During the final lap of the Daytona 500 on Monday, Ryan Newman was involved in a serious crash that sent him to the hospital after his car went up in flames. The driver has since been receiving well wishes from fans and friends, including Richard Petty Motorsports, who had driver Bubba Wallace in the race.
“Our continued thoughts and prayers are with @RyanJNewman and his family tonight, wishing him a speedy recovery in the days ahead,” the message read.
Videos by PopCulture.com
Richard Petty Motorsports had retweeted NASCAR’s Monday night statement sharing that Newman was in serious condition.
“Ryan Newman is being treated at Halifax Medical Center. He is in serious condition, but doctors have indicated his injuries are not life threatening,” the statement read. “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.”
Newman was driving the No. 6 Ford Mustang when he 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.
Newman was driving for Roush Fenway Racing, which shared a statement similar to NASCAR’s on Twitter.
— Roush Fenway (@roushfenway) February 18, 2020
Newman and Blaney had been jockeying for the lead during the race’s final lap, and Blaney said that he had been trying to push Newman, a fellow Ford driver, ahead of Denny Hamlin, who drives a Toyota, but the cars locked bumpers.
“I hope he’s all right,” Blaney said on pit road, via USA Today. “That looked really bad and not something you want to do. Definitely unintentional.”
“I was just committing to pushing him to the win once he blocked a couple times, was kind of beat,” he continued. “Just hope Ryan’s all right. It sucks to lose a race, but you never want to see anyone get hurt.”
Hamlin ultimately won the race just as the crash occurred and said that he did not realize the severity of Newman’s crash until he was in the victory lane. He was criticized for celebrating a later shared a message on Twitter.
“First [and] foremost I want to give well wishes and prayers to [Ryan Newman],” he wrote. “I had absolutely NO IDEA of the severity of the crash until I got to victory lane. There’s very little communication after the finish and i had already unhooked my radio. It’s not anyone’s fault.”
Photo Credit: Getty / Jared C. Tilton
