Ryan Newman: Details Behind Possible Cause of Crash Explained

Ryan Newman is still in the hospital recovering from the injuries he suffered during a crash at the Daytona 500 on Monday night. The crash occurred when Ryan Blaney nudged Newman’s No. 6 car which led to him to spin out, hit the wall, flip multiple times in the air and land on its roof before skidding across the track. Accidents happen in NASCAR races, but the crash like the one on Monday is something the league is looking to prevent, and now the details behind the possible cause of the crash have been explained.

According to Mark Long of the Associated Press per the Globe and Mail, Blaney was trying to push Newman for the lead. However, when Newman tried to block Blaney, that’s when he got hit.

“We pushed Newman there to the lead and then we got a push from [Hamlin]. … I was committed to just pushing [Newman] to the win and having a Ford win it and got the bumpers hooked up wrong,” Blaney said.

What Blaney was trying to do is called bump drafting which is something common in racing. However, with the cars traveling at nearly 200 mph, the slightest error can cause chaos. “Blaney hit Newman’s bumper to the right of centre, causing Newman’s car to turn right, barely missing Hamlin, and slamming into the energy-absorbing barrier,” Long wrote. “The impact caused Newman’s car to flip onto its roof and then its side. Corey LaJoie then crushed the driver’s side of Newman’s car, sending it airborne again.”

Though there are no answers, the aerodynamics package utilized by NASCAR at both Daytona and Talladega, help to create tight packs of cars running close to 322 km/h as drivers make an effort to draft off each other, ultimately pushing the car in front of them, to maintain momentum and avoid losing their spot.

“A car running alone in the pack without a drafting partner is often shuffled back in the field. Drivers who can lock bumpers and stay connected surge toward the front,” Long wrote. “The downside to this racing is that one wiggle can create a harrowing accident, and pack racing usually leads to massive wrecks that collect multiple competitors who have no way of avoiding melees.”

Newman was then rushed to Halifax Medical Center and he’s in serious condition. However, the injuries he suffered are non-life-threatening.

“Ryan Newman is being treated at Halifax Medical Center. He is in serious condition, but doctors have indicated that his injuries are not life threatening,” Roush Fenway Racing said in a statement. “We appreciate your thoughts and prayers and ask that you respect the privacy of Ryan and his family during this time. We appreciate your patience and cooperation and we will provide more information as it becomes available.”

The crash led to Denny Hamiln winning his third Daytona 500. He was celebrating once the race was over, but he didn’t realize how bad the crash was until later.

“Obviously I saw him cross the race track,” Hamlin said who also won the Daytona 500 in 2019. “I didn’t see the contact that the other car had when he was in the air. That’s kind of a worse case scenario you can possibly have.”

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