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NASCAR driver Ryan Preece, who is originally from the Hartford County town of Berlin, was hospitalized on Saturday night, Aug. 26 following a violent crash at the Daytona International Speedway in Florida, according to multiple reports.
A video of the crash released by NASCAR shows Preece's vehicle flipping numerous times after being hit from behind by Erik Jones before finally coming to a rest, at which point flames can be seen coming from the wreck.
Preece was able to get out of the vehicle and was taken to Halifax Health Medical Center for observation, where he was reported as "awake alert, and mobile" by Stewart-Haas Racing.
Despite the crash, his spirit was not dampened, as hours after the incident he was posting on social media that he would soon be back in action.
"If you want to be a race car driver, you better be tough," he wrote in a post on the X platform formally known as Twitter, adding, "I’m coming back."
Preece's morale may have indeed aided his recovery process, as the next morning, on Sunday, Aug. 27 around 11 a.m., Stewart-Haas Racing reported that Preece had been discharged from the hospital and was on his way home to North Carolina.
In addition to being from Berlin, Preece has more ties to Connecticut, as he has participated in races at the Stafford Motor Speedway in Tolland County. There, he won the championship in the SK Modified Series in 2011.
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