The big story out of the 2020 Daytona 500 has been the intense crash in the final lap that landed Ryan Newman in the hospital. Now a photo has been revealed, showing fellow NASCAR driver Corey LaJoie kneeling outside of his car after having hit Newman. During the final lap of the race, Newman was in the lead, but his car ended up spinning out and flipping over after LaJoie’s car made contact with him. Following the terrifying crash, LaJoie was pictured down on his knees outside of his vehicle while it was on fire.
PHOTO : A chilling photo of Corey Lajoie moments after getting out of his battered #32 car. Lajoie hit Ryan Newman’s flipping #6 Ford coming to the finish on last lap of the Daytona 500, sending it airborne. Lajoie would limp his car across the line 8th. (📸 Unknown) pic.twitter.com/g3LX57bjLX
— NASCAR Publisher (@NASCARPublisher) February 19, 2020
Following the crash, LaJoie spoke with reporters and recounted his recollection of the events that led to the accident, explaining, “Well, the narrative kind of changed a little bit. Like [FOX Sports reporter] Bob [Pockrass] said, he went straight to the hospital, that’s obviously scary. I got a big push there.”
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“I don’t know who was pushing me and I kind of stalled out and I don’t know who hooked Newman,” he added. “I was hoping he’d kind of bounce off the fence to the left but he didn’t and I hit him. I don’t know where exactly I hit him, I didn’t see the replay.”
@CoreyLaJoie So thankful that you were ok. pic.twitter.com/fWf0e7A4S2
— Brian Caudill (@BriansCaudill) February 18, 2020
Later, LaJoie elaborated on the terrifying moment, while speaking to Michael Strahan of Good Morning America, saying, “It was wild. I didn’t even know who I hit because you are concentrating on getting a good finish. Nobody realized how fast 200 mph is or how light or how uncontrollable these cars are when they get out of shape.”
In the hours after the crash, many placed blame on LaJoie for the accident, but his fans have come to his defense, with one tweeting out, “Love to you Corey. You were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
NASCAR safety crews quickly responded to the crash, pulling Newman from the wreckage and having him transported to a hospital. He was initially said to be in serious condition, but his injuries were not believed to be life-threatening.
More recently, it was announced that Newman is doing much better, and that he’s been released from the hospital.
