Ryan Newman was in the lead in the final lap of the Daytona 500 on Monday when he was nudged out of control, spun into the wall, flipped, and slid off the track upside-down in a shower of sparks. "He is in serious condition, but doctors have indicated his injuries are not life threatening," his team, Roush Fenway Racing, said in a statement late Monday night. He is being treated at a Daytona Beach hospital.
Newman, 42, won the 2008 Daytona 500 and 17 other NASCAR Cup races over his 18 full seasons as a driver. This year, for the second year in a row, he was driving Roush Fenway's No. 6 Ford, USA Today reports. The crash happened at the end of the race, right as Denny Hamlin sped over the finish line, followed closely by Newman's Roush teammate Ryan Blaney. Blaney had pushed Newman into the lead on the final lap and a second off-center push sent Newman spinning out of control; that was "definitely unintentional," Blaney said, explaining that he was trying to get Blaney across the finish line ahead of Hamlin.
The Daytona 500 was supposed to be Sunday, but the cars completed just 20 of 200 laps before the race was delayed due to rain. President Trump, who flew Air Force One to the race on Sunday and was driven around the track in the presidential limousine, tweeted Monday night: "Completion of the Daytona 500 on Fox Network now. Enjoy!" He later tweeted that he was "praying for Ryan Newman" and posted two videos of the crash.
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