Ryan Newman returns to NASCAR track after Daytona 500 wreck: ‘It’s great to be alive’

After looking at his destroyed race car, Ryan Newman said it’s a miracle he’s OK.

For the first time since his horrific Daytona 500 accident almost three weeks ago, NASCAR driver Ryan Newman was at the race track and spoke to the media briefly Friday at Phoenix Raceway.

“It’s great to be alive,” Newman said when asked what it means for him to be at the track. “After looking at my car, it’s a miracle.”

Newman is being treated for a head injury and said he has “no idea about” a possible timetable for his return to the race track. For the two races following the Daytona 500, Ross Chastain has filled in for Newman in the No. 6 Roush Fenway Racing Ford, which he’ll also drive in Sunday’s FanShield 500 at the 1-mile Phoenix-area track.

On the last lap of the season-opening Daytona 500, Newman was out front when Ryan Blaney in the No. 12 Ford made contact with the back of the No. 6 car. Newman’s car turned and hit the wall before Corey LaJoie’s car smashed into him, and he landed upside down and slid off the race track.

He said his reaction to seeing his destroyed race car was: “Just lucky.”

After Newman’s car was flipped over and he was removed, he was taken to a nearby Daytona Beach hospital and was in “serious condition” the night of the race. Amazingly, he was released less than 48 hours later.

Although the specifics about Newman’s injuries remain unknown, he did not suffer any other internal injuries.

“I feel fine. I look OK?” he joked with reporters Friday. “I’m here to spectate and have some fun.”

Newman said he wants to “take advantage of this crazy opportunity” to watch not only his No. 6 team during a race weekend but also see how the other Roush Fenway Racing team, Chris Buescher and the No. 17 Ford, operates.

He continued:

“I’m just really here to support the No. 6 team, stay integrated with what I can do with the team and have some fun, obviously. That’s what it’s all about.

“Want to see Ross do well, but I’d rather be in Ross’ seat. So just want to make sure we’re doing everything we possibly can for our sponsors and for myself to have a good weekend.”

Surprising his fellow drivers, Newman showed up at a Ford event at Arizona State’s Sun Devil Stadium pm Thursday night. Several drivers who previously spoke with Newman said they joked with him and his “jovial” sense of humor remained ever present, and that was also at the event.

Blaney, who was noticeably distraught immediately after the crash at Daytona, said during his press conference Friday:

“We had no idea that he was going to show up. We were having dinner and he walked in. That was great. That was the first time I have seen Ryan personally. I think the first time a lot of us had seen Ryan. That was really cool to see. We sat and talked, the whole Ford group, for an hour, hour-and-a-half once he got there. We talked about a lot of stuff. It was nice to see him.

“He is full Ryan Newman caliber, and it is great to see. It was cool to hear some of the process that he went through and some of the doctors that worked on him. They were very extensive with him, and he has been passing everything with flying colors, which is unheard of and great to hear. It was nice to see him and sit down and talk to him a lot about multiple things from how the process of what happened to where we can go in the future to keep improving the safety aspects of these things.”

Blaney’s fellow Team Penske driver, Joey Logano, had a similar reaction to Newman’s surprise visit and also called it a “miracle,” as did Alex Bowman, who won Sunday’s race at Auto Club Speedway.

About Newman, Logano told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, via NBC Sports:

“You look at that crash and it’s just like, ‘How is he even OK? He’s walking, he’s talking like nothing happened.’ He says his memory’s not foggy. Everything is there. It’s insane.”

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