NASCAR driver Ryan Newman is preparing to return to racing this weekend. It’s his first race since his gruesome crash in February at the Daytona 500. He says he has no memory of the incident and describes himself as a “walking miracle” for having survived it.

Ryan Newman Has No Memory Of Daytona 500 Crash

Daily Mail reported that the first thing that Newman can remember is walking out of the hospital with his daughters after the crash. When he watched video of the accident, Newman said he was stunned by how violent it was. 

“As I watched the crash and had to make myself believe what I had went through, I really looked to my dad to say, ‘Hey, did this really happen?’ It’s crazy. I’m happy I’m here.”

He’s set to return to the driver’s seat for the first time on Sunday when he races at the Darlington Speedway in South Carolina. It’s been 10 weeks since the NASCAR Cup Series season was put on hold because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

It’s a truly remarkable recovery from when Newman crashed on the final lap of the Daytona 500. He he was bumped from behind, which caused his Ford Mustang to make a sharp right into the wall.

He then went airborne and was hit by Corey LaJoie as the wreckage of his car tumbled along the track with him still inside.

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Ryan Newman’s Injuries

Newman still doesn’t know if LaJoie compromised his cockpit. There’s just no clear video showing how his head and neck system was damaged. Nor is there footage of how his helmet got “crushed.” 

“I don’t have anything that is conclusive that says that his car hit my helmet. I do know that parts of the inside of my car hit my helmet and crushed it,” Newman said. “My helmet did have contact and my HANS did have contact, and I was being moved backwards in my seat as his car was moving me forward.”

“Everything happened really quick and everything was all in that compartment, basically, and I guess it would be like a case of high-quality whiplash that kind of happened when I was hit,” the experienced racer added. 

Newman went on to say that he suffered “a brain bruise.”

“I kind of put it in layman’s terms of having a bruised brain because everybody knows what a bruise is. You can’t see a concussion. It’s just a medical diagnosis. But a bruise you can see,” he explained.

“So I kind of self-diagnosed myself with that bruised brain because the reality is you need to give time for a bruise to heal and that’s what I needed was time for my brain to heal.”

Eager To Return To Racing

Newman now wants to put all of this behind him. He’s been eager to get back to racing since March.

“I actually had to slow myself down and make sure that I didn’t go out there and fence it on the first lap by trying too hard,” Newman said. “I never felt like I had to be apprehensive towards it, other than the fact that I wanted to make sure that I didn’t mess up my own test. I was there to prove that I was valid in the seat again.”

In the end, Newman feels ready for his upcoming NASCAR race.

“I’m hoping to do every lap and then one more after that – I think they are having a victory lap still,” he said.

We’re so glad to see that Newman is back, and better than ever! 

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