Jeff Gordon is among the many in the NASCAR community thankful to hear that Ryan Newman is OK following his frightening crash during the final lap at the Daytona 500. The four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, who was broadcasting the race for Fox Sports on Monday night when Newman’s car caught fire while skidding across the finish line on its roof, took to Twitter to express his relief.
“Very thankful to hear encouraging news coming from Daytona & [Roush Fenway Racing]. Continued [prayers], [Ryan Newman],” Gordon tweeted Tuesday evening.
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Gordon’s tweet brought forth plenty of reactions from his 1.2 million followers, most of whom offered similar thoughts Newman’s way.
“[I] knew it was serious when you was fighting back tears in the booth. Great job by you and [Mike Joy]… Continued prayers Ryan,” one Twitter user responded.
“You did such a great job last night. Had to be difficult to control your emotions,” someone else said.
“All of us were so moved by your heartfelt concern…thanks for being so real and part of the NASCAR family,” another wrote.
“I’m so proud to be a part of the NASCAR family. Everyone has put their petty differences aside to rally behind [Ryan Newman]. NASCAR is bigger than racing and its (sic) been incredible to see that over the pat 24 hours,” someone said.
Gordon’s tweet came a few hours after Roush Fenway released a statement announcing that Newman, 42, was awake and speaking with family and doctors. The next day, Newman was discharged from the hospital, with his wife Krissie Newman sharing a video of Newman and their two daughters walking out of the facility together.
Roush Fenway announced that there is “no timetable” for Newman’s recovery, and has not revealed specific details about the nature of his injuries sustained from the race. The NASCAR group did announce that Ross Chastain will fill in for Newman behind the wheel of the No. 6 Ford Mustang starting Saturday at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the Pennzoil 400.
Newman was in the lead during the final lap of overtime Monday night when his car was bumped from behind by Ryan Blaney’s, sending him into the wall. Corey LaJoie’s car then rammed the driver’s side of Newman’s car, which flipped the car airborne and sent it skidding along its roof across the finish line.
Safety crews worked to extinguish the flames that ignited on Newman’s car, then flipped the car right-side up and extracted him from the vehicle. He was immediately transported to the nearby Halifax Medical Center, where he was discharged from Wednesday.
Photo credit: Brian Lawdermilk / Stringer / Getty
