The area of the track where Ryan Preece violently flipped this past season in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway has now been paved. The grass is now moved back further from the NASCAR oval configuration. Daytona confirmed the change this week.
During an IMSA test this month, a few folks noticed a slight change to the Daytona International Speedway track. The IMSA cars, going through the road course, revealed a large area of grass is now gone.
This is the same area of grass where Ryan Preece slid and then flipped multiple times. It was one of the most violent wrecks of the season.
Drivers expressed they would rather have pavement than grass for safety reasons. While it causes a “parking lot” look, safety is the most important thing.
“The paving project was a result of collaboration between DIS, NASCAR, and drivers to ensure the racing integrity of the chicane is preserved for all sanctioning bodies who race at DIS, while also recognizing safety is a constantly evolving process at our tracks,” said a statement to Motorsport.com.
You can see some of this change in the video here. The paved area behind the cars is the area that used to be grass. You can see the indent in the ground where it used to be.
Flips are always scary. Kudos to Daytona International Speedway and NASCAR for getting this done.
Daytona International Speedway: Early favorites for Daytona 500
In other Daytona news, the odds are out for the season opener. The Daytona 500 is going to be another great event, NASCAR’s Super Bowl. It comes in right after the actual Super Bowl and gives sports fans something to look forward to as football ends.
The opening odds are clear, Ryan Blaney is the favorite. At 9-1 odds , the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series champion has the best chance of winning, according to Vegas. His Team Penske teammate Joey Logano is among the favorites, too.
Both Blaney and Logano are solid superspeedway drivers. Logano was right there with a chance to win this year. However, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. had the edge on him when the final caution came out.
The best part, drivers don’t have to worry about the grass anymore. That Preece wreck was awful. While the racer was more or less fine and kept racing the week after, his black eyes were terrifying. Safety has come a long way, but there is still more to do.
More must-reads: