A terrifying moment took place during the Coke Zero Sugar 400 NASCAR race at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday night when driver Ryan Preece got into a violent crash that caused his car to flip in the air a total of 10 times.
With only six laps to go, a bump from another racer caused Preece’s No. 41 Ford to veer into the path of Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Chase Briscoe’s car and then careening into the infield grass where the vehicle went into a barrel roll in front of the horrified crowd.
Preece was able to climb out of the wreckage, being placed on a gurney by emergency personnel, and after initially being taken to the track’s infield care center, was transported to Halifax Health Medical Center for observation.
Video footage of what is one of the most savage crashes in recent memory was posted to social media where it went viral.
Ryan Preece FLIPS down the backstretch!
He climbs out of the car. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/2R0GbpFLj1
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) August 27, 2023
Ryan Preece FLIPPED down the backstretch. #NASCAR | @NBC and @Peacock pic.twitter.com/Qztmvjd0NA
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) August 27, 2023
Ryan Preece flipped 10 times in this violent crash late at Daytona.#NASCAR | @NBC and @Peacock pic.twitter.com/ho1EpXZr3E
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) August 27, 2023
“This is just violent,” said NASCAR on NBC analyst Jeff Burton during the broadcast of the event. “Look at this car. That is just amazing that something that weighs over 3,500 pounds can get in the air like that.”
The 32-year-old driver’s public relations account on X, formerly known as Twitter, said that he was taken to the hospital for tests and that he was “obviously shaken” after the crash.
Ryan was transported to a local hospital where he is undergoing standard tests, he is awake, alert and obviously shaken.
— Ryan Preece Racing (@RaceWithPreece) August 27, 2023
Preece himself also took to the platform with a message to his fans that he’ll be back.
“If you want to be a race car driver, you better be tough. Dammit. Fast @racechoice @FordPerformance Mustang. I’m coming back,” he wrote.
If you want to be a race car driver, you better be tough.
Dammit. Fast @racechoice @FordPerformance Mustang. I’m coming back.
— Ryan Preece (@RyanPreece_) August 27, 2023
“Ryan is a good friend of mine,” said Chris Buescher who went on to win the race. “While we were in Victory Lane, we got word that he’s at the hospital, that they’re running through a lot of stuff and that he’s doing well. That’s good to hear.”
“It just beats you up,” he added of what a rollover crash is like. “… Appreciative of how safe our race cars are. I think as an industry that sometimes we forget it’s dangerous still. That can certainly lead to some of our wilder moments. It’s a dangerous sport.
Preece finished 31st in the race.
“Ryan Preece was released from Halifax Medical Center on Sunday morning and on his way back to North Carolina, according to a press release from Stewart-Haas Racing. Preece went for a violent barrel roll in the closing laps of Saturday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Daytona International Speedway,” NASCAR announced on Sunday morning.
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