The morning after crashing during the final lap of the Daytona 500, NASCAR driver Ryan Newman remains hospitalized at Halifax Medical Center. Steve Newmark, President of Roush Fenway Racing, said in a statement on behalf of the company and Newman’s family that Newman “remains hospitalized” and that “further updates on his condition” will be made “as they become available.”
— Steve Newmark (@NewmarkRFR) February 18, 2020
“On behalf of Roush Fenway Racing and Ryan Newman’s family, we’d like to thank the NASCAR community for the incredible outpouring of support and compassion for Ryan. Your thoughts and prayers have comforted us all,” the statement began.
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“Ryan remains hospitalized at Halifax Medical Center and we will provide further updates on his condition as they become available.”
The statement was retweeted by NASCAR’s official Twitter profile.
The update is the first one since NASCAR and Roush Fenway released similar statements Monday night saying that Newman was in “serious condition” but that doctors “have indicated his injuries are not life threatening.”
Newman’s crash occurred in the final lap of overtime during Monday’s race, which had been postponed due to rain on Sunday. About 100 yards away from the finish line, Newman’s car was bumped from behind by Ryan Blaney, who said later he was trying to push him ahead to victory. That’s when Newman’s car collided head-first into the outside wall, flipped in the air and was hit on the driver’s side window by Corey LaJoie’s oncoming vehicle. That impact sent Newman’s car skidding down the track on its roof for quite a distance before it came to rest past the end of pit road. The car briefly caught fire before safety crews extinguished the flames.
The safety team raced to free Newman from the vehicle, and he was immediately placed onto a stretcher and into an ambulance, then transported to the Halifax Medical Center.
Denny Hamlin went on to win the race, making it his third career Daytona 500 victory. He later clarified to fans that he was not aware of the severity of Newman’s crash until after he and his team celebrated their win in victory lane.
“First [and] foremost I want to give well wishes and prayers to [Ryan Newman]. I had absolutely NO IDEA of the severity of the crash until I got to victory lane. There’s very little communication after the finish and i had already unhooked my radio. It’s not anyone’s fault,” he wrote with a praying hands emoji and the word “Rocket,” which is Newman’s nickname in the NASCAR community.
