‘Dog the Bounty Hunter’ Duane Chapman Fires off One-Emoji Reaction to Video of Ryan Newman Leaving Hospital

NASCAR fans received some incredibly good news about Ryan Newman on Wednesday. A couple of days after his terrifying crash at the end of the Daytona 500, Newman was released from the hospital where he was being treated. Fans, including Dog the Bounty Hunter himself, were thrilled to hear this positive news and responded to it on social media.

Duane “Dog” Chapman took to his Twitter on Wednesday to express his joy over hearing that Newman was discharged from the hospital. Chapman’s statement was brief as he posted a single prayer hands emoji in reaction to the news. But, it still said a lot about how grateful he was that the driver was apparently doing well following the incident.

Chapman responded to an ABC News tweet about Newman’s recent release from the hospital. The publication’s tweet featured a video posted by the race car driver’s estranged wife Krissie Newman in which Newman can be seen exiting the hospital with his two daughters by his side.

Newman’s release from the hospital comes two days after he was involved in the aforementioned Daytona 500 crash. Fans initially feared the worst about the driver’s well-being given the severity of the incident. However, NASCAR and Roush Fenway later assured fans on Tuesday that Newman was “awake and speaking” to his family and doctors in Halifax Medical Center in Daytona Beach, Florida.

On Wednesday, Roush Fenway released an additional statement regarding Newman’s condition in which they detailed that the driver has shown “great improvement” following the accident on Monday night.

“Ryan Newman continues to show great improvement after Monday night’s last-lap accident at Daytona International Speedway,” the company said in a statement. “The veteran driver is fully alert and walking around Halifax Medical Center. True to his jovial nature, he has also been joking around with staff, friends and family while spending time playing with his two daughters.”

In a subsequent tweet, Roush Fenway posted a photo of Newman, wearing a hospital gown, posing with his two daughters, Brooklyn and Ashlyn. Naturally, these updates were warmly received by NASCAR fans everywhere.

“OMG-Seeing this amazing pic I couldn’t be happier or more grateful 4 the tens of millions (or more) of worldwide prayers+well-wishes for #RyanNewman +his family & #NASCAR family!” one fan wrote on Twitter in response to Roush Fenway’s update. “Godspeed @RyanJNewman! Crying tears of joy right now. TY God & NASCAR #safety! #WereAllRyanNewmanFans.”