Ryan Newman Receives Well Wishes from Panthers’ Christian McCaffrey: ‘Prayers Up’

Ryan Newman has been on the mind of all of those involved in the racing world, from the drivers themselves to the viewers, and to those who loosely follow the sport even. Newman saw himself in a scary situation during the completion of the Daytona 500 on Monday when his car went airborne and bursted into flames. The crash resulted in him needing to be taken off by an ambulance to the local hospital where he remained as of Tuesday.

Many took to social media to voice their concerns and offer their thoughts and prayers for Newman. Among those were Carolina Panthers star running back, Christian McCaffrey, who also is an avid NASCAR fan.

McCaffrey has a few different connections to the racing world.

He recently appeared in a commercial during this past Super Bowl with Kyle Busch. The commercial was a promotion for the upcoming movie Sonic the Hedgehog.

McCaffrey also has struck up a good friendship with Austin Dillon since being drafted by Carolina in 2017. He even attended the Daytona 500 in which Dillon came away as the winner.

As for Newman, he remains in serious condition. The latest update as of Tuesday afternoon noted that he is awake. NASCAR put out a statement a couple of hours after the scary scene unfolded.

“He is in serious condition, but doctors have indicated his injuries are not life threatening,” the statement read, adding that he is being treated at Halifax Medical Center. “We appreciate your thoughts and prayers and ask that you respect the privacy of Ryan and his family during this time. We appreciate your patience and cooperation and we will provide more information as it becomes available.”

In the time since the incident, many have dug into Newman’s previous comments in which he expressed his concern over the trajectory of NASCAR’s speed issue. Newman, following a run at Talladega in which his car posted the top speed at 204.175, voiced his displeasure in the growing trend of cars becoming faster.

“204 is way too fast,” he explained. “We’ve established that over the last 10 years. That’s when cars get airborne. They raised the back of the cars up an inch and it just packs more air underneath them.”

Newman also is not listed as the No. 6 driver for Roush Fenway Racing for this weekend’s Pennzoil 400.