Ryan Preece Calls For NASCAR Safety Reforms

After his high-flying wreck at the Daytona 500, driver Ryan Preece is calling for reforms to NASCAR safety protocols. One can hardly blame the man after two outings at Daytona ended for him in big crashes. This time was genuinely scary after Preece’s car flew off the track surface, landed on its roof, slammed into the wall, then finally came to a rest on the four wheels.

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“I don’t want to be the example,” Preece said to media after the race. “I don’t want it to be me.” Seeing the aftermath of his No. 60 Ford Mustang, which was badly mangled, including the roof deteriorating in at least one spot, one can understand Preece’s concern.

During an interview with Chris Childers on Racing America, Preece said even though his collision in the Big One at the Daytona 500 in 2023 looked scarier, the one this season was for him far more frightening. He said as the stock car went airborne, he though for sure he was going over the safety fence.

Now Preece is calling for NASCAR to increase safety protocols for cars. The organization has added more elements after other scary airborne flips, but it’s apparent those aren’t preventing incidents like what Preece went through at Daytona.

It’s not entirely clear what the solution would be. Some believe what NASCAR has done hasn’t benefitted drivers’ safety, namely adding shark fins to stock cars. They believe the front splitter and rear diffuser are huge contributing factors.

Others have pointed out the restrictions on engines and the necessity to draft on tracks like Daytona are what have created an unsafe environment for drivers. But NASCAR is also well aware these big wrecks get a lot of attention and excite at least some fans, so it’s unclear just how aggressive it wans to be in mitigating the risk.