The crash that sent Ryan Newman flying through the air and skidding down the track during the Daytona 500 had everyone was concerned for his well being. Just two days later, he was released from the hospital, and those around him are extremely thankful.
Roush Fenway Racing President Steve Newmark tweeted a message for the staff at the Halifax Health Medical Center where Newman was taken after the crash.
“We owe a debt of gratitude to many people for what transpired over the last few days but a special thanks to the incredible care and attention from the staff at Halifax Health Medical Center,” he said, along side a photo of the hospital team.
We owe a debt of gratitude to many people for what transpired over the last few days but a special thanks to the incredible care and attention from the staff at Halifax Health Medical Center. pic.twitter.com/JkiDp1A6j3
— Steve Newmark (@NewmarkRFK) February 19, 2020
Newmark previously released a statement when Newman was released from the hospital, and the team announced that he will be replaced this weekend by Ross Chastain while he recovers.
“First and foremost, our focus remains with Ryan and his family as he continues to recover,” said Newmark. “We also want to express our sincere gratitude to all of those who have offered support and taken the time to send their thoughts and prayers to Ryan, his family and everyone at Roush Fenway Racing.
“The NASCAR community has long prided itself on being a close-knit family,” added Newmark. “That is never more evident than during these types of moments, and we want to express our appreciation to everyone at Chip Ganassi Racing as well as Kaulig Racing for allowing Ross to fill in for Ryan in the No. 6 on such short notice.”
Despite Newman seemingly on the mend, the crash has some in the NASCAR community concerned. FOX analyst Mike Joy shared his thoughts on Twitter.
“We’ve become so accustomed to cars flipping, sliding in a shower of sparks at these big tracks, then the drivers climb out and wave to the crowd… because THEY ALWAYS CAN,” he wrote on Twitter. “Monday’s finish was a jarring wakeup call to everyone who loves the sport.”
He continued in a second tweet, “Nascar’s writers and broadcasters are (thankfully) a very diverse group of talents, opinions and attitudes. In times like this we ALL pull together.. to stem the flow of misinformation, spike rumors, and respect the process. We are hopeful and cautiously optimistic. We’re good.”
Seven years prior to this week’s crash, Newman was critical of NASCAR’s inability to keep the race cars on the tracks following a wreck at the Talladega Superspeedway in 2013.
“My issue has and always has been, because I seem to be the reciprocate of whatever airborne disease that we have in NASCAR, is that either somebody lands on me or I land on somebody,” he said at the time. “We’ve proven it’s not safe for the fans. … It’s frustrating, and I think I voiced my frustration very fairly. I could have said a lot more and took a penalty, but I chose not to. I think I took a pretty high road.
“They can build safer race cars, they can build safer walls,” he added. “But they can’t get their heads out of their asses far enough to keep them on the race track, and that’s pretty disappointing.”
