DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Ryan Newman has had plenty of time to think about many different things in the year that has passed since his violent crash at the end of last year’s Daytona 500.
He’s reflected on his family, the sport he loves and himself, among other things. But Newman has also spent a sizable chunk of time studying and taking notes about the accident that could have easily ended his racing career.
That thirst for knowledge comes from a desire to make racing — and the NASCAR Cup Series vehicles he and his competitors drive — safer than they were before his car hit the wall, flipped and was impacted at nearly 200 mph by Corey LaJoie’s oncoming car in the final yards of last year’s Great American Race.
Newman, who was racing in the top three exiting turn four headed to the checkered flag, was credited with a ninth-place finish while crossing the finish line upside down.
After Newman’s mangled car came to rest at the exit of the Daytona Int’l Speedway tri-oval, it caught on fire briefly before safety worked extricated him from the race car and he was taken to a local hospital.
Asked by SPEED SPORT if he had watched the accident footage to better understand what had happened, Newman said that was “100 percent” the case.
“I’ve watched every angle that I could possibly watch,” said Newman, a 2001 graduate of Purdue University who has a bachelor’s degree in engineering. “The biggest problem is that I don’t have any memory of my own angle, which is the ultimate angle, and that’s gone and that will always be gone no matter how many times I watch a replay or different variation of that replay. It doesn’t change my personal memory, because it just doesn’t exist (anymore).
“I will continue to study and watch, whether it’s my crash or somebody else’s crashes,” Newman added. “I’ve lost some good friends. If you go back to Kenny Irwin (Jr.) and his crash at New Hampshire (Motor Speedway) years and years ago, there have been improvements made to that wall and (there was) good reason for it. Unfortunately, Kenny is no longer here with us, but we will always continue to learn from those that we lose and those that we don’t lose as long as we keep focused on the things that we need to focus on to increase our level of safety.”
While specifics of Newman’s injuries from that night were never fully disclosed, he did reveal a head injury in a statement given six days after the crash occurred. However, Newman said he “was fortunate to avoid any internal organ damage or broken bones” at the time.
Despite all that he went through, Newman never doubted he would return to a race car, nor did he believe at any point that he wouldn’t get another shot at competing in the Daytona 500.
“I’ve had zero doubts,” he said. “I’ve had people question me about if I’ve questioned it myself, but the reality is that God works in mysterious ways, and one of those mysterious ways that I can’t answer is the deletion of that chapter or that part of my hard drive that was that day to the point that I can’t remember the potential tragedy that wasn’t. I don’t have any fear because I don’t have any memory (of the crash).
“If you’ve ever been in a car accident or know somebody who has been in a car accident and they were conscious the whole time, they will always carry that fear with them. I have no memory, therefore, I have no fear, but (racing) is also my passion and my love and what I enjoy doing,” Newman added. “It’s a paid hobby. It’s the most amazing job you could ever have and that’s where my focus is. I just am doing my best to continue and to try to become a Cup champion.
“The way I feel is that I still have another opportunity and God has given me that opportunity and I’ll enjoy it with my two beautiful girls and our team together.”
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