For Austin Dillon, there had to be an element of déjà vu in Ryan Newman’s wreck on the frontstretch at the finish of Monday’s Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway.
Dillon himself had suffered a similar experience in the July 2015 race at the 2.5-mile superspeedway, when his No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet flew into the catchfence near the start/finish line.
There was one major difference, though. Dillon climbed from his car unhurt. Newman, on the other hand, was hospitalized in serious condition and remained at Halifax Medical Center in Daytona Beach until his release on Wednesday. For two hours after the wreck, fellow drivers endured the suspense of not knowing Newman’s condition.
“Obviously, it was definitely weird leaving the track, getting on the plane, and everyone on the plane I was on, my grandfather (Richard Childress) and family, sat and we said a prayer before we took off for Ryan,” Dillon said on Friday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. “Just the eeriness of the whole situation, with the tarps coming out and not knowing was definitely eye-opening as a driver.
“After I tore down the fence (in 2015) and walked out immediately with nothing, I definitely feel like these cars are the safest things out there. But it just goes to show you that you can be impacted in the wrong way, and it can be compromised. We’re going 200 mph around each other, and sometimes force just overtakes what we know is safe.
“I’m very happy that Ryan walked away and walked out of the hospital like he did with his two girls. Man, it definitely makes you stop and think about it a little bit. I’m definitely still proud of what NASCAR has been able to do for the safety of our sport, because that’s probably the worst place you could possibly get hit, where he got hit. For him to be recovering already, it’s just a really good sign.”
Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.
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