“Everything flashed of what life would look like if he were to be gone”: Ryan Preece’s wife narrates emotions during husband’s awful Daytona 500 crash

Ryan Preece's wife, Heather DesRochers, opened up to Fox Sports about the RFK Racing driver's horrific NASCAR crashes. Speaking about the recent incident in the Daytona 500, Heather felt gutted by the thought of losing her husband.

For the uninitiated, Preece got airborne on lap 196 of last week's race at Daytona International Speedway. The No. 60 Ford Mustang flipped twice before hitting the outside wall but fortunately, he was later released from the infield care center.

Heather told Fox Sports she didn't think a huge crash could happen to Ryan Preece again, recalling the more violent crash on the same track in 2023 where the driver's No. 41 Ford flipped over 10 times.

"I just couldn't help but think that it wouldn't happen to the same person twice. Everything flashed through my head of what life would look like if he were to be gone. It was a lot," Heather said. [1:15]

She shared asking Preece about stepping out of the sport considering they have a daughter, Rebecca, saying:

"I do say to him after these like, 'It would be okay. Are you sure you don't want this to be it?' Obviously, she (Rebecca) needs him."

"I think that you have to just look at every race as a new race. I try to focus on hoping that he has a successful day and he's safe," she concluded.

Heather Preece revealed keeping a framed photo of the incident at Daytona two years ago as a reminder of how 'blessed' they were the driver survived the crash. Ryan Preece stays in the mix driving No. 60 Ford, RFK Racing's new third car. He joined the team following a two-year run with the now-defunct Stewart-Haas Racing.

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Ryan Preece shares his thoughts on the Daytona 500 crash

In a post-race interview, Ryan Preece called out NASCAR to address the car flipping issue he experienced twice at Daytona. The Connecticut native doesn't want to pass away from a crash before the safety officials make changes, especially since he has a one-year-old daughter.

Ryan Preece said (via Frontstretch):

"As a father, as a racer, we keep beating on a door hoping for a different result and we know where there's a problem... at superspeedways. I don't want to be the example. When it finally does get somebody, I don't want it to be me." [0:13]

"I got a 2-year-old daughter, just like a lot of us, we've got families. Something needs to be done because cars lifting off the ground like that," he added.

After the race, Ryan Preece settled with a DNF in P32. Teammate Brad Keselowski was also caught in the lap 196 incident and ended up with a 26th position. Chris Buescher had the better race among the RFK Racing trio and completed the top 10 finishers' list.

William Byron, meanwhile, won the "Great American Race" for the second consecutive year. He capitalized on a last-lap wreck involving Denny Hamlin and Cole Custer to snatch the lead and take the checkered flag. Byron became the youngest two-time Daytona 500 winner at age 27.