Preece has his fair share of experience.

Whether SHR plans on keeping Ryan Preece to eventually replace Kevin Harvick in 2024, or if they plan on bringing him to some other ride within the team, we won't have any clue of how likely that is of happening until that time comes. I hope that this deal will give Preece better opportunities in the coming NASCAR seasons.

Preece's two Cup races and three Xfinity races will be with SHR alliance teams. SHR has worked with BJ McLeod and his teams in the past and also will have an alliance with Rick Ware Racing in 2022.

— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) January 6, 2022