Ryan Newman: Fox Sports Commentator Mike Joy Calls Crash 'Jarring Wakeup Call'

Ryan Newman was released from the hospital on Wednesday after being involved in a scary crash [...]

By Hannah Barnes

Ryan Newman was released from the hospital on Wednesday after being involved in a scary crash during the Daytona 500 on Monday, and Fox Sports commentator Mike Joy reflected on the crash on Twitter on Wednesday, calling it a "wakeup call."

"We've become so accustomed to cars flipping, sliding in a shower of sparks at these big tracks, then the drivers climb out and wave to the crowd... because THEY ALWAYS CAN," he wrote. "Monday's finish was a jarring wakeup call to everyone who loves the sport."

"Nascar's writers and broadcasters are (thankfully) a very diverse group of talents, opinions and attitudes," Joy added in a second tweet. "In times like this we ALL pull together.. to stem the flow of misinformation, spike rumors, and respect the process. We are hopeful and cautiously optimistic. We're good."

Newman himself has been critical of NASCAR when it comes to crashes, telling reporters in 2013 after he crashed at a race at Talladega Superspeedway that the situation was "frustrating."

"My issue has and always has been, because I seem to be the reciprocate of whatever airborne disease that we have in NASCAR, is that either somebody lands on me or I land on somebody," he said in 2013 via ESPN, noting that he chose his words carefully to avoid being fined by NASCAR. "We've proven it's not safe for the fans. ... It's frustrating, and I think I voiced my frustration very fairly. I could have said a lot more and took a penalty, but I chose not to. I think I took a pretty high road."

"They can build safer race cars, they can build safer walls," he added. "But they can't get their heads out of their a—es far enough to keep them on the race track, and that's pretty disappointing."

During the final lap of Monday's race, Newman was tapped by driver Ryan Blaney's car. Newman's vehicle spun out of control and flew through the air, flipping several times before hitting the wall, where it was hit on its driver's side at full speed by driver Corey LaJoie's vehicle. That impact caused the Ford to skid down the track on its roof while on fire.

After his hospitalization, Newman had been retweeting updates on his condition shared by Roush Fenway racing, the latest being a photo of himself walking out of Halifax Medical Center holding hands with his two daughters.

Photo Credit: Getty / Icon Sportswire

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