NASCAR outlines rapid response to Daytona 500 crash

Firefighters were on the scene within 19 seconds and paramedics were in the car to help injured driver Ryan Newman within 35 seconds

February 23, 2020 12:37 PM

Ryan Newman is moved to an ambulance after rescue workers removed him from his car after he was involved in a crash on NASCAR Daytona 500 auto race at Daytona International Speedway, Monday, Feb. 17, 2020, in Daytona Beach, Fla.

Brian Linder
The Patriot-News, Harrisburg, Pa.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — NASCAR laid out its lightning quick response Saturday to Ryan Newman’s horrific crash on the final lap of the Daytona 500 last week.

Newman was treated at Halifax Medical Center and has since been released, although NASCAR executive Steve O’Donnell said the driver will have to be cleared by a medical doctor to return to action and that a timetable for that has not been determined.

During Saturday’s press conference, O’Donnell laid out the mind-boggling speed with which safety crews responded to Newman’s crash.

First responders — a tool truck with firefighters — arrived within 19 seconds of the crash. A paramedic was in the car with Newman within 35 seconds, and they made the decision to flip the car over 6:56 after the wreck.

Eleven minutes and 10 seconds after the crash, the roof was removed from the car. Around four minutes later, Newman was taken out of the car.

O’Donnell said Newman was attended to during the entire time.

“The training systems, the safety systems all worked as designed,” he said. “But again never satisfied with what took place, and we’ll learn as much as possible and implement those changes, if there are any, as soon as we can.”

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