NASCAR Rivals Still Shaking Their Heads Over Crashes by Preece, Blaney at Daytona

• Ryan Preece was involved in the sort of high-speed crash that attracts attention outside the racing world.

• “Blaney’s crash looked pretty reminiscent of somebody else’s (referring to Earnhardt’s), but we have the SAFER barrier,” rival driver Kyle Busch said.

• Defending series champion Joey Logano said both types of crashes “really suck and both hurt a lot.

Which Ryan would you rather be?

In last Saturday’s NASCAR regular-season finale at Daytona International Speedway, Ryan Preece and Ryan Blaney were involved in vicious crashes, each wreck providing a revealing look at the two most significant types of accidents at Daytona.

Preece’s was easily the more spectacular of the two, but Blaney’s could have been the more dangerous.

Bumped in tight traffic at the front, Blaney’s car turned hard right and hit the outside wall at near full speed. The front end of the car pancaked as the SAFER barrier absorbed much of the force of the crash. Without the so-called “soft wall,” Blaney could have suffered serious injuries; instead, he walked away from his mangled car, its front end demolished.

Preece was involved in the sort of high-speed crash that attracts attention outside the racing world. He lost control of his car on the backstretch, and it turned sideways, lifting into the air to begin a series of nauseating side-over-side rolls, some of them completely in the air. The battered car finally landed on its wheels after about 10 seconds of mayhem.

Preece was dazed but was able to stand without assistance after exiting the car. He was held overnight at an area hospital for observation.

Video of Preece’s crash was repeatedly shown even on non-racing television broadcasts as commentators marveled that he not only survived the wreck but also apparently was not significantly injured.

Approaching the Cup Series playoffs, which will begin Sunday at Darlington Raceway, drivers looked back at the Saturday night calamity. Over the years, after tumbling crashes at Daytona and Talladega, in particular, many drivers have said those spectacular wrecks typically are not as bad as hitting the wall head-on at high speed.

Kyle Busch respectfully disagrees.