Kyle Larson Praises NASCAR's Safety Improvements After Scary Ryan Preece Crash

NASCAR star Kyle Larson tells TMZ Sports he's relieved to see Ryan Preece escape serious injury after Saturday's terrifying crash ... praising the organization for taking necessary steps over the years to improve driver safety.

Preece's No. 41 car flipped multiple times during an accident in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona last weekend ... leaving many shocked he was able to walk away from the scene.

Of course, superspeedway racing is the most dangerous in the circuit ... with cars reaching their limits at insane speeds.

Larson's wife, Katelyn, shared her hatred for the style of race on X shortly after the Preece crash ... and while Kyle said he wasn't aware of her post, he admitted superspeedway events can really get the nerves going.

"I'm not sure what she said, but I just know that we're all thankful that we were able to see Ryan get out of that car and walk away from that wreck," Kyle said. "That was a very scary accident."

"It's definitely a style of race in that it's really the only time I'm ever a little bit nervous in a race car. I have been caught up in a lot of big accidents at those style tracks."

Larson said NASCAR is doing a great job at taking the proper measures to keep all the drivers out of harm's way ... adding, "On the flip side of that, our sport has gotten so much safer in the last couple of decades that allows a guy to flip that violently to get out, walk away, go see his family at home is pretty remarkable."

"Our sport can always be safer, but it's come a long way and we're all thankful for that."

As for Preece, he posted after the accident ... vowing to return.

We also spoke with Larson about a great cause ... helping raise $50,000 for the Phoenix Children's Hospital at the NASCAR Championship Ignition Luncheon earlier this week, and he said it's rewarding to use his platform to give back to the community.