Ryan Preece is a realist. He’s gone airborne in two of the last four races at Daytona International Speedway and knows the chances of being in a vicious crash Saturday night remains high.
Ryan Preece is an optimist. He sees the odds as in his favor of keeping all four tires on the ground for the regular season finale (Coverage begins at 7 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock).
Ryan Preece has a sense of humor. It would be easy to dread all the talk of his terrifying crash in 2023 at Daytona and his stunning wreck in this year’s Daytona 500, but he’s leaned into it heading into his final chance to make this season’s playoff field.
A couple of months ago, Preece had an idea. Why not have the helmet he’ll wear this weekend painted like an astronaut’s due to his recent flights he’s had at a track about an hour’s drive from the Kennedy Space Center.
The idea morphed into a Top Gun theme and Maverick-style helmet.
“I think it’s probably one of my favorite helmets,” Preece said.
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Yet, why even acknowledge the misfortune in the past when he’s trying to make the Cup playoffs for the first time and secure RFK Racing’s only playoff bid this season.
“I feel as race car drivers we’re numb,” said Preece, who needs to win Saturday’s race to make the playoffs. “We’re numb so to speak to wrecking like that. So, you know, when I barrel rolled two years ago or whatever it was, I still watch it and I think, ‘Boy, I don’t want to do that again.’”
The 2025 regular season will conclude, and the playoff field will be set at the World Center of Racing.
But he understands crashing can be an occupational hazard.
“For us, as race car drivers, if you’re going to compete and you’re going to go out there and do your job to the best of your ability, you have to have absolutely no fear,” Preece said. “I just choose to forget about it and kind of bury it deep inside to where I don’t even think about it.
“Every time we show up to Daytona, I think, ‘Well, it’s going to go different this time.’ And sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn’t and that’s just the game we play.”
He believes his fortune will change.
“I’m a believer in the law of averages,” Preece said. “ … Eventually It’s going to turn around. I feel like the best thing I can do is go this weekend and race no different than I’ve ever been.”
Ryan Blaney goes into Saturday night’s race at Daytona having scored a series-best five consecutive top-10 finishes.
He’s encouraged by his performance earlier this season at Talladega. He crossed the finish line in second place but his car failed inspection and was disqualified. While the result was taken away, how he drove in that race remains.
“I feel like things just really started to click,” Preece said of that Talladega race. “When I go back and watch superspeedway style of races you see people fall into situations and sometimes it kind of just happens to work out and they win. And then there’s others where they could have done things different.
“I feel like I’ve learned — about time I guess — with this car, understanding what I need to do to put myself in position to seize an opportunity of putting ourselves in position to win a race.”