“She was sleeping at that time”: Ryan Preece reveals his daughter’s reaction to his horror Daytona flip

Ryan Preece revealed what his daughter's reaction was to his flip at the Daytona 500. He revealed his reaction to flip ahead of his next race at the Atlanta Speedway in a press conference on Saturday.

Ryan Preece, now driving the #60 Ford for RFK Racing after SHR ceased operations, was involved in a crash with only eight laps remaining at the Daytona 500. The crash started when Cole Custer bumped into Christopher Bell into the wall, resulting in Bell having to turn his car into the traffic to get back on track. As Bell’s #20 came back in, it clipped Preece, which resulted in him being sent airborne for almost 100 yards before it flipped onto its roof and ended up slamming against the wall. However, this wasn’t the first time Ryan Preece was flipped upside down at Daytona in the Cup Series. In 2023, the driver, when he was racing for SHR, violently flipped at the Coke Zero Sugar 400.

The interview with the RFK Racing driver was filled with humor but also sent an emotional chill to the listener when he mentioned his daughter. Though he added that her age was a factor as to why she wouldn’t comprehend the crash, the idea of a father in a crash like the one he had would be heartbreaking for the child.

"So she's a year and a half old. I don't think she really processes or registers. She was sleeping at the time. You know, I'm sure later on in life we'll have those conversations. But you know, for me, it was the first thing that came to mind when the car went up in the air. Because as a race car driver, whether you drive sprint cars or whatever, you understand there's a chance you could flip. Like, we've been watching cars flip at super speedways forever. It was really just how that car took off when it did that caught me off guard," Preece said.

Preece is entering his sixth non-consecutive full-time season in the NASCAR Cup Series. The 34-year-old has four top-five finishes and 16 top-ten finishes in 187 career starts but remains without a NASCAR Cup Series win.

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“I’m a cat with 9 lives right now”: Ryan Preece opened up on his airborne crash ahead of Atlanta

Ryan Preece humorously referred to himself as a "cat with 9 lives" after his airborne experience in the same interview.

"It's not like landing on pillows. I'll tell you that. It's not. As much as I'm fine, it's not like you don't feel it. You definitely feel it. So I think it's, I joked with my wife that I'm like a cat with nine lives right now. You don't want to use all nine up," Preece said.

Even after the serious incident, Preece managed to find humor, changing his X profile picture to a photoshopped image of himself as an astronaut. He captioned his post with the new profile picture:

"#NewProfilePic."

Although Preece is still seeking his first Cup Series win, he has two Xfinity Series victories and two Craftsman Truck Series wins.