On August 26, 2023 at Daytona International Speedway Ryan Preece was involved in one of the most harrowing single cars crashes in the history of NASCAR.
It’s a video clip that has essentially become a scary calling card for the veteran racer.
On Sunday at Daytona the former NASCAR Modified Tour champion and regular at Stafford Speedway, Thompson Speedway and Riverhead Raceway unfortunately added another awful wreck at Daytona to his collection.
After leading laps early near the mid-point of the event, Preece was running around 12th with five laps remaining.
At the front of the field Christopher Bell got turned while battling for the lead. Bell’s car shot hard right into the wall. As Bell’s car slowed and drifted into the pack, Preece hit him. Preece’s car seemingly did a long wheelie down the track before air got under the car and flipped it. The car flipped back upright before flying into the wall then spinning to the infield.
Preece, who is in his first season driving for RFK Racing, walked away from the wreck.
“When the car took off like that and it got real quiet all I thought about was my daughter,” Preece said. “So I’m lucky to walk away. We’re getting really close to somebody not being able to.”
Preece, who led six laps, was credited with a 32nd place finish.
“I don’t know what the right thing to say right now is,” Preece said. “The thing I want to say as a father, as a racer is we keep beating on a door hoping for a different result. We know there’s a problem, at superspeedways. So, I don’t want to be the example of … when it finally does get somebody, I don’t want it to be me. I’ve got a 2-year old daughter and just like a lot of us, we have families. Something needs to be done, because cars lifting off the ground like that, that felt honestly worse than Daytona in [2023]. … Being airborne, heading toward the fence, I mean, it’s just not a good place to be. Honestly, with a hit like that, a head-on impact, I don’t think it should have gone airborne. I’m just not very happy.
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Drivers at the superspeedways are fodder for NASCARS entertainment model. Drivers strike needed to end this madness.
Demo derby again, garbage racing, Someone is going to be killed out there, Saying this over and over and sorry to say it again….He almost go up into the cable and fence and that would have been even worse at that speed… Next time pull a Jimmy Johnson, ride out back wait for everyone to crash then race the last handful of laps and survive the DEMO DERBY …. I don’t see anything good in destroying cars needlessly it just drives the costs up. Some destroyed 2 cars, some 1 … Foolish …
What I watched last night isn’t racing. No where to move, no where to pass. If someone was faster back in the pack you’d never know it. I used to love all the cars in a group, not anymore. Just want to see real racing at Daytona again
Just want to see racing and not COMMERCIALS! OMG you would have thought that they could have showed most of their commercials during the rain delay! Couldn’t fast forward through the numerous side by side commercials because the race ran beyond what I had programmed to record and I didn’t want to miss the action, so I ended up muting it during the commercials and doing my own play by play.
These cars are not robust at these speeds, very unstable, and drivers are just not fast enough to perform corrective actions. Getting the car in front loose so you can pass is very dangerous at the super speedway.
The 20 was turned, fell back to the outside, got in front of the 60, the 60 hit it and was lifted. Once lifted, air gets underneath and the car became a lifting body. The belly pan has nothing to do with it. That lifting has been happening with cars for decades.
Drivers have to stop trying to loosen cars up so they can pass. This is not a good or safe tactic on a super speedway.
The instigator needs to be penalized by laps, points, and HUGE $$$$$. When these things happen, there needs to be post race reviews, results are held as pending review, and a panel reviews the incidents and penalizes the instigator. The instigator gets docked numerous laps, points and $$$$$. Perhaps even penalties reaching into future events, such as reduced practice, undesirable pit stall, start race from the back, etc.
Nothing can be done to the cars to stop them from flying, other than reducing speeds to well below what a super speedway is all about. The rear of the cars need more DOWNFORCE, not DRAG. The current spoiler does not make downforce, it makes drag and reduces lift. The cars get light, which is why they get loose so easily.
PENALIZE 1 lap OR PERHAPS FINE HEAVY FOR BLOCKING. This will continue til the message is sent for these actions. Overall I thought the race is ok. I may be in the minority but I enjoy super speedway racing.
I absolutely HATE this style of “racing”. It’s follow the leader bumping and banging. On another note I am convinced that Logano is a total ass
No radios, no mirrors, Raceceivers only. Yesterday proves radios provide no safety benefit on super speedways.
What he said!!! ⬆️
Ken+L, I think if “Wrecky Crashhouse” didn’t insist on moving into a lane that Logano already had his nose in, that crash might not have happened. They hit once, and Wrecky tried yet again. If my L/rear quarter hits your R/front fender, then you’re already there. I’m not going to keep trying to change lanes.
I was glad to see Ryan’s window net come down, and for him to be released so quickly. Although he may not have suffered physically, you could tell by his interview he was emotionally shaken. I was glad to hear him criticize NASCAR about the cars inability to stay grounded.
We’ve seen blow overs in F1, Indycar and sports car races before. They all shared 1 common trait, the flat bottom of the car, which acted like a sail once air got under the car. NASCAR needs to rethink this car on super speedways before someone gets dead.
I agree with everyone, that the blocking needs to stop, and drivers who block need to be penalized severely
ALL OF YOU GUYS HAVE EXCELLENT POINTS,THIS IS MADNESS!! DRAFTING IS ONE THING, THEY CAN’T EVEN DO THAT REALLY WHEN YOU ARE DRIVING AROUND IN A MOVING PARKING LOT!! SUPERMAN GOT KILLED , IT’S JUST A MATTER OF TIME! I DON’T WANNA LIVE THAT AGAIN. MAYBE LOWER THE COMPRESSION , LOWER THE CUBES IN THE MOTORS.NO RESTRICTION. WHEN 1ST TO LAST IS LESS THAN A SECOND, SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE DONE. NASCAR NEEDS TO ADDRESS THIS NOT THE POLITICAL BS THEY SEEM TO THINK IS SO IMPORTANT!
The INDY 500 is a much better race NOW than the DAYTONA 500… I have been to both Races in person and yes there are crashes at Indy, But nothing like Daytona pack demo derbys ….. Indy provides more Drama and way way less carnage… Indy Cars have cars running at all different speeds spread out around the whole track, Nascar has cars running 2 and 3 wide in a tight pack and one mistake and your part of the big one and your day is done through no fault of your own… If Preece wasn’t in the race I probably would have walked away after the first Crash… Daytona 500 is no longer a GOOD PRODUCT , it’s a crap shoot for whoever survives to the end…It’s not RACING its CRASHING CARS at 186mph…
When the cars are 3-wide, there’s no room to make a move for a pass. The only thing that can happen is to move another car out of the way. This nonsense always happens.
I agree with Suitcase Jake. Cup racing, especially at the super speedways has become boring. 40 cars running around in a 3 wide pack, until someone slips causing a big wreck is not racing. These cars aren’t even “stock cars” anymore, they are “engineered platforms”. NASCAR needs to change something. Get rid of the ground effect belly pans. Raise the cars up, and establish a minimum height. Get “aero” out of the picture and come up with a car, not a platform. Put the performance back in the drivers hands, like it should be. Good ole boys racing race cars, no engineering degree required.
That’s Another Idea!!
I’m with you guys, lose the belly pan, raise the ride height, use bigger front & rear spoilers for more downforce and drag, and lower the compression. Enough with the high speed demolition derbies!
This looks like the near perfect comment response where everyone is right whether their focus was on safety or the brand of competition offered. Except perhaps the reference to commercials that’s under your control. Get a DVR, wait until the race starts, hit record wait an hour then start watching blasting through the commercials.
This will be about as popular as a gout flare up but is safety really a major concern at this point and is there any reason to change the cars at this point?
It’s our man Preece so it’s personal. Ryan’s Cup severe crash history:
2020- crash at Kansas Speedway against infield Safer Barrier car demolished. Ryan walked away.
2023 -Barrel roll in the 2023 Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona scary meter pegged in the red. Black eyes, raced the next race at Darlingon
2025 Daytona 500- Airborne, half barrel roll, another half barrel roll in the opposite direction, horizontal 360ish with hang time eventually landing on the cars wheels. Benefited from not hitting anything terminating the force or being struck by another car but his he had what then?
Under the circumstances Preece’s reaction very measured showing what pro he’s become under duress. His focus on family and rightfully so but does this crash move the needle when it comes to safety?
The record shows that NASCAR has made big strides in safely. The last death in a CUP race Earnhardt in 2001. Injuries a little harder to track. Ryan Newman’s stands out in his 2020 crash at Daytona. Dale Earnhardt Jr. missed a lot of time in races from concussions but that happened at different tracks. Perhaps you can recall other instances of missed time at the super speedways as opposed to the other tracks on the schedule.
Eventually all drivers lucky enough to mature as a professional driver have families and are in the same position as Ryan. Driving a race care is not safe and will never be safe. It’s on these drivers to assess the risk and decide what’s best for them. They make a lot of money doing what they do, are viewed as super heroes by many, there’s a price to be paid for it. Any one of them can retire any time they like and many are as many bow out sooner then in the past in part having become millionaires. No one is making Preece race he’s mature now, his decision, the only question being is racing inordinately unsafe at super speedways or anywhere? Compared to professional boxing, football and even volleyball players, NASCAR CUP drivers tend to live longer with a far better quality of life experiencing less toll on their bodies.
THE RACING SUCKS AT SUPER SPEEDWAYS SO CHANGE THE CARS!
Like a few here my interest in CUP begins and ends with Ryan Preece. Tuned in for the race, saw that ridiculous pack nonsense and tuned out really what’s the point it isn’t racing. Then again admire all of you that care enough to stick with it and suggest changes. My view the entire system is rotten, a plantation mentality where something dramatic has to happen to stray from the status quo. I suppose a couple teams represent new blood and with minority interests as well but how’s that working out? Michael Jordan joining in a law suit against NASCAR, Pitbull has had enough and takes a powder. Penske, Childress, Hendrick and Gibbs and the archaic, closed corporation at NASCAR still control the sport and the richest revenue streams.
WHAT’S NASCAR’S MOTIVATION TO CHANGE ANYTHING ON SUPER SPEEDWAYS?
-Ryan’s unplanned flight a spectacular pirouette in mid air great TV. Horrendous TV had he been hurt or killed. As it turns out all the event did was prove NASCAR’s safety program by the numbers is effective.
-EYEBALL’s- sorry for the lack of attribution so take these quotes as you like.
“Before landing at Daytona Beach International Airport (which is just behind the backstretch), Air Force One buzzed the Daytona International Speedway, which had a sellout crowd of 100,000.”
“NASCAR and The CW Network today announced that Saturday’s 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series season opener at Daytona on The CW delivered the largest audience for any Xfinity Series race in almost three years, with 1.8 million total viewers, according to Nielsen fast national ratings.”
“FOX Sports reported that 1.8 million viewers tuned into the Duels on FS1 on Thursday night. That is an increase of 12% which is the same increase that qualifying saw on Wednesday night. A good sign for the Daytona 500.”
“From Florida’s beaches to screens around the globe, the 67th running of the the DAYTONA 500 (Sunday, Feb. 16), with its record $30 million purse, will be broadcast to fans in more than 190 countries and territories in 26 languages, reaching over 650 million households worldwide.”
“William Byron’s second straight victory in NASCAR’s “Super Bowl” got an average audience of 6.761 million viewers, a 12% increase against last year’s event which was postponed to the following Monday due to bad weather. The 2024 race pulled in 5.96 million viewers, a 27% decline from the year before.”
In response someone might say but Doug that six million is nothing compared to the 19 million viewers the race got in 2006 and even a huge drop from the 8.87 it got in 2022. You might also say that 6 million not even half of what the 2024 Indy 500 got just last year so how could NASCAR sit on what amounts to a minor blip up from their lows?
It might be weak but I’d say it’s NASCAR. Nobody died or was even hurt. They’re obviously making a ton of money from the race and TV contracts so what’s the motivation to do all the research and spend all that money trying to change the cars for a few super speedway races? Cars by that way that are safer then ever before, cost effective to fix and most view as a success everything considered.
NASCAR got that TV contract after the lows just last year. They point to the networks, say look the attendance is up even with the rain delay, everyone is safe so it’s on to Atlanta right boys?