Tag: Ryan Newman

Big Machine Hand Sanitizer 400 Powered by Big Machine Records from Indianapolis odds, picks and best bets

Previewing Sunday’s Big Machine Hand Sanitizer 400 Powered by Big Machine Records at Indianapolis Motor Speedway sports betting odds and lines, with NASCAR analysis, picks and tips.

The NASCAR Cup Series moves to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the Big Machine Hand Sanitizer 400 Powered by Big Machine Records. The green flag drops Sunday at 4 p.m. ET with the race televised on NBC. Below, we analyze the Big Machine 400 odds and betting lines, with NASCAR picks and tips with odds from BetMGM sportsbook.

Big Machine 400: What you need to know

Odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Saturay, July 4 at 5:30 p.m. ET.

Sunday’s race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the largest sporting venue in the world with a capacity of 235,000, will take place in front of no fans due to the COVID-19 global pandemic and social distancing practices.

  • Seven-time series champ Jimmie Johnson tested positive for the coronavirus Friday and will miss the race – and likely a few more. His streak of 663 consecutive Cup starts will end – a streak that ranks fifth all time behind Jeff Gordon (797), Ricky Rudd (788), Bobby Labonte (704) and Rusty Wallace (697).
  • Stewart-Haas Racing driver Kevin Harvick (+400 for Sunday’s race) is the chalk in Indy. He won last season’s race from the pole position. In 19 career starts at the Brickyard, he has two wins, seven top-5 finishes and 13 top-10 showings, while leading all active drivers with an 8.95 Average-Finish Position (AFP).
  • Ford had not won in 18 consecutive Cup races at IMS from 2000-2017 before Penske Racing’s Brad Keselowski (+800) broke through for checkers in 2018. With Harvick’s win last season, Ford has consecutive wins at the Indiana 2.5-mile oval for the first time since 1996-97.
  • Three of the past seven winners at Indianapolis have come from the No. 1 spot on the starting grid, while six of the previous seven have started ninth or better.

Who is going to win the Big Machine 400?

HARVICK (+400) won last summer at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and leads all active drivers with an 8.95 AFP. He has finished eighth or better in each of his past six starts, including top-5 showings in three of the previous five.

Harvick was 13th in the 2013 version of this race. In the previous six starts at the track, Happy has posted a 4.7 AFP.

While Keselowski gets a lot of the attention due to his 2018 win at this track, the more consistent Penske driver at IMS is JOEY LOGANO (+800). He was a runner-up to Harvick last season, and has been the bridesmaid in two of his past five Indianapolis runs. In his previous seven IMS starts he is averaging a 5.9 AFP, making him WORTH A BET.

DENNY HAMLIN (+500) has been delivering consistency in the No. 11 FedEx Toyota lately, including a win at Pocono last Sunday. He has actually never won at Indianapolis in 14 tries, but has a strong 12.4 AFP with five top-5 finishes, eight top-10 showings and 112 laps led with zero DNFs.

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KYLE BUSCH (+500) is among the favorites despite the fact he has zero victories so far during the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series schedule, and there just seems to be something off with the No. 18 team. If Busch and his team can finally figure out the right combination, HE IS A STRONG BET to win at this track. He posted back-to-back wins at IMS in 2015-16.

Indianapolis Motor Speedway long-shot bets

WILLIAM BYRON (+2500) appeared in the long-shot bets section last weekend at Pocono, but was unable to come through. He has been a quick study during the early years of his Cup career, posting a 19th-place finish at Indy in 2018 before improving to fourth in last season’s installment.

RYAN NEWMAN (+8000) is WORTH A SMALL-UNIT BET at this price. He won this race in 2013, and has racked up finishes of 12th or better in eight of his past nine starts at the track. “Rocket Man” is also a Hoosier State native, so he brings more intensity than usual when running on his home turf.

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Ryan Newman reveals he was in a medically induced coma following scary Daytona 500 crash

Ryan Newman shared some details about his horrific Daytona 500 crash.

NASCAR driver Ryan Newman said on a Zoom call Thursday with reporters that doctors put him in a medically induced coma while being treated after he was in a horrific crash on the last lap of the 2020 Daytona 500 in February.

Newman also said they put a PICC line — or a peripherally inserted central catheter — in his shoulder, but that was the extent of his medical procedures. He said there were “multiple miracles – big miracles and little miracles, in my opinion – that aligned” for him to be able to walk out of the hospital less than 48 hours after the wreck.

Not a week after the wreck, the 42-year-old driver released a statement through his team, Roush Fenway Racing, saying that he was being treated for a head injury but he didn’t suffer any internal organ damage or broken bones.

On the call with reporters Thursday, he added that while some doctors diagnosed him with a concussion, they were not in agreement about it. And that’s led him to more casually describe his injury as a “bruised brain.”

About his medical situation at the time, the 19-year NASCAR veteran explained Thursday:

“They were trying to keep me in a somewhat of a medically-induced coma, from what I’ve been told, and that medicine kind of zoned me out. So I really don’t have any memories or recollection of any of my crash until I actually had my arms around my daughters walking out of the hospital. Again, when they give you those medicines and you’re knocked out, you don’t know what’s going on. I was able to walk out in the condition that I was and as I watched in the next, call it 24 hours, as I watched the crash and had to make myself believe what I had went through, I really looked to my dad to say, ‘Hey, did this really happen?’ …

“I was just treated so that I could be calm so that they would kind of numb my brain, so to speak, so that I could just sit there and rest. I wouldn’t call it a vegetative state, but I wasn’t a fruit either. I was meant to be relaxed.”

On the final lap of NASCAR’s season-opener, Newman was out front but in a three-way battle for the win with Ryan Blaney, who was right behind him, and eventual winner Denny Hamlin, who was on the outside of the track. Blaney made contact with the back of Newman’s car, saying after the race that their “bumpers hooked up wrong.”

Newman goes airborne after LaJoie crashed into him. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)

The No. 6 Ford then slammed into the wall, was plowed into by Corey LaJoie from behind, went airborne and eventually landed upside down before sliding off the Daytona International Speedway track as flames and sparks shot out of it. After safety crews got Newman out of the car, an ambulance took him to a nearby Daytona Beach hospital, and Roush said he was in “serious condition.” He was released less than 48 hours later.

Newman attributed his survival and recovery NASCAR’s safety developments, as well as his helmet. He tried to detail what exactly happened inside his car during and with emergency crews after the crash, and he said he was “kind of hung upside-down in the car” and was “fighting the medical crew” trying to get him out of it.

However, that’s still what he’s been told. Newman said he doesn’t remember the crash, his time in the hospital or the majority of the race — which he noted could be because of his head injury or the medication doctors put him on.

About the crash and what was going on inside the cockpit, Newman said Thursday:

“I don’t have anything that is conclusive that says that [LaJoie’s] car hit my helmet. I do know that parts of the inside of my car hit my helmet and crushed it, so to speak. I don’t have any defined video that I can give you [a] 100 percent answer that says this is exactly the second that this happened. But I see the end result and that my helmet did have contact, my HANS [device] did have contact, and I was being moved backwards in my seat as [LaJoie’s] car was moving me forward.

“So I can’t honestly tell you what percentage of that inertia and those physics that went into the actual action of the crash were being driven by his car hitting me or his car hitting my roll bars. It’s not a fair assessment to say, but everything happened really quick and everything was all in that compartment, basically, and I guess it would be like a case of high-quality whiplash that kind of happened when I was hit.”

Roush Fenway Racing announced on April 27 that Newman was medically cleared to compete again.

And because the COVID-19 outbreak halted the NASCAR season for 10 weeks, he actually only missed three races and was temporarily replaced by Ross Chastain. NASCAR also granted him a waiver allowing him to be eligible for the 2020 Cup Series playoffs and championship.

Newman’s first race since the Daytona 500 will be Sunday’s Real Heroes 400 at Darlington Raceway. It’s also the first in NASCAR’s return to the track after missing eight races amid the coronavirus pandemic.

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Why Ryan Newman isn’t thinking about NASCAR retirement after scary Daytona 500 crash

Recovering from a head injury, Ryan Newman said he wants to return to NASCAR as soon as possible.

NASCAR driver Ryan Newman has no timetable to return to racing, likely because he’s still recovering from the head injury he suffered during a horrific crash on the last lap of the 2020 Daytona 500 last month.

But he said he’s eager to get back in the car “as soon as I possibly can.”

For the first time since the last-lap crash — when his car turned, hit the wall, was slammed into by another car, went airborne, landed upside down and slid off the Daytona International Speedway track — Newman was at the race track last weekend at Phoenix Raceway. He briefly spoke with reporters as he walked through the garage area Friday, and said “after looking at my car, it’s a miracle” to be alive. He also said he has no timeline for his return.

Wednesday in his first sit-down interview since the wreck, the TODAY Show‘s Craig Melvin asked the 42-year-old driver why he wouldn’t just call it a career with nearly two decades in the NASCAR Cup Series and after “cheating death” and surviving the crash.

And Newman responded with a joke. He said:

“Oh, I love it. I mean, ’cause I’m just 42, right? No, really, I love it. It’s been a little bit painful to be out of the race car and to not be doing what I’ve done for so many years. I started racing when I was four years old, four and a half years old, so it’s just kind of who I am.”

He also joked that this was his “I-should-have-won interview” because he was leading the Daytona 500 just before the crash.

Immediately following the wreck, an ambulance took him from the track to a nearby hospital, and in a statement from his team, Roush Fenway Racing, he was described as in “serious condition” with not life-threatening injuries.

He was, amazingly, released from the hospital less than 48 hours later. He didn’t break any bones or suffer internal organ damage. But in a statement he released more than two weeks ago, he said he was being treated for a head injury, and doctors are happy with his progress.

On the TODAY Show, he described his head injury as a “bruised brain.” He also said he was “knocked out,” adding: “There was a point where I don’t remember a part of the race.”

Newman opened up Wednesday about his reaction to the crash and joked about how his daughters feel about it. He said he told them, “‘Daddy’s all right.'”

He said:

“It’s emotional, no doubt, and I think about the fact that I was that close but really in the end, I’m really humbled by the opportunity to experience, to continue my life, to be blessed by so many people’s prayers, to be sitting here and hopefully make something of it. Enjoy life with my daughters. …

“They seem to be completely fine with the fact that I’m still Daddy. I think it’d be totally different if something else would have happened, but I’m 100 percent who I was, which they were good with, so I’m fine.”

Following the crash, Ross Chastain has been filling in for Newman in the No. 6 Roush Fenway Racing Ford. NASCAR’s next race is Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

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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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Ryan Newman returns to Roush Fenway shop for first time, gets ovation

NASCAR driver Ryan Newman returned to the Roush Fenway shop on Wednesday for the first time since his accident.

NASCAR driver Ryan Newman continues to recover from the injuries he suffered during the horrifying accident at the end of the 2020 Daytona 500 earlier this month, and after leaving the hospital just days after the accident, Newman has been able to resume many of his normal activities. Newman is being treated for an unspecified head injury, but fortunately did not suffer any other internal injuries.

He was forced to miss last Sunday’s race in Las Vegas, and was replaced by Ross Chastain, and there currently is not a timetable for Newman’s return to the Cup Series. Chastain will fill in for Newman again this weekend at Auto Club Speedway in California.

Newman enjoyed a bit of “therapy” earlier this week, and posted a photo of himself fishing. On Wednesday, Roush Fenway Racing shared that Newman visited the team’s shop for the first time since the accident, and received an ovation from the crew and staff.

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Ryan Newman shared photo of him fishing a week after horrible Daytona 500 crash

Not the most surprising move from Ryan Newman, but great to see after that scary crash.

It’s been less than a week since Ryan Newman was released from the hospital following a horrible wreck on the last lap of the 2020 Daytona 500. But the NASCAR driver is already back to one of his favorite hobbies, fishing, and describing it as “therapy” for the head injury he sustained in the crash.

Martin Truex Jr. was one of several NASCAR drivers who spoke to Newman last week, and Truex even said he and his “fishing buddy” were already planning their next trip together.

Well, it looks like Newman didn’t wait for Truex because the 42-year-old Roush Fenway Racing driver tweeted a photo Tuesday morning of what appears to be his latest catch/therapy session from Monday.

It’s not super surprising that Newman has already been fishing, but it’s good to see after such a scary wreck.

The No. 6 Ford driver was taken to the hospital last Monday night after the Daytona 500 crash — when his car turned, hit the wall, was slammed into by another oncoming car, landed upside down and slid off the race track — and by Wednesday afternoon, he was, miraculously, released from the hospital.

Although Newman was described as being in “serious condition” the night of the race, he didn’t suffer any internal organ damage or broken bones, according to a statement from the 19-season veteran, which was shared by Roush Fenway Racing president Steve Newmark ahead of NASCAR’s race Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The statement did note, however, that Newman is being treated for a head injury, but “doctors have been pleased with [his] progression over the last few days.”

Along with Truex, the team and several drivers said Newman’s “jovial” personality and sense of humor remain ever-present following last week’s wreck.

And because of that, they didn’t wait long to roast the driver, particularly about how having “no neck and a big hard head” helped protect him during the crash, as Truex jokingly put it.

Newman did not race Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and the timeline for his return is unknown. But in his statement, he said:

“I can’t wait to get back in your race car. … I have spoken with Jack Roush and he has assured me that the No. 6 car will be waiting and ready for my return. I’m looking forward to getting behind the wheel and battling for another race win in the Roush Fenway Ford.”

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NASCAR drivers haven’t waited very long to roast jokester Ryan Newman after scary crash

Drivers like Martin Truex Jr. and Joey Logano had some jokes after learning Ryan Newman is OK.

Ryan Newman was released from the hospital less than 48 hours after a horrific crash on the last lap of Monday’s Daytona 500.

Although the specifics of any injuries he sustained are not public, Newman was “joking around” with his family and the hospital staff, according to a statement from his team, Roush Fenway Racing, which also said he remained true to his “jovial nature”.

Several NASCAR drivers who have talked with Newman since the accident were happy to say the No. 6 Ford driver’s sense of humor was still intact, and Ryan Blaney — who made contact with Newman, sparking the terrifying wreck — said it “brought a smile to my face.” Drivers have also taken some of the friendly jabs at Newman after learning he’s OK.

Saturday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where NASCAR is racing this weekend, Martin Truex Jr., a good friend of Newman’s, said he saw the driver after he was released from the hospital, and “he’s good spirits.” Truex added:

“I just wanted him to know we were there for him if he needed anything. It was cool. It was good to see the good shape he was in. It was a little surprising as well. We’re planning fishing trips already, so it was a fun visit to hang out.”

Truex also called Newman “a tough son of a gun” but joked:

“He’s got no neck and a big hard head, so that helps for sure. I told him this week he’s lucky he’s such a hard-headed son of a gun.”

Friday at the Las Vegas track, Joey Logano said:

“I texted him and said, ‘I knew it wasn’t your neck that broke. I don’t think you could do that.’ We have a neck joke going back and forth because I’ve got a long one, and he’s got none. We had a good joke about that at least, so his sense of humor still seems to be there.”

Austin Dillon, Newman’s former teammate at Richard Childress Racing, said:

“I shot him a text. I said, ‘I’ve never been so glad to see a picture of you.'”

Corey LaJoie, who hit Newman head-on during the wreck, said he and Newman texted Wednesday night and shared a laugh about one time when they raced go-karts together. LaJoie told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio on Thursday:

“We shared a couple laughs [about when] we went to that little slick track in Pocono called S&S [Speedways]. And for whatever reason, Newman and I always found each other, and his big ass looked like Bowser in that little go-kart.

“We’re sliding around and smashing into each other, and his head is so big he had to hold the roof up because his head was smashing into it.”

The specifics of Newman’s injuries remain unknown, but he will not be racing this weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Ross Chastain is filling in for him in Sunday’s Pennzoil 400.

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Kyle Busch details reaction to Ryan Newman’s Daytona 500 wreck: ‘We’re not invincible’

Kyle Busch spoke about the horrifying end to the 2020 Daytona 500 and his own injuries behind the wheel.

Like so many in the NASCAR world reacting to Ryan Newman’s terrifying wreck on the last lap of the 2020 Daytona 500, Kyle Busch said he feared the worst — “anybody would, right?” — but “you’ve always got to hope for the best.”

Newman crashed at the end of the final lap of Monday’s rain-delayed race. His No. 6 Ford turned, hit the wall and was then hit head-on by Corey LaJoie before landing upside down and sliding off the Daytona International Speedway track. Safety crews attended to Newman, putting out the fire in his car and eventually getting him out of it.

He was taken to a nearby hospital and was eventually released Wednesday, amazingly less than 48 hours after the crash.

The wreck was a blunt reminder of the dangers of NASCAR, which Busch knows about all too well himself. At the beginning of the 2015 season, Busch wrecked in the second-tier XFINITY Series race at Daytona, breaking his right leg and fracturing his left foot in the closing laps.

At Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Friday, Busch said when someone is injured, like Newman was Monday, it’s also a reminder for the drivers that “it could be any of us in that situation.”

Asked about waiting for updates on Newman’s safety and condition, he said:

“I would sense that all of us are kind of wanting to know as soon as possible to know for ourselves, not necessarily because we want to get it out and leak any sort of news. It’s just a matter of self-assurance that those that you’re racing against are OK.

“It could be any of us in that situation at any particular time, especially with [superspeedway] racing and those places you race so fast and so close together the whole time that those crashes tend to happen a lot.”

The No. 18 Toyota driver — who’s also the defending Cup Series champion – said after his own injury, it was “tough” for him to get back in the car. But he did after missing 11 races and ended up winning his first title in 2015.

Several drivers, including Busch and his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Denny Hamlin, who won his second straight Daytona 500 as Newman was wrecking, have praised the safety developments over the last couple decades.

Terrible wrecks like this happen somewhat regularly at Daytona and Talladega Superspeedway, and the drivers involved are almost always unharmed. But because of that, “sometimes you take it for granted” that drivers will walk way fine, Busch said.

Citing his own injury — plus Hamlin’s fractured back in 2013 and Aric Almirola’s fractured back in 2017 — Busch expanded on the risks drivers face. He continued:

“What we’re doing, the severity of what we’re doing, the course of action of what injury can happen – it can happen in any instance. We’re not invincible. Safety is always an evolution. There’s going to be something else that happens that we have to go through and figure out the circumstances as to why it happened, how can we prevent it from happening again.

“Not sure what all the instances are in the Newman crash, but there still will be something else down the road I’m sure. We saw it with, I think it was, Austin Theriault here, who broke his back in a truck crash years ago. Denny, obviously, his back, as well as Almirola’s.

“There’s a lot of things that will still come of the evolution of safety for all of us. My wreck, we made a lot of changes and advancements — let’s call it — to the race cars, and hopefully, that can help prevent those such injuries happening again.”

Although the specifics of Newman’s injuries remain unknown, he will not be racing this weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Ross Chastain is filling in for him in Sunday’s Pennzoil 400.

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NASCAR driver who bumped Ryan Newman at Daytona 500 says he’s been ‘replaying’ finish ‘over and over’

Ryan Blaney made contact with Ryan Newman, who wrecked badly on the last lap of the Daytona 500.

In the days since the 2020 Daytona 500 finish when Ryan Newman was in a horrible wreck and taken to the hospital, Ryan Blaney has been “replaying the events in [his] head over and over” and thinking about what he could have “done differently ever since.”

In his first comments about the crash since immediately speaking with reporters after the race, No. 12 Ford driver said on Twitter that he and Newman spoke Wednesday night — Newman was released from the hospital earlier that day — about what played out. Blaney added that Newman’s sense of humor was still intact and “brought a smile to my face.”

On the last lap of Monday’s rain-delayed Daytona 500, Newman, Blaney and eventual Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin were fighting for the win. As Blaney later explained, if he couldn’t win the race, he said wanted a fellow Ford driver, Newman, to win over Hamlin in a Toyota. So as Newman had the lead coming down the frontstretch of Daytona International Speedway one last time, Blaney tried to give him a push.

Instead, however, Blaney said his No. 12 Ford and Newman’s No. 6 Ford “just got bumpers hooked up wrong and turned” Newman, who then hit the wall before being slammed into by Corey LaJoie. Newman went airborne, and his car landed upside and slid off the track with sparks and flames coming out of it.

He was taken to a nearby hospital in “serious condition” Monday night and was released, miraculously, less than 48 hours later.

In a Twitter post Thursday night, Blaney also addressed the crash and his brief conversation with Newman.

Blaney wrote:

“I don’t think you will ever see someone as tough as Ryan Newman, to see him walk out of that hospital with his girls brought a tear to my eye. I was lucky enough to speak with him last night briefly about what happened Monday, it was just good to hear his voice to be honest. His Ryan Newman humor was at large and brought a smile to my face. The recovery he has made the past few days have been remarkable. I look forward to seeing him soon to talk about it more.

We are all competitors racing for wins every weekend but at the same time are one big family, and you never want to see family get hurt. Have been replaying the events in my head over and over about what I could’ve done differently ever since. I’m very luck to have a great family, friends, team and incredible fans that have helped me out this week. I can’t thank everyone enough for that.

I can’t wait to have Rocketman Ryan Newman back at the track racing as hard as ever.”

When Blaney spoke with reporters Monday on pit road after the race, he was clearly distraught and shaken up by what had just happened. He repeatedly said spinning Newman was “definitely unintentional.”

Earlier on the final lap, Blaney gave Newman a huge push ahead of Hamlin, and when Blaney then tried to pass Newman for the lead at the very end, Newman successfully blocked him. Blaney said that’s when he tried to push a Ford to win over Hamlin’s Toyota:

“I was just committing to pushing him to the win once he blocked a couple times, was kind of beat. Just hope Ryan’s all right. It sucks to lose a race, but you never want to see anyone get hurt.”

While it is unclear how long Newman will be out of the car, he’s obviously not racing this weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Ross Chastain is filling in for Newman in the No. 6 Ford for Sunday’s race.

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NASCAR driver who hit Ryan Newman says they ‘shared a couple laughs’ after hospital release

Corey LaJoie said he and Ryan Newman joked laughed about this go-kart story Wednesday night.

NASCAR driver Cory LaJoie didn’t even know who he hit when he smashed into Ryan Newman at the end of the last lap of the 2020 Daytona 500.

And, like so many other people at the track, he didn’t realize the severity of Newman’s situation until he was evaluated and released from the infield care center. He was just excited about the idea of finishing eighth in NASCAR’s biggest race because it was only his third top-10 finish.

But after being cleared by the care center, LaJoie said he learned about the seriousness of Newman’s wreck.

“My stomach dropped, and I thought I was going to puke,” LaJoie told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio on Thursday.

Racing for the win on the last lap, Newman and his No. 6 Ford was out front with Ryan Blaney in the No. 12 Ford behind him. Blaney said their bumpers got “hooked up wrong,” and Newman’s car turned and hit the wall before LaJoie’s No. 32 Ford collided with him. LaJoie said it “was the hardest hit I’ve had.”

Newman’s car flew through the air before landing upside down and sliding off the track. He was taken to a nearby hospital and was in “serious condition” Monday night, but his injuries were not life threatening, according to his team, Roush Fenway Racing.

And then miraculously, Newman was released from the hospital Wednesday afternoon, not even 48 hours after the wreck.

LaJoie said it’s been a “very emotional week” for him, Blaney and, of course, Newman. “It seems like all three of us are doing well for the circumstances,” he said.

He also mentioned that he and Newman texted Wednesday night and explained Newman is still in Florida at fellow NASCAR driver (and his fishing buddy) Martin Truex Jr.’s house.

On SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, LaJoie said they joked about a gathering for Ford drivers near Pocono Raceway, which included indoor go-karts:

“We texted last night. We shared a couple laughs. … We went to that little slick track in Pocono called S&S [Speedways]. And for whatever reason, Newman and I always found each other, and his big ass looked like Bowser in that little go-kart. We’re sliding around and smashing into each other, and his head is so big he had to hold the roof up because his head was smashing into it.

“So we shared a laugh over [that]. I said, ‘Man, it was almost like we were back at that slick track in Pocono, but unfortunately, we were going 200 miles an hour instead of seven.’ And he thought that was funny. He’s down there still I guess in Martin’s house in Florida. What a blessing to be able to share a laugh with Ryan not even almost 48 hours after everybody assumed the worst.”

LaJoie also explained a little about what it feels like to be in a wreck going about 200 miles an hour. He said hit Newman at basically full speed and got the wind knocked out of him, which is why, when he got out of the car, he fell to his knees.

View this post on Instagram

They say a picture is worth 1000 words. A lot of speculation as to what was going through my little noggin here. Here’s the facts. The wind was knocked out of me so I was catching my breath, I was wiggling my fingers and toes to make sure they were still connected, I was confused as my brain tried to process what my body just went through and I was hurting from the sub straps containing the force of the frontal impact. While I was down there I did send up a “thank you Jesus for your hand of protection” prayer and at that moment I had no idea who I hit or the severity of it. I’m hearing very optimistic things on Ryan’s condition so your prayers are working guys, keep it rolling.

A post shared by Corey LaJoie (@coreylajoie) on

The photo quickly circulated around NASCAR social media, and LaJoie clarified what exactly what was happening in that moment because, again, he didn’t even realize Newman was injured at that point. He told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio:

“I really didn’t have a grip on what happened until probably Wednesday afternoon. [That’s] when it finally sunk in, and I was able to digest everything feelings wise and just the whole situation because I’ve never really been in a situation like that. I’ve never really been in a big superspeedway crash to that point. So it’s crazy how fast it happens, crazy how people don’t realize how much it hurts when you hit something that hard or that fast.

“If anybody’s gotten in a wreck on the road at 40 miles an hour, they know how much that hurts, and we’re going 190, 200 miles an hour. It definitely makes your body do a lot of funky things it’s not used to. That’s why that little picture that was kind of going viral there on Twitter and Facebook there. I was on my knees. I kind of addressed it on my Instagram.

“People assumed or speculated that I got out because I was in a praying position. I honestly was on my knees because I was in pain. The wind was knocked out of me. Granted, I said a thank you for protection prayer up to the big guy because I knew it was a nasty wreck, but at that point in time, I had no idea who I hit or the severity of it.”

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