Ryan Newman has been taken to a hospital following his crash at the Daytona 500. During the final lap, Newman was in the lead before his car flipped and caught fire. Following the race, which was won by Denny Hamlin, Mike Joy and Jeff Gordon provided an update on Newman’s status.
Mike Joy and Jeff Gordon provide an update on Ryan Newman’s status. pic.twitter.com/1lppd0zazz
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) February 18, 2020
“Ryan Newman has been helped from his car by the AMR safety team, he’s been loaded into an ambulance and taken to a local hospital, and that’s all the information we can be provided at this time,” Joy told viewers in the clip.
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Specifics about Newman’s condition are currently unknown at this time.
Newman’s incident was the third big crash to happen in this year’s race. (There were several smaller collisions and spinouts, but only three severe incidents.) The first happened during lap 181 when Brad Keselowski had turned into a wall, which took out a slew of cars behind him. The initial crash appeared to be a result of a push by Joey Logano and Aric Almirola, who also were taken out in the process.
In the aftermath, Keselowski explained what happened on his end as his car was the forefront of the major wreckage.
“It was just one of those racing deals,” Keselowski explained. “Unfortunately, it didn’t come together there at the end. I probably made a little bit of a bad move not blocking the 6 and 95. I didn’t know the 95 was that darn fast. He pushed the 6 like a rocket and I didn’t think they would come with that big of a run and when they did, I didn’t cover it. I put myself into a position where when they did wreck, I couldn’t make it through.”
The second crash happened during lap 199 when No. 77, Ross Chastain, tried to move inside of Ryan Preece, who was in third at the time. In the ensuing wreck, Chastain caused a multi-car pileup, eliminating him along with Preece, Christopher Bell, Tyler Reddick and Joey Logano — among others.
While the race was originally scheduled to take place on Sunday, it was delayed until Monday due to weather conditions. President Donald Trump served as the race’s Grand Marshal, making him the first U.S. president to do so since George W. Bush back in 2004.
