NASCAR driver Ryan Preece was discharged from a Florida hospital early Sunday morning, nearly 12 hours after his Ford Mustang violently barrel-rolled about a dozen times during the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway.
Stewart-Haas Racing said on X that Preece was returning to North Carolina after overnight observation at the Halifax Health Medical Center, where he had been “awake, alert and mobile” and “communicating with family and friends,” according to a previous update.
The 32-year-old professional racecar driver was on Lap 156 of the 160-lap race of Saturday’s NASCAR Cup Series when Preece’s No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford lifted off the ground, tumbled in the air, and rolled on the grass near the racetracks back straightaway before coming to a complete stop on all four tires.
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,” NASCAR on NBC analyst Jeff Burton said. “Look at this car. That is just amazing that something that weighs over 3,500 pounds can get in the air like that.”
NASCAR reported Preece’s rear bumper made contact with another car when it veered left across the nose of Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Chase Briscoe’s car just before it launched into mid-air and spun out of control.
Ryan Preece FLIPPED down the backstretch. 😳 #NASCAR | @NBC and @Peacock pic.twitter.com/Qztmvjd0NA
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) August 27, 2023
When Preece’s vehicle finally stabilized on the ground, he climbed out with the help of AMR Safety Team emergency workers, who transported him on a gurney and into an ambulance to the infield care center, then to Halifax Health Center.
“If you want to be a race car driver, you better be tough. … I’m coming back,” Preece said in an X-post about two hours after the race.
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
Briscoe reportedly said he had seen his teammate after the race but was thinking about Preece and his family.
“Obviously, Ryan got turned or something and came across my nose, and then we all started wrecking,’ Briscoe told Racing America. “Just thinking about him and his family, you know that’s a teammate there. Just super unfortunate to see that happen to anybody, let alone a teammate. Hopefully, he’s OK. Just thinking about him and praying for him.”
Briscoe experienced a similar crash during the Coke Zero Sugar 400 in 2022 when his vehicle launched into the air after getting spun off Turn 4.
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“We can’t wreck cars like that every time we come to a superspeedway,” he said. “These cars, with how the bottom is, as soon as they get any air, it just flips them right over. Whenever you’re running 190 mph, and you go airborne, it’s not good. Especially when there’s grass and stuff involved. We definitely need to do something. I don’t know what it is that we can do, but we need to do something.”
Saturday night’s race was Preece’s final chance to qualify for the 2023 playoffs, according to Motorsport.com.
After emergency crews transported Preece off the track, the race went into overtime, where Chris Buescher scored the victory.
“Ryan is a good friend of mine,” Buescher told NBC. “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.”