Ryan Newmanis on the mend after his terrifying, fiery crash at theDaytona 500.
“I did sustain a head injury for which I’m currently being treated. The doctors have been pleased with my progression over the last few days,” continued Newman, 42, in the statement, which Newmark read ahead of a Sunday race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Newman thanked “everyone involved in my care, especially the staff atHalifax Medical Center” in Daytona Beach, Florida, saying the “trained professionals” at the hospital “played a major role in where I’m sitting today.”
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images
Ryan Newman.Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images
“I hope you took pride in the photograph of mewalking out of the hospital hand-in-hand with my daughterson Wednesday,” Newman said. “Thank you. I can’t wait to get back in your race car.”
The professional driver also said he has “spoken with [Roush Fenway Racing founder, CEO and co-owner] Jack Roush and he has assured me that the No. 6 car will be waiting and ready for my return,” concluding, “I’m looking forward to getting behind the wheel and battling for another race win in the Roush Fenway Ford.”
“Ryan Newman has been treated and released from Halifax Medical Center,” Roush Fenway Racing wrote on Twitter Wednesdayalongside a photo ofthe driver and his two daughtersAshlyn Olivia, 7½, andBrooklyn Sage, 9, holding hands as they walked out of the hospital. (Newman and his estranged wife Krissie, the girls’ mother, have been married for 16 years, andrecently announced they were separating,just four days before the crash.)
Ryan Newman and his daughters.Krissie Newman/Twitter
A driver hasn’t died in a NASCAR race sinceDale Earnhardt at the Daytona 500 in 2001. Since Earnhardt’s death 19 years ago at age 49, the racing league has taken steps to increase driver safety — including enforcing helmet rules and creatingimproved barriers around the trackto safely absorb more impact.
“Without any changes, drivers would still be dying in NASCAR,” Dr. John Melvin, a leading voice on NASCAR driver safety, told ESPN in 2011 as the league enforced new safety regulations. “But I don’t think we’d be seeing NASCAR right now, quite frankly. I think Congress would have gotten involved at some point.”
Denny Hamlin, who celebrated winning the Daytona 500 on Feb. 17 soon after Newman’s crash,apologized in a post-race tweetthat same day.
“First a foremost I want to give well wishes and prayers to@RyanJNewman. I had absolutely NO IDEA of the severity of the crash until I got to victory lane,” Hamlin said. “There’s very little communication after the finish and i had already unhooked my radio. It’s not anyone’s fault.”
source: people.com
