It’s amazing that Ryan Newman survived. The Daytona 500 ended last night with Denny Hamlin claiming his second consecutive win ( and 3rd win overall at Daytona) and a fiery crash that sent Ryan Newman’s Ford Mustang across the finish line on its roof. Newman sustained serious, but non-life-threatening injuries in the crash. He’s being treated at Halifax Medical Center in Daytona Beach. The crash occurred on the race’s final lap, with Newman in the lead and another driver, Ryan Blaney, right behind him. Blaney’s bumper caught the back of Newman’s car, which barreled into a wall and flipped before it was struck by another vehicle. It took several minutes for Newman’s car to be rolled back onto its wheels. Newman, who won the 2008 Daytona 500, was placed in a waiting ambulance and taken directly to a hospital. The damage to his Mustang was extensive. It appeared that the entire roll cage designed to protect his head had caved in. President Donald Trump, the race’s grand marshal, said he was praying for Newman, whom he called a “great and brave” driver. Hamlin is the first driver since Sterling Marlin in 1995 to win consecutive Daytona 500’s, but his celebration in victory lane was subdued.
