While Ryan Newman has been on the mend since his car crash at the Daytona 500 Monday night, a new photo from that night reveals just how devastating the wreck really was. Twitter user @ztr523925 posted the shot, which showed Newman’s car loaded on a flatbed. Based on the shape the car’s in, it’s impressive that Newman is doing as well as he is less than a week later.
Looking this pic makes it a MIRACLE #RyanNewman is alive and home from the hospital #DAYTONA500 #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/fqbyzNRB8M
— Zack (@ztr523925) February 21, 2020
Newman’s crash came just seconds before crossing the finish line when his car began to flip over. He was rushed to the hospital immediately afterward and released on Wednesday — and without shoes, which social media has had a field day with.
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Meanwhile, the cause of the crash is still being investigated, and the car itself will be studied by NASCAR in hopes they’ll be able to improve the sport’s safety features as a result.
Dale Earnhardt Jr., who’s been one of the most outspoken about his concern over Newman, he blamed the crash on the cars’ new spoilers in a recent episode of his podcast, The Dale Jr. Download.
“I’m sorry, the spoiler creates such big runs from the guys behind them,” Earnhardt began. “The runs are so plentiful. The runs are so aggressive. The ability to push and shove because of the wake of the spoiler. You’re just running over the leader, really, and he’s doing everything he can to keep you behind him.”
The former NASCAR champ went on to say that he’s “not a big fan of the spoiler, the aesthetics of it.”
“It’s just not fun to look at, and I can’t imagine being in a car and having to stare at that thing the entire race. It would just make me grind my teeth out of my head.”
Previously, Earnhardt has also defended Denny Hamlin, who ended up winning the race, and getting some flack for celebrating the victory while Newman’s condition was still unknown. Earnhardt even compared the moment to 2001’s Daytona 500, where his father, Dale Earnhardt, was killed in an eerily similar crash and Michael Waltrip won the race.
“Michael celebrated. He was in Victory Lane. The entire team celebrated what was owned by my dad before they were finally getting the right information,” Earnhardt explained. “No one ever in that moment ever went ‘how dare Michael be celebrating until we figure out what’s going on with Earnhardt.”
