In his first points-paying start with RFK Racing in Sunday’s Daytona 500, Ryan Preece ended up in an unfortunately familiar position during the latter part of a superspeedway race.
With five laps to go, Christopher Bell got spun by Cole Custer in front of the majority of the field on the backstretch.
As Bell’s No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota came careening down the track, Preece’s No. 60 Ford Mustang was directly in harm’s way as his car got slapped by the No. 20 and began a wheelie at over 180 mph.
Preece’s car aimlessly flew on the back two wheels before rolling over and skating on its roof and careening into the outside wall. The No. 60 eventually came to a rest midway through the third corner.
Christopher Bell goes into the wall. Ryan Preece flips. Wow. pic.twitter.com/T89oxCUJQz
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) February 17, 2025
It was as bizarre, if not more as his first violent accident at Daytona (Fla.) Int’l Speedway that came in the summer of 2023. That time, Preece’s car made contact with the infield grass on the backstretch before flipping multiple times and eventually coming to a rest.
Preece was treated and released from the infield care center following Sunday’s wreck. As he spoke to the media, the 34-year-old was candid on potential changes being made to the Next Gen race car.
“I don’t know what the right thing to say right now is,” Preece began. “The thing I wanna say as a father, as a racer is… we keep beating on a door hoping for a different result. I think we know where there’s a problem at superspeedways.
“I don’t wanna be the example of when it finally does get somebody. I don’t want it to be me. I got a two-year-old daughter. Just like a lot of us, we have family. So, something needs to be done, because, cars lifting off the ground like that… that felt, honestly, worse than Daytona in ’23.”
In response to why he felt his wreck in the Daytona 500 was worse, he stated, “Everything about it.”
“Airborne, heading toward the fence. It’s not a good place to be in,” Preece said. “With a hit like that, a head-on impact, I don’t really think it should’ve gone airborne.
“I’m just not very happy. But, ultimately, I think the thing I wanna say is we had a really fast car. It’s just, you can only do so much when everybody stacks up.
“I’m safe, just frustrated.”
Prior to the accident, Preece was running 12th and led six laps in the Great American Race.
