Denny Hamlin calls Ryan Preece Daytona crash the 'most violent barrel roll' he's seen

While he was racing when it happened, Denny Hamlin couldn’t believe the replay of the Ryan Preece barrel roll accident. In what ended up being a terrifying NASCAR wreck, Preece tumbled over almost a dozen times as he went through the grass, airborne, and then tumbled to a stop.

On the newest edition of his Actions Detrimental podcast, Denny Hamlin addressed the accident. With all of the hard hits that drivers have taken in the Next Gen car, it was a stark reminder of how dangerous the sport is.

Hamlin was riding around under caution when he saw the replay of the Ryan Preece wreck.

“So they start to play it and so I’m driving, I’m looking through the window net and I’m looking and seeing him turn and start to flip and I’m like ‘Oh wow he got some good air. Oh no!’ I mean as soon as his car hit the grass, I don’t think I’ve ever seen one have that many rotations in the air,” Hamlin explained. “I mean, not since a U.S. gymnast have I seen that many barrel rolls before making contact. Holy cow.

“I mean, we got news that Ryan’s out of the hospital on his way to Charlotte now so seems like he’s fine. Got a tweet from him last night, so I think he’s going to be okay so we can comment on it. But holy sh**. That thing was violent. That was the most violent barrel roll I’ve ever seen. Usually, you’ve seen in the old days when the cars would barrel roll, it’d be a little bit slower, the car would dissipate more. His car really kind of stayed together, except for the roof hatch and the window net, yikes.”

This Ryan Preece wreck could have been so much worse.

Ryan Preece wreck shocks fans and drivers

At home and in the stands, fans were wondering what would happen once the car came to a resting stop. It flipped and flipped and kept on flipping it seemed. His crew members tried to key him on the radio but he wasn’t responsive. So, there is a chance that Preece was knocked out at some point by the wreck.

Like Hamlin said, this is a big “yikes” moment for NASCAR. This Next Gen car once again has shown weaknesses. With the window netting and the roof hatch coming off the car, something will have to be looked at to improve safety there.

Ryan Preece was taken to a local hospital for further evaluation. He was active and talking and able to move. On Sunday morning, Preece was discharged and made his way home to North Carolina.

In his tweet after the wreck, Preece said “I’m coming back.” He’s letting fans know that this wreck won’t keep him down if he can help it.