DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Ryan Preece called on NASCAR to do more to prevent cars from becoming airborne during superspeedway races.
Preece took another terrifying tumble at Daytona International Speedway on Sunday, this time avoiding a trip to a hospital but nonetheless bringing safety to the forefront at the Cup Series' most-storied track.
“As a father, as a racer, we keep beating on a door hoping for a different result and we know where there’s a problem: at superspeedways," Preece said. "I don’t want to be the example. When it finally does get somebody, I don’t want it to be me.
“I got a 2-year-old daughter, just like a lot of us; we’ve got families. Something needs to be done because cars lifting off the ground like that.”
Preece was involved in a more harrowing crash in the summer race at Daytona in 2023. His car flipped numerous times, and he was transported to a hospital and kept overnight. He showed up the week with two black eyes from the wreck. NASCAR and Daytona responded by replacing sections of infield grass with pavement.
He said the one in the closing laps of the Daytona 500 on Sunday was worse. He finished 32nd in the No. 60 Ford for Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing. It's his first year with the team.
“Everything about that: airborne, heading toward the fence, it’s not a good place to be in, honestly,” he said. "With a hit like that — a head-on impact — I don’t really think it should have gone airborne. I’m just not very happy. I’m safe, just frustrated.”
Three-time Daytona 500 winner Jeff Gordon, now vice chairman of Hendrick Motorsports and the race-winning team, said wrecking at superspeedways have “always been on the drivers’ minds.”
“It's always been that balance between entertainment and luck of the draw or whatever you want to call it,” Gordon said. "There’s a safety aspect of it, too, because the cars continue to be bumper cars at 200 miles-per-hour, then you’re going to have a lot of wrecks.
"The cars have gotten much safer, as well. For (Preece), what is that, two years in a row or was it two years ago that he had that other incident? Of course he’s going to be vocal about that. You never want to get airborne in a car once let alone what he’s been through.”
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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
Mark Long, The Associated Press
