Ryan Preece has been cleared to compete this weekend at Darlington Raceway and said he is “completely fine” in a video posted on social media.
Preece spent Saturday night at Halifax Medical Center in Daytona after a vicious barrel roll down the backstretch at Daytona International Speedway. Preece’s No. 41 Ford Mustang was tagged from behind by Erik Jones and sent veering to the left, where he collided with teammate Chase Briscoe and then became airborne while sliding sideways through the pavement and grass.
The Stewart-Haas Racing driver was discharged the following morning and has been back home in North Carolina with his family. Neither Stewart-Haas nor Preece have revealed any injuries were suffered.
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“No (expletive), I’ll see you at Darlington,” Preece said in the video. “I mean, I’m sitting right here, I’m completely fine, and, you know, I feel good. And obviously, I’m ready to get to Darlington.”
Preece was credited with a 31st-place finish in Daytona. He did not make the playoffs, which begin Sunday night in the Cook Out Southern 500.
“Being around a lot of old-school racers, the biggest thing about a racer is being tough,” Preece went on to say in the brief video. “That mentality, as a racer, it was instilled in me, and that’s what I want to be as a race car driver is somebody who’s tough. Someone who’s going to do whatever it takes. Not only as a racer but as a person.
“This is a sport that I’ve given so much to, something I’ve worked my entire life for. I’m not stepping aside. That’s not who I am as a person. That’s not who I am as a racer. It would take a lot for somebody to get me out of that race car.”