2 major takeaways from Ryan Preece's NASCAR Superspeedway accident

The NASCAR Cup Series regular season came to a dramatic close this past weekend at Daytona International Speedway. While the focus was on setting the 16-driver playoff field, the Coke Zero Sugar 400 will likely be remembered for a terrifying crash involving Ryan Preece.

The frightening accident has sparked renewed scrutiny over driver safety at NASCAR's high-speed superspeedway tracks. Preece was transported to a local hospital for further evaluation and has since been released.

While the 32-year-old driver survived intact, his frightening tumble has raised some serious concerns, putting superspeedway safety back under the scanner. Here are two major takeaways from Preece's crash that NASCAR must address moving forward:

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#1 Cars are getting too light and unstable in the draft

One of the main factors that contributed to Preece's violent tumble was the instability of the Next Gen car in traffic. The new chassis for 2022 has been designed to be lighter and lower to the ground. This was intended to improve handling and allow for tighter racing.

However, the Gen 7 car has proven extremely unstable when racing in the large drafting packs seen at Daytona and Talladega. The lighter 3,200-pound cars are more prone to spinning when bumped and get turned sideways much easier.

Clearly, the Next-Gen cars are too vulnerable when racing at 200+ mph. Some tuning adjustments need to be made to provide a better balance of competition versus safety at the biggest tracks.

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#2 SAFER barrier coverage must be expanded

The second major takeaway from Preece's crash is the urgent need to expand SAFER barrier coverage at NASCAR's superspeedways. The Connecticut native was fortunate that his car did not slam directly into the concrete wall during any of its out-of-control flips.

However, there are still areas around the high-oval sections that lack sufficient impact protection. Talladega and Daytona are the only tracks still featuring exposed walls. All other speedways have adopted SAFER barriers around the entire perimeter.

NASCAR must extend more foam-lined barriers in the corners of its two superspeedways. Doing so would provide some cushion if a car is turned and sent rolling, unlike the unforgiving concrete. More soft walls would add a critical safety net in these high-energy accidents.

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Can you think of any other such takeaways? Have your say in the comments section below.