UPDATE
Sep 1, 2023 1:37 PM CDT
Ryan Preece has been cleared to race in the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway in South Carolina after a frightening crash at Daytona a week ago. "I'll see you at Darlington," Preece said in a social media video posted Friday by his Stewart-Haas Racing team. "I'm sitting right here, I'm completely fine." Preece went airborne Saturday night and rolled over more than 10 times before coming to rest, per the AP. He then got out of the damaged vehicle and walked off without any apparent injuries. Preece spent the night in a hospital as a precaution.
Aug 27, 2023 10:10 AM CDT
NASCAR driver Ryan Preece is "awake, alert and mobile" after his car rolled about a dozen times during a terrifying crash at Daytona International Speedway. Stewart-Haas Racing said Sunday morning that Preece "has been communicating with family and friends." He was hospitalized overnight. The 32-year-old Preece was able to climb out of his mangled No. 41 Ford on Saturday night with help before emergency workers put him on a gurney and into an ambulance, the AP reports. He initially went to the track's infield care center before being transported to Halifax Health Medical Center in Daytona Beach for observation.
Preece will be evaluated by medical personnel again Sunday, the team said. He tweeted about two hours after the race, posting: "If you want to be a race car driver, you better be tough. ... I'm coming back." Preece and SHR teammate Chase Briscoe made contact coming out of Turn 4, and Preece's car went into an uncontrollable barrel roll as soon as it slid from the asphalt to the infield grass. The car came to a halt on all four tires, with some minor damage to the roll cage. Preece being able to climb out with help was a testament to NASCAR's Next Gen car, which is considered the safest iteration in its 75-year history.
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The car was roundly criticized following its debut in 2022 because rear-impact collisions wreaked havoc on drivers. Kurt Busch of 23XI Racing suffered a life-changing concussion during a qualifying crash at Pocono Raceway last summer, and Hendrick Motorsports driver Alex Bowman missed five races because of a concussion. Multiple other drivers complained about the violence felt during what they considered routine hits and wondered if they too had suffered head trauma. NASCAR spent much of last year and the offseason testing and tweaking its car to try to limit the G-forces delivered to drivers, per the AP. The changes resulted in considerably fewer missed races and no reported concussions in 2023.
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