Ryan Newman Heading to 'Today' for First Sit-Down Interview Since Daytona 500 Crash

Ryan Newman is ready to talk about the crash he was involved in at the Daytona 500. NBC News [...]

By Brian Jones

Ryan Newman is ready to talk about the crash he was involved in at the Daytona 500. NBC News announced the NASCAR driver will be on the show Today on Wednesday morning for an exclusive interview. It will be the first sit-down interview since the crash which happened in February.

This won't be the first time Newman has talked about the crash. He was in Arizona this past weekend for the FanShield 500 to support his teammates at Roush Fenway Racing. Reporters came up to him and asked how he was doing.

"It's great to be alive. If you look at my car, it's a miracle," Newman said while walking around the Phoenix Raceway. He was moving around without issues and appeared to be in great spirits.

Newman hasn't competed since the crash and he was asked about his return.

"I have no idea about anything," Newman said about his comeback. "I'm here as a spectator, have some fun. ... I'm really here to support the [No.] 6 team, stay integrated with what I can do with the team."

Before the race, Newman and other drivers attended a punt, pass and kick event at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona, and drivers got to talk to him about the crash. Joey Logano was one of the drivers there with Newman and he still couldn't believe he survived.

"You look at that crash and it's just like, 'How is he even OK?" Logano said to SiriusXM NASCAR Radio's The Morning Drive. "'He's walking, he's talking like nothing happened.' He says his memory's not foggy. Everything is there. It's insane.

"Couldn't be more happy for him and his family about that situation. I don't believe in luck, but I believe in God and I believe that God really got involved with that one. … (Newman) said when he was flying out here, there was a little turbulence on the airplane and he was like, 'This is nothing, don't you worry about this. I've been through way worse.'"

Newman, 42, has put together a strong NASCAR career. He won the Daytona 500 in 2008 which is one of the 18 wins he recorded during his time in the NASCAR Cup Series. His last win came in 2017 when he placed first in the Camping World 500 in Phoenix.

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