RFK Racing's Ryan Preece found victory lane for the first time in his NASCAR Cup Series career back in the preseason Cook Out Clash exhibition race at Bowman Gray Stadium in February.
One week after Joe Gibbs Racing's Ty Gibbs got his first career points win at Bristol Motor Speedway, Preece is trying to do the same this week at Kansas Speedway, and he's trying to do so with a new primary sponsor and team partner aboard the No. 60 Ford in Kickstand Cocktails.
"I was pretty excited about it because when it comes to racing and alcohol, they kind of go hand in hand when it comes to camping or race fans in the stands," Preece told FanSided's Beyond the Flag. "So for me, it was also a good opportunity to guest-bartend at my local tavern in Connecticut and kind of introduce everybody up there to it and try some of their flavors.
"I enjoyed it; my favorite was cucumber jalapeño. When you have partners like this come on race cars, it just makes it easier to promote and talk about."
Ryan Preece embraces RFK Racing's Kickstand Cocktails partnership
Kickstand Cocktails, which was founded in 2022 and is the "world's first canned beverage dedicated to creating perfectly balanced cocktails with a touch of heat", is running their "Heating Up The Track" sweepstakes giveaway leading into Sunday's AdventHealth 400.
Preece is looking forward to other fan engagement throughout the weekend at the four-turn, 1.5-mile (2.414-kilometer) Kansas City, Kansas oval.
"There’s plenty of stuff that we’ll have going on throughout the race weekend, so you’ll have to check out the RFK Racing channels on that," the 35-year-old Berlin, Connecticut native added. "Make sure you follow social media because there’s going to be plenty to tune in on."
Perhaps the most notable element of this partnership is the fact that RFK Racing is also a new investor in the brand, which elevates the meaning behind the relationship for all parties.
"Brand notoriety," Preece said. "When it comes to NASCAR and racing in general, I feel like our sport is trending in a great direction and having more storylines."
Preece, who sits above the Chase playoff cut line in 13th in the Cup Series standings through eight points races on the 2026 schedule, is one of several big-name athletes, including Watt brothers J.J. and T.J., Mike Evans, and Michael Phelps, to be aligned with Kickstand Cocktails, and he is not taking for granted the opportunity to represent NASCAR among this group.
"It’s really neat," he said of that association. "I noticed when I did some of the guest bartending in Connecticut and we put stuff on social media, some of those investors were noticing that. I think that’s pretty neat. When you have athletes of their stature investing in this, they believe in it. Hopefully they believe in me this weekend and we can go get the job done."
As for why race fans should take notice of Kickstand Cocktails' involvement in NASCAR, and even potentially become consumers of the drink, Preece had a simple answer.
"Sometimes you don’t want a beer, and you turn to something like a vodka soda," he explained. "This just happens to be ready for you. If you like a little bit of spice, they definitely hit the target on that, because there are different levels. I like something more mild, so the cucumber jalapeño hit that for me. They can definitely be refreshing beverages on a hot summer day, grabbing it out of the fridge when it’s extremely cold and just sipping it."
He's hoping his first career points win comes this weekend, with Kickstand Cocktails as the primary sponsor of the No. 60 Ford in a race which saw him finish seventh less than 12 months ago.
"My job is to go out and win, and when we do that, it’s going to be cracking open a Kickstand Cocktail in Victory Lane. That’s my plan."
The AdventHealth 400 is set to be broadcast live on Fox from Kansas Speedway starting at 2:00 p.m. ET this Sunday, April 19. Start a free trial of FuboTV and don't miss it!
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