WATCH: NASCAR Driver From Berlin Has Terrifying Accident

BERLIN, CT/DAYTONA, FLA. — Race fans in general winced and prayed after NASCAR driver Ryan Preece flew through the air in a terrifying crash at Daytona International Speedway Saturday night.

But the anxiety in Connecticut was even greater, as Preece — a native of Berlin — survived a series of violent barrel rolls on the backstretch of the legendary speedway.

Preece, a driver for the Stewart-Haas team, was pack racing in the NASCAR cup Coke Zero Sugar 400 race at the home track for February's Daytona 500.

Utilizing restrictor plates on the carburators to hold speeds down, modern NASCAR vehicles on some superspeeways race in tight packs and, when trouble happens, many drivers are impacted.

In Preece's case, a bump to the back sent him in front of another car, with both vehicles sliding in the infield grass on the backstretch.

That's when Preece's car took off in the air, a byproduct of suddenly spinning after going nearly 200 miles per hour.

When the car landed, it did a tight series of violent barrel rolls, kicking up dust in the process and completely destroying Preece's car.

The entirety of the accident was captured LIVE on NBC's Saturday night race telecast, with a helicopter camera capturing the wreck as it happened.

The 32-year-old Preece was extricated and taken to a hospital via ambulance, where he was kept overnight for observation, according to a statement from his race team.

Stewart-Haas officials said Preece was released from the hospital the next day, Sunday.

"He was awake, alert and mobile," wrote Stewart-Haas in a social media post Sunday. "Earlier this morning, he was discharged and is now on his way home to North Carolina."

Preece races for former NASCAR legend Tony Stewart, who co-owns the Stewart-Haas racing stable of vehicles.

Preece has had a difficult year in stock car racing's top division in 2023, with only one top 5, 1 pole and an average finish of 22.18.

But, despite the outcome of his season, the fact he made it home so soon after one of the most horrifying NASCAR accidents in recent memory made the weekend a successful one for Preece.

Preece even posted on social media after his crash and before he was released from the hospital.

"If you want to be a race car driver, you better be tough," wrote Preece on "X," formerly known as Twitter.

He vowed to come back to the race track soon.

While he has yet to win at the Cup level, Preece has enjoyed victories in Nascar's truck division as well as in the Xfinity series, which is the next level down from NASCAR Cup.

He has also featured prominently on Connecticut and New England-area speedways as an accomplished modified racecar driver, a type of racing popular in the northeast.

To watch Preece's accident, click on this link.

For more information on Preece, click on this link.