NASCAR Announces Investigation Into Fiery All-Star Race Crash

There was a pretty scary moment during the NASCAR All-Star Race at Dover Motor Speedway this past weekend as Ryan Preece's car became engulfed in flames during Lap 2.

Preece's car took heavy damage in a wreck but when he car struck a wall, it suddenly caught on fire. Preece managed to get out of the vehicle unharmed and so did everyone else involved in the incident.

But the cause of the fire is still largely unknown and NASCAR vice president of racing communications Mike Forde intends to get to the bottom of it. Appearing on Hauler Talk, Forde said that the working theory is that a hose to the fuel cell was severed, but it's still too early to draw a conclusion.

"It was the beginning of the race, and typically it wouldn't be as full," Forde said. "And because of that, much more fuel leaked into or was exposed to that whole rear area and ignited the bumper foam, the wrap (and) a number of flammable things.

"We're at the very beginning phases of any potential solves here, and they're talking through if there's a way to protect that hose a little bit more. I don't believe we've seen something like this before, but there are some learnings out of it."

Preece in 2026

Preece is in the midst of his best season despite still falling short of that long-sought first Cup Series win. He's finished top-18 in every single race since Atlanta and currently sits 13th on the Cup Series standings. With just a few months to go before the Cup Series Chase, he's well-positioned to have the best finish of his career.

Now if he can just find the checkered flag sometime between now and November, 2026 might truly be the best year of his career.

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This story was originally published May 20, 2026 at 2:17 PM.