Ryan Preece was able to get out of his car after an incredibly scary wreck during the final laps of the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona on Saturday night.
Preece’s car turned over in various directions 12 times after it got airborne while sliding down toward the infield grass. After exiting his car, Preece laid down on a stretcher and was taken by ambulance to the infield care center. NBC reported after the race that Preece had been transported to a nearby hospital for further evaluation.
Preece was apparently able to post a pledge to return on social media a few hours later.
The crash happened with six laps to go in the 160-lap race. Drivers had taken it easy for much of the final stage of the race before their final pit stops. Once teams pitted for their final fuel stops of the evening, drivers got aggressive as they raced for the win.
The race restarted with two laps to go after the caution for Preece’s crash. Chris Buescher got pushed to the lead by Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing teammate Brad Keselowski and wasn’t challenged over the final lap to win his third race of the season.
Buescher’s win meant Bubba Wallace grabbed the 16th and final spot in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. Wallace entered the race in the final playoff position but would have been knocked out of the playoffs had a winless driver outside the top 15 in the points standings won the race.
With Wallace in the playoffs, Chase Elliott misses for the first time in his Cup Series career. Elliott missed seven of 26 regular season races because of a broken leg and a one-race suspension. Elliott finished fourth Saturday night and scored enough points per race to make the playoffs, but simply didn’t compete in enough races to qualify for the postseason via points.
Elliott was fortunate to drive his way through a 16-car wreck at the end of the second stage. Ty Gibbs got turned while racing for the lead with Ryan Blaney and his car sent Blaney head-on into the outside wall in a massive hit.
While Elliott is out of the driver playoffs, his No. 9 car qualified for the owner playoffs because of the performances of the drivers who subbed for him. The owner playoffs help determine financial payouts at the end of the season.
“Yeah, it’s a bummer, for sure,” Elliott said of missing the playoffs. “Hate the season has worked out like it has. The good news is the car got in in the owner’s points. That’s a big deal. Credit to [crew chief Alan Gustafson] and everybody for continuing to work and scratch and claw while I was out to keep our team alive and to give ourselves a chance. That’s a big deal, probably much bigger than a lot of people realize to our team.”
“Looking forward to these next 10. Try to make a little noise on that side of things and just try to get ready and prepared for next year.”
The playoff field is set
Martin Truex Jr. clinched the regular-season title and 15 extra points for the playoffs at Daytona. He starts the playoffs tied for first with William Byron. Byron led all drivers with five wins over the first 26 races of the season.
Wallace is in the playoffs for the first time in his career. He’s the only driver in the field who has not been a part of the playoffs before.
“Proud to be locked into the playoffs. [23XI Racing], third year in, getting both cars in the playoffs,” Wallace said. “We’ve gone through a lot of trials and tribulations. So proud of the effort we put in.”
“No matter how much we set ourselves back, we know that we have a kick-ass group and can bounce back from everything.”
Buescher will start the playoffs in fourth after his win and is four points behind Denny Hamlin in third. Here’s how the playoff field looks before the first round at Darlington, Kansas and Bristol.
1. William Byron, 2,036 points
2. Martin Truex Jr., 2,036
3. Denny Hamlin, 2,025
4. Chris Buescher, 2,021
5. Kyle Busch, 2,019
6. Kyle Larson, 2,017
7. Christopher Bell, 2,014
8. Ross Chastain, 2,011
9. Brad Keselowski, 2,010
10. Tyler Reddick, 2,009
11. Joey Logano, 2,008
11. Ryan Blaney, 2,008
13. Michael McDowell, 2,007
14. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 2,005
15. Kevin Harvick, 2,004
16. Bubba Wallace, 2,000
Race results
1. Chris Buescher
2. Brad Keselowski
3. Aric Almirola
4. Chase Elliott
5. Joey Logano
6. Alex Bowman
7. Kyle Busch
8. William Byron
9. Kevin Harvick
10. Corey LaJoie
11. Ty Dillon
12. Bubba Wallace
13. Michael McDowell
14. Austin Hill
15. Chandler Smith
16. Christopher Bell
17. Ross Chastain
18. Erik Jones
19. JJ Yeley
20. Daniel Suarez
21. Justin Haley
22. Josh Berry
23. BJ McLeod
24. Martin Truex Jr.
25. Tyler Reddick
26. Denny Hamlin
27. Kyle Larson
28. Harrison Burton
29. AJ Allmendinger
30. Chase Briscoe
31. Ryan Preece
32. Todd Gilliland
33. Austin Dillon
34. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
35. Ty Gibbs
36. Ryan Blaney
37. Austin Cindric
38. Riley Herbst
39. Brennan Poole
