Ryan Newman speaks on the Today Show for first interview since Daytona 500 wreck
Ryan Newman sat in Studio 1A in the Rockefeller Center re-watching the fiery crash in the last lap of the Daytona 500 that knocked him unconscious and sent him to the hospital with the NASCAR world watching in horror.
“Still humbling to watch it,” Newman told Today Show anchors Hoda Kotb, Savannah Guthrie and Craig Melvin. “And know that I’m sitting here without a headache, which is amazing. Just a miracle on so many levels, and thankful for so many people for prayers, for all the things that went into me being safer in that situation.”
Newman said he suffered a head injury during the crash, but he didn’t provide much detail beyond saying it’s “basically like a bruised brain.”
“It takes time for it to heal,” Newman said. “I was knocked out. There was a point where I don’t remember part of the race and realistically, I feel so lucky.”
Newman was extracted by an emergency team from his No. 6 car 15 minutes, 40 seconds after it came to rest.
“On so many levels, I feel so lucky,” Newman said. “You look at the crash and think that’s spectacular in a bad way, right? But if you look at the car afterwards, you think about all the things of what happened right for me to be sitting here.”
Newman elaborated on some of those things. He mentioned where the car was hit (from behind) and the fact that the welds of the driver’s cage held together despite being compromised.
“There’s a whole group at NASCAR that’s done a great job,” Newman said. “From the track to the safety personnel, the drivers inside the cars, the cockpits, the containment seats that we have. There are so many levels of things that happened in the last 20 years I’ve been a part of this sport, that helped me be able to sit here today.”
The 42-year-old driver also joked about his age being a factor to returning to the track, but the real reason he wants to return, he said, is he just loves the sport.
“It’s a little bit painful to be out of the race car and to not be doing what I’ve done for so many years,” Newman said. “I started racing when I was just four years old so it’s just kind of who I am.”
Newman and his Roush Fenway Racing team has not yet given a timeline for his return.
“I don’t know yet,” Newman said. “We’re working on it. Soon as I possibly can.”
For more reading on the crash and Newman’s recovery, check out more of The Observer’s NASCAR coverage:
- Ryan Newman smiling after violent Daytona 500 crash: ‘It’s great to be alive.’
- NASCAR driver Ryan Newman has been released from the hospital after Daytona 500 crash
- Ryan Newman’s speech inspired his team before Daytona 500. His crash won’t change that
- Ryan Newman somehow survived Daytona 500 crash. For that, we should all be thankful.
- Ryan Newman’s crash at the Daytona 500 put him in ‘serious condition.’ How it happened
This story was originally published March 11, 2020 at 8:26 AM.
