NASCAR driver Ryan Newman was taken to the hospital on Monday night after a scary crash during the Daytona 500. One of the drivers that was also involved in the incident, Corey LaJoie, was told about the severity of the wreck during his post-race interview. He responded by providing further details about his collision with Newman’s vehicle.
“Well, the narrative kind of changed a little bit,” LaJoie told the gathered reporters. “Like Bob [Pockrass] said, he went straight to the hospital, that’s obviously scary. I got a big push there.
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“I don’t know who was pushing me and I kind of stalled out and I don’t know who hooked Newman. I was hoping he’d kind of bounce 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.”
Corey LaJoie reacts to the news that Ryan Newman was taken to the hospital and describes his view of the wreck. pic.twitter.com/TlMj7aRF9Z
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) February 18, 2020
As the video replay showed, Newman’s car was upside down and spinning on the track. LaJoie’s vehicle collided with the front, driver’s side corner of the No. 6 Ford Mustang and launched it into the air.
“It was wild,” LaJoie further explained to Michael Strahan of Good Morning America. “I didn’t even know who I hit because you are concentrating on getting a good finish. Nobody realized how fast 200 mph is or how light or how uncontrollable these cars are when they get out of shape.”
LaJoie hadn’t watched the replay of the moment prior to sitting down for the interview with Strahan. He recognizes that this was a very scary crash but mentioned that the NASCAR research and development teams are trying to make these powerful vehicles as safe as possible to prevent fatal crashes.
This is not the first crash at the Daytona 500 that Newman has been involved in. There was an incident back in 2003 in which his car collided with another, sending him into the outside wall. Newman’s vehicle veered toward the infield as one of his right tires flew off.
The car went airborne once it hit the grass before slamming back onto the ground and flipping multiple times. Newman’s vehicle ultimately came to rest on its roof as fans feared the worst. He recovered from that wreck and continued with his racing career, which only makes fans confident in his ability to do so once again.
(Photo Credit: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
