The finish of the 2020 Daytona 500 was the second time I thought I witnessed a race car driver’s death in person. Luckily, neither worst-case scenario came to fruition, but every time a driver survives a violent and horrifying wreck, it’s a reminder of not only how dangerous motor sports can be, but also how racing fans see real-life miracles all the time.
The first crash was at the 2017 Indianapolis 500, when Scott Dixon’s car was shredded to pieces after he made contact with another car, flew through the air and bounced and spun out of control before eventually stopping. Looking at photos and watching the replay, it’s astonishing that Dixon was OK and cleared by the medical care center on the spot at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The second time was on the last lap of Monday’s rain-delayed race at Daytona International Speedway.
Here is the final lap of the Daytona 500 in which Ryan Newman's car was flipped at the line.
We will continue to keep you updated on his status as we learn more. pic.twitter.com/qkEwQBpoP0
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) February 18, 2020
In a three-way battle for the win between Ryan Newman, Ryan Blaney and eventual winner Denny Hamlin, Blaney in the No. 12 Ford was pushing Newman in the No. 6 Ford to the finish line because if he couldn’t win, he said he wanted their manufacturer to be in Victory Lane rather than Hamlin’s Toyota.
But, as Blaney explained after the race, they “just got bumpers hooked up wrong and turned” Newman, who slammed into the wall before being hit head-on by Corey LaJoie, going airborne and landing upside down. With sparks and flames shooting out of it, Newman’s car slid from the track to the end of pit road.
For the last few laps of the race, I was standing on pit road parallel to the finish line. My jaw literally dropped as the wreck unfolded right in front of me.
Safety and emergency crews attended to Newman, putting out the flames, getting him out of the car and transporting him to a nearby Daytona Beach hospital. Incredibly, he was released from the hospital Wednesday afternoon.
It’s an actual miracle that less than 48 hours from being in “serious condition” Monday night, Newman was walking out of the hospital with his daughters’ hands in his.
If you don’t watch NASCAR regularly — and there are a lot of you who don’t — seeing Newman’s wreck was probably exceptionally shocking. It was unreal to those of us who see massive and terrifying wrecks somewhat regularly, so I can’t imagine how general sports fans reacted to it.
I was stunned, like I always am after a car flips, barrel rolls, lands upside down or catches on fire. Now in my fourth season covering NASCAR, I’ve seen so many scary and violent crashes, and the drivers involved almost always walk away unharmed.
In the past, drivers have tragically lost their lives on the track. But, thankfully, it hasn’t happened in NASCAR’s national series in nearly two decades, not since Dale Earnhardt Sr. was killed on the last lap of the 2001 Daytona 500. And with the advancements in safety technology since then, that feels like a different era of NASCAR.
“NASCAR has done a fantastic job of evolution of race cars,” Hamlin said in the post-race press conference. “Helmet manufacturers, suit manufacturers, HANS devices [head and neck support], there’s just been so much development that’s come a long way, and I always think about how blessed I am to come in this sport in 2006 when all that stuff was really being implemented.”
Massive, multi-car wrecks are a given at tracks like Daytona and Talladega Superspeedway, and after this, NASCAR needs to investigate new ways to protect drivers at these tumultuous venues.
But the frequency at which giant wrecks occur and drivers largely being uninjured is also a testament to how safe the sport has become — while always toeing the line of disaster.
So after Newman’s crash, it wasn’t until a few minutes later while interviewing drivers on pit road that I realized it was taking longer than usual to get Newman out of the car and that he may have been seriously injured. The longer we went without any indication that Newman was OK — and drivers repeatedly asked reporters if we had any updates — the faster my heart raced as I wondered if he was conscious. Or even alive.
It’s a good bet Blaney was wondering the same thing. He was noticeably, and understandably, shaken up by the crash, insisting he wasn’t purposefully spinning Newman out. He said he just wanted to help get a Ford teammate across the finish line first and clearly felt awful about something beyond his control.
“I hope he’s all right,” Blaney said on pit road Monday night. “You never want to see anyone get hurt.”
Amazingly, it appears Newman is all right. Although we don’t know specifics about any injuries he may have suffered, he went from “serious condition” Monday night to “fully alert” and “joking around” by Wednesday morning to walking out of the hospital later that day.
The timeline is an actual miracle and evidence that — although racing can never be too safe and should always strive to improve — perhaps drivers are more protected than ever.
So if every awful wreck serves as a reminder of just how dangerous NASCAR can be, every driver walking away is a reminder that the sport, thankfully, witnesses miracles all the time.
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