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.