FAST RESPONSE FOR NEWMAN

A paramedic was treating Ryan Newman inside his car 35 seconds after the ruined and flaming vehicle came to rest after a crash on the last lap of the Daytona 500.

NASCAR gave a brief timeline Saturday of the response to Monday night’s airborne accident that was so startling many drivers feared him dead. Newman hit the wall and his car went airborne, was hit by another car to send it airborne a second time, rolled upside down and landed on its roof in flames.

“You’ve heard us say this many times, that safety is our primary responsibility,” said Steve O’donnell, NASCAR’S executive vice president and chief racing development officer.

“Everything that goes on at the R&D Center on a daily basis is put in place for a reason. This is our job. This is what we do, and you’ve got the 40 drivers in the garage area who expect us to do this every day.”

NASCAR said the first fire responder arrived 19 seconds after Newman’s car stopped. A trauma doctor was at the car 33 seconds later and a paramedic entered 2 seconds after that.

Newman was then treated for more than three minutes, NASCAR said. It took roughly two minutes to overturn the car, during which time Newman was still being assisted and the treatment continued as the roof was cut away. The 42-year-old driver was removed from the car 15 minutes, 40 seconds after it halted.

NASCAR revealed its findings from a review that began Tuesday when the cars of Newman and Corey Lajoie, the driver who hit Newman’s car on the driver’s side, arrived at the North Carolina Research and Development Center.

NASCAR said it could not discuss Newman’s health, citing federal privacy laws.

Despite the violence of the crash, the Indiana native nicknamed “Rocketman” walked out of a Florida hospital holding the hands of his two young daughters some 42 hours later.

Ross Chastain is scheduled to drive Newman’s No. 6 Ford today at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where Newman’s 649-consecutive races streak dating to the 2002 Daytona 500 will end.

Saturday’s qualifying for the race was canceled because of rain. The lineup will be based off last year’s owner points. But following inspection failures, three Toyotas — Kyle Busch, Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin — will have to start from the rear.

Busch would have started first and Hamlin fourth if not for the penalty. Bell would have started 22nd.

Elsewhere

Brittany Force raced to her second straight pole to start the NHRA season, edging defending Top Fuel season champion Steve Torrence by a thousandth of a second in the Arizona Nationals in Chandler. Force had a 3.670-second run at 327.11 mph.

Matt Hagan topped the Funny Car field with a 3.859 at 331.61 mph in a Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat. Sixteentime season champion John Force, at age 70, was third at 3.861 and 331.94. Jeg Coughlin Jr. was the fastest in Pro Stock, running a 6.536 at 208.46.

• The NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway was postponed until after the completion of today’s main event. Rain halted the race after 50 of the scheduled 200 laps. The finish is set to resume an hour after after the NASCAR Cup Series’ race concludes. Joe Graf Jr., making just his fifth career Xfinity start, was the leader when rain stopped the action..