Ryan Preece found himself caught up in someone else's mess once again, further illustrating that he is apparently snake-bitten at superspeedways. The last several years have been pretty rough for the former Modified champion.
Then again, bad crashes have become part of races such as the Daytona 500. This one was no different, as Preece found himself collected in a massive wreck that started at the front of the field with fewer than 15 laps left in the race.
Sure, it was money-paying time in the biggest race of the year, but Preece didn't ask to go frighteningly flipping for the second time in the last three years.
Blow-over wrecks in Gen-7 car are persistent
These wrecks are starting to become more and more common. It's certainly not a good trend to continue to see cars flipping without much contact between them. In the past, before the Next Gen car, it took multiple hits with other cars or even getting in the grass to cause a car to turn over.
That just isn't the case with this car. The best way to define what is happening is like what happens when a little kid is playing with a diecast car. That's how you can best describe what has happened to Preece, and even Corey LaJoie at Michigan International Speedway in 2024.
Sure, NASCAR added more support to the car to try to limit flips, but something about the diffuser isn't adding up. It isn't fun to see these cars just take off into the air like they are weightless.
NASCAR might be flirting with disaster
The best news was that Preece was able to walk away from the crash, but that doesn't mean things are all good around the sport.
He made a stern warning when he was interviewed by Fox Sports' Regan Smith after leaving the infield care center.
"I don't know if it's the diffuser or what that makes this car like a sheet of plywood when you walk outside on a windy day," Preece said. "When the car took off and it got real quiet, all I thought about was my daughter. I was lucky to walk away, but we're getting real close to somebody not being able to walk away."Ryan Preece via Fox Sports
Preece is exactly right. No NASCAR Cup driver has died in a crash since Dale Earnhardt in 2001, but some have gotten hurt pretty badly in flip crashes. This Gen 7 car has had plenty of problems and hard hits; this car ended Kurt Busch's NASCAR career. So NASCAR might want to heed Preece's concern.