Ryan Newman is on the mend following his Daytona 500 race injury on Monday, February 17.
“Ryan Newman remains under the care of doctors at Halifax Medical Center in Daytona Beach, Florida. He is awake and speaking with family and doctors,” Roush Fenway Racing, the team Newman drives for, said in a statement on Tuesday, February 18. “Ryan and his family have expressed their appreciation for the concern and heartfelt messages from across the country. They are grateful for the unwavering support of the NASCAR community and beyond. We will continue to provide information as it becomes available.”
One day prior, the 42-year-old race car driver was seriously injured after his car hit a wall and flipped in the air, landing on its roof on the side of the track during the two-day event’s final lap in Florida on Monday, February 17. He was rushed to the hospital after emergency responders extinguished a fire in his car.
Following the incident, NASCAR released a statement on his condition on Monday night revealing that he was “in serious condition, but doctors have indicated his injuries are not life threatening.”
After the terrible collision, his estranged wife, Krissie Newman, tweeted, “Omg,” while other fans and followers of the sport took to Twitter to express their well-wishes and prayers for the driver.
“Big prayers for Newman,” fellow professional racer Dale Earnhardt Jr., whose father, Dale Earnhardt Sr., passed away due to injuries sustained in race car collision in 2001, wrote via Twitter.
Moments after being declared the winner of the 2020 event, Denny Hamlin revealed that he too was thinking of Newman and his condition.
“Number one, we’re praying for Ryan,” Hamlin said following his win. “I worked really well with Ryan throughout the whole race. Obviously, he got turned right there.”
Driver Corey LaJoie, who hit Newman’s car as it was flipping, took to Twitter as well. “Dang I hope Newman is ok,” he tweeted at the time. “That is worst case scenario and I had nowhere to go but smoke.”
Newman, who shares two daughters, Brooklyn and Ashlyn, with Krissie, announced their separation four days before he was injured.
“After 16 years of marriage, Krissie and I have decided to amicably separate. We will continue to jointly raise our girls, while remaining friends and continuing to work together supporting Rescue Ranch,” he wrote via Twitter on Thursday, February 13. “Thank you for the years of support and friendship. We ask that out [sic] daughters’ privacy be respected at this time.”
