Ryan Newman: Corey LaJoie Reveals Story Behind Kneeling Photo Following Fiery Daytona 500 Crash

Corey LaJoie has addressed the now-famous photo of him kneeling beside his flaming car during the Daytona 500 Monday night. Seconds before crossing the finish line, Ryan Newman ended up in a crash that involved LaJoie. In an Instagram post on Wednesday, LaJoie shared the photo along with a lengthy caption, which began with: “They say a picture is worth 1000 words.”

“A lot of speculation as to what was going through my little noggin here. Here [are] the facts,” LaJoie wrote. “The wind was knocked out of me so I was catching my breath, I was wiggling my fingers and toes to make sure they were still connected, I was confused as my brain tried to process what my body just went through and I was hurting from the sub straps containing the force of the frontal impact.”

“While I was down there I did send up a ‘thank you, Jesus, for your hand of protection’ prayer and at that moment I had no idea who I hit or the severity of it,” the driver continued. “I’m hearing very optimistic things on Ryan’s condition so your prayers are working guys, keep it rolling.”

In the aftermath of the crash, LaJoie addressed the situation to reporters, saying he “was hoping [Newman would’ve] kind of bounced 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.”

Now that Newman’s been out of the hospital, LaJoie has had a little fun with him on Twitter, as well as “shared a couple laughs” since he’s been home.

While the racing world has been able to breathe a little easier since Newman’s release and recent public outings, LaJoie spoke with Fox & Friends on Wednesday, when he called the crash the “worst-case scenario” while recalling some specifics.

“The smoke cleared for a split-second and I had a car sitting on my lap, more or less,” he said. “I didn’t know where I hit him. I didn’t know who I hit. I came to a halt and got out because my car was on fire, and the wind was knocked out of me, and I was trying to collect my thoughts and just figure out what happened.”