Newman calls survival ‘humbling’
In his first official interview since his Feb. 17 crash in the Daytona 500, Ryan Newman told NBC’s Today Show that his amazing survival was “just a miracle on so many levels.”
“It’s still humbling to watch it and know that I’m sitting here without a headache, which is amazing,” Newman said Wednesday morning while watching a replay on the Today Show set in New York City. “Thankful to so many people for prayers, for all the things that went into me being safer in that situation.”
Newman walked out of Daytona Beach’s Halifax Hospital just two days after his horrific crash on the 500’s final lap. He remains sidelined and out of his No. 6 Ford Mustang while recovering from what he described as “basically like a bruised brain.”
“Takes time for it to heal,” he said. “I was knocked out, there was a point where I don’t remember a part of the race. Realistically, I just feel so lucky.
On so many levels, I feel so lucky.
“If you look at the crash, it’s spectacular in a bad way, right? If you look at the car afterwards, you think about all the things that happened right for me to sit here.”
As for his eventual return to racing, Newman could offer no timetable.
“I don’t know yet,” he said. “We’re working on it. As soon as I possibly can.”
And why would a racer get back in the cockpit after such a death-defying accident?
“I love it,” he said. “It’s been a little bit painful to be out of a race car. I started racing when I was 4 years old. It’s just who I am.”