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Ryan Newman is opening up about the horrific Daytona 500 crash that could have taken his life. In the final moments of this year’s Daytona 500 race, the NASCAR driver bumped by Ryan Blaney before going airborne and flipping several times before coming to a stop in a swarm of flames.
Somehow, Newman was able to escape the crash with minor injuries.
Since his release from the hospital, Newman has remained silent on the scary incident, but now he is opening up with an interview on the TODAY Show.
“(It’s) still humbling to watch it and know that I’m sitting here without a headache, which is amazing,” Newman said. “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.
“On so many levels, I feel so lucky. You look at the crash, you think that’s spectacular in a bad way. You look at the car afterwards, you think about all the things of what happened right for me to be sitting here.”
While Newman was able to escape without severe injuries, there is no timetable for his return to the track. But while he doesn’t know when he will be returning to racing, he does hope to get behind the wheel to compete for a NASCAR championship in 2020.
“We’re working on it,” Newman said. “As soon as I possibly can.”
