Ryan Newman's Wreck Has NASCAR Fans Flashing Back to Driver's Scary 2003 Daytona 500 Crash

Following the intense and scary crash at the Daytona 500 that left NASCAR driver Ryan Newman [...]

By Libby Birk

Following the intense and scary crash at the Daytona 500 that left NASCAR driver Ryan Newman hospitalized and in serious condition, fans are remembering Newman's crash at the very same race in 2003. Video footage online shows Newman's car slammed into the wall, losing its right rear tire and flipping in the air before coming to a halt in the infield.

Fans took to social media to remember that crash. "Who's here after the 2020 wreck? Hoping he's okay," one YouTube user wrote.

"He just got in a worse crash tonight, 17 years later on the same track. Pray for Ryan Newman right now," another user said.

As a NASCAR driver, Newman has seen his fair share of crashes, including one in 2013 at Talladega Superspeedway. Following that crash, an irritated Newman spoke with FOX Sports to let his family and friends he was OK, but lobbied for safer regulations within the sport.

"First of all, to my family and friends, I'm doing this interview to let everybody know that I'm all right. They can build safer race cars, they can build safer walls, but they can't get their heads out of their asses far enough to keep 'em on the race track. And that's pretty disappointing," he said in the 2013 interview.

"I wanted to make sure I get that point across. Y'all can figure out who 'they' is, but that's no way to end a race. Our car was much better than that."

NASCAR as a whole in the nearly 20 years since Dale Earnhardt's death following a crash at the Daytona 500 has improved its safety measures immensely.

"NASCAR, in the last 10 years, has kind of paved the way for us in certain developments of whether its seat, seat belts, head/neck restraints, helmets," Tom Deery, the chief operating officer of World Racing Group, told CNY Central, adding that the improvements in technology available to drivers has helped save lives.

In fact, after a 2009 crash at Talladega, NASCAR added a bar near the driver's head to protect the driver in case of roll overs, nicknaming it the Newman Bar.

Newman remains hospitalized at Halifax Medical Center in Florida, where he is "awake and speaking with family and doctors" according to a statement from Roush Fenway Racing.

"Ryan and his family have expressed their appreciation for the concern and heartfelt messages from across the country. They are grateful for the unwavering support of the NASCAR community and beyond," the statement said.

"Safety has come a long way in this sport," four-time NASCAR champion and Fox NASCAR announcer Jeff Gordon said Monday after Newman was taken to the hospital. "But sometimes we are reminded that it is a very dangerous sport."

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