Ryan Newman still hasn’t been cleared to return to racing as a result of injuries sustained in a last-lap crash in the Dayton 500 on Feb. 17, but the driver made his first appearance at a NASCAR race weekend Friday at Phoenix Raceway. The NASCAR Cup Series races in Phoenix on Sunday.
“I’m just here to really support the 6 team and stay integrated with what I can do with the team and have some fun,” Newman said, as quoted by Motorsport.com. “That’s really what it’s all about. I want to see Ross [Chastain] do well, but I’d rather be in Ross’ seat. Just want to make sure that we’re doing everything that we can possible for our sponsors and for myself to have a good weekend.”
Ross Chastain is serving as substitute driver behind the wheel of the #6 Roush Fenway Ford as Newman continues his recovery.
Newman was leading on the last lap of the Daytona 500 when he received contact from Ryan Blaney’s car that sent Newman’s car into the wall. After hitting the wall, Newman’s car got airborne and flipped before landing upside down. Newman’s car was, then, hit in the driver-side door by Corey LaJoie’s car.
Newman was transported to Halifax Medical Center in Daytona Beach, Fla., but was released fewer than 48 hours later. He later revealed that he suffered a head injury but no broken bones or other internal injuries.
Newman also attended a Ford event in Arizona that also was attended by Blaney and LaJoie.
“We had no idea that he was going to show up,” Blaney said, as quoted in an Autoweek article. “We were having dinner, and he walked in. That was great. That was the first time I have seen Ryan, personally (since the accident) — I think the first time a lot of us had seen Ryan. That was really cool to see. We sat and talked, the whole Ford group, for an hour, hour-and-a-half once he got there. We talked about a lot of stuff. It was nice to see him. He went full Ryan Newman, and it is great to see. It was cool to hear some of the process that he went through and some of the doctors that worked on him. They were very extensive with him, and he has been passing everything with flying colors, which is unheard of and great to hear.”
Newman continues treatment and no timetable for his return to racing has been established. He said, though, that he hopes to return to racing sometime this season.
