“When it finally does get somebody, I don’t want it to be me.” RFK Racing driver Ryan Preece’s words in February this year highlight a glaring hole in NASCAR’s schedule. During the 2025 Daytona 500 race, Preece crossed paths with a similar fate that he had faced in August 2023. He encountered the ravages of a superspeedway in the most terrifying manner, risking his life both times. Now, however, a plan is afoot to avoid such mishaps in the future.
Both Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway occupy popular spots in the Cup Series schedule. From drivers falling prey to the aerodynamic difficulty of Daytona to getting caught in ‘Big Ones’ of Talladega, both superspeedways can breed chaos. However, Ryan Preece may look forward to a safer event this season.
NASCAR is working to put Ryan Preece at ease
Ryan Preece is riding on a high in 2025, having clinched three consecutive top-ten finishes between Las Vegas and Martinsville. However, behind his success lie stories of near-disaster. Back in August 2023, Preece drove the No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford at the Coke Zero Sugar 400. It made contact with his teammate Chase Briscoe’s car. As a result, the 41 launched into an uncontrollable barrel roll as soon as it slid from asphalt to grass. That incident left fans and spectators shocked as Preece spent a night in the hospital and came back the next day with two swollen eyes. But the concerning matter is that the chaos followed Preece into his RFK Racing tenure in 2025.
On February 16th, Ryan Preece again crashed on his familiar ground. He lost control of his No. 60 RFK Racing Ford at Daytona’s Turn 3, and the car flipped upside down. This incident in the closing laps of the Daytona 500 led to an outcry in the Cup Series garage, and Preece said he was “just frustrated.” That incident left a bitter taste. But recently, NASCAR journalist Kelly Crandall posted a new update. Apparently, NASCAR has a plan in the works, as she wrote on X: “I reached out to NASCAR to see if there were any car/package changes for this weekend at Talladega Superspeedway after the wrecks in the Daytona 500 and Ryan Preece’s comments. There has not been. But there could be something for the return trip to Daytona later this summer.”
I reached out to NASCAR to see if there were any car/package changes for this weekend at Talladega Superspeedway after the wrecks in the Daytona 500 and Ryan Preece’s comments. There has not been. But there could be something for the return trip to Daytona later this summer.
— Kelly Crandall (@KellyCrandall) April 21, 2025
These steps may be music to the ears of Ryan Preece. However, they were a long time coming as there has been no dearth of mishaps on NASCAR tracks. During last year’s Talladega playoff race, we witnessed the biggest wreck ever on the 2.66-mile Alabama oval. 28 cars were knocked out like pinballs and lay in a smoking mess. Similarly, the 2025 Coke Zero Sugar 400 saw Preece’s fate get transferred to Josh Berry. The former SHR driver received a nudge from Austin Cindric with 2 laps to go. Then the No. 4 Ford spun sideways, slammed the wall, and flipped upside down. These incidents demonstrate how reforming the superspeedway package is the need of the hour.
However, NASCAR already seems to be on the path of reforming the crash policies of the sport. That is visible in the sport’s willingness to improve racetrack situations.
Making things more flexible
Wrecks on NASCAR tracks are always unpleasant. Endangering safety may be a major consequence of such incidents, but it is not the only one. Remember Josh Berry’s situation in Kansas or Ryan Blaney’s case in Watkins Glen in 2024? Despite getting small damages to their car, they were not allowed to repair and get back for a second chance. So the sanctioning body rolled out a revamped Damaged Vehicle Policy for 2025.
In 2025, after a wreck, any car unable to be driven back to the pit road will be towed to the garage. If a driver goes to pit road after an accident for repairs, there will be a seven-minute clock, eight for Atlanta. If that clock expires, the crew must take the car to the garage, where they can continue to work. A car will only be eliminated from an event for select reasons. These are not making minimum speed, the team declaring it out of the race, or NASCAR deeming the vehicle unsafe.
Clearly, NASCAR officials are on the move to refurbish the approach to wrecks. NASCAR Cup Series Managing Director Brad Moran explained in detail earlier this year. He said immovable cars will be sent to the garage. “They can’t steer them half the time. They’re sitting on their skid plates. We went through three years of trying to deal with this problem and learning as we went. So, any car that can’t drive away will get towed directly to the garage … where it will get new tires or be repaired.”
Contrary to using crash parts as used before, now, drivers will only be able to change select parts. Brad Moran continued, “The mandatory safety parts are all you are allowed to change. We did add the steering rack to it, which you could do under a mechanical (repair), but you were not able to do it under DVP as of last year. So, we added that and then the control arms again. You can do all of that in the garage.”
Apparently, Ryan Preece may look forward to changes ahead of the 2025 Coke Zero Sugar 400 race. Only time will tell if NASCAR makes changes up to the safety mark or not.
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