Ryan Preece will drive in Sunday’s Southern 500, a week after his ferocious crash at Daytona International Speedway.
“I feel great,” Preece said Friday morning on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. “No concussion. I’m ready to get out there and go race.”
Preece said he did medical testing two different days this week to ensure he was ready to compete this weekend at Darlington Raceway. He said he did not have any symptoms either time.
Preece’s car rolled more than 10 times after it was hit from behind on Lap 156 of the 163-lap race at Daytona. His car veered left and hit teammate Chase Briscoe’s car. That contact turned Preece’s car sideways as it slid through the Turn 3 grass. When Preece’s car went over a paved section, air got underneath the car and lifted it, beginning a series of rolls.
“What I can tell you is like many other drivers that have flipped, it’s very interesting,” Preece told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio about the crash. “They tell you it gets really quiet as it lifts off. That’s the truth. It gets really quiet. Then from there, as a driver you just close your eyes. ... You’re along for the ride.
“It’s certainly not the roller coaster ride that I would say is for anybody to get on, but at the end of the day, the car did it’s job. It kept me safe. It made it so that Sunday I was able to go see my wife and my newborn daughter.”
Preece was held overnight for observation at Halifax Health Medical Center after his crash last Saturday.
“It may have been the biggest wreck of my life, but that doesn’t stop me from wanting to go out there and compete and try to win races,” he said. “That’s what I love doing, and I’m lucky enough to do it for a living.”
“It would take a lot for somebody to get me out of that race car.”@RyanPreece_ gives an update following his accident at Daytona. pic.twitter.com/TUkVxl9Qmy
— Stewart-Haas Racing (@StewartHaasRcng) September 1, 2023
