LAS VEGAS, Nev. - What seemed like an eternity was actually 19 seconds.
After Ryan Newman’s battered race car came to rest last Monday at the end of the tri-oval in a brutal wreck at the finish of the Daytona 500, it took only 19 seconds for the first emergency vehicle to arrive, according to a chronology provided by NASCAR officials during a question-and-answer session with reporters on Saturday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
“The tool truck arrived at the vehicle 19 seconds after it came to rest,” said Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR executive vice president and chief racing development officer. “The fireman that you saw with the extinguisher was in that vehicle. One of the three trauma doctors assigned to the safety team for the race arrived at the car at the 33‑second mark, and a paramedic entered the vehicle at the 35‑second mark.
“For the next three and a half minutes, two doctors and paramedics attended to Ryan. At the 4:05 mark, the decision was then made to roll the car over while continuing to help aid the driver. At the 6:56 mark, the car was upright. The extrication team then began cutting the car, and a doctor continued to provide treatment.
“The roof was removed at the 11:10 mark, and the extrication was completed at 15:40, and the driver was then moved to the ambulance for transport. During this entire time, doctors and paramedics were attending to Ryan, except at the moment of the car rollover.”
Newman, who was taken directly to the Halifax Medical Center and released from the hospital on Wednesday, may well have benefitted from the so-called “Newman bar,” reinforcement for the roll cage that strengthened the roof and the windshield that was implemented after a wreck involving Newman in 2013.
“So when we look at the cars and look back at what we’ve been able to do with the cars as an industry, we’ve been able to make improvements,” said Dr. John Patalak, NASCAR’s senior director of safety engineering. “The one you’ve referenced in 2013 with the additional roll bars and the roof and the windshield area… we were also able to do things with the laminate windshield in 2013 and improved window net mounting in 2013.
“All of those things really contribute and work together as an assembly to improve the overall outcomes to what we saw in Daytona.”
“I think, just to add to that, John and I were talking earlier about the fact that Ryan Newman was involved in this accident, with his engineering background, has been someone who we have turned to in many times talking about safety enhancements,” rejoined O’Donnell.
“One of the reasons you won’t hear as many details today is we still haven’t had the chance to go through this with Ryan and his team, with the other drivers in the garage, but Ryan’s feedback as we go through this will be key, and I think that’ll be a key component as it’s always been throughout the process when he’s been racing.”
Both Newman’s car and the No. 32 of Corey LaJoie, which collided with Newman’s Ford as it flipped upside-down, were destroyed in the wreck, and both were taken to NASCAR’s R&D Center in Concord, North Carolina, for further inspection and evaluation.
Martin Truex, Jr. Elated To See Close Friend Ryan Newman After Wreck
Driver Martin Truex, Jr. and long-time girlfriend Sherry Pollex were among the first to see Ryan Newman after he was released from Halifax Medical Center on Wednesday.
The relief and elation were still evident when Truex stopped by the media center on Saturday, after rain washed our NASCAR Cup Series qualifying and put Truex on the outside of the front row, based on final 2019 owner points.
“It was cool to just go down there and see him and make sure he was OK,” Truex said. “Really, Sherry and I just wanted him to know we were there for him if he needed anything. It was cool. It was good to see the good shape he was in. It was a little surprising as well.
“We’re planning fishing trips already, so it was a fun visit to hang out. I’ve been talking to him throughout the week, obviously. He’s doing real good. I feel like he’ll be back before anybody thinks he could. He’s a tough son of a gun. He’s in good spirits and hanging out with his family, so he’s doing well.”
Truex didn’t have any qualms, though, about some playful ribbing of his friend.
“He’s got no neck and a big hard head, so that helps for sure,” Truex said. “I told him this week he’s lucky he’s such a hard-headed son of a gun. All those things, and God was riding with him. What else can you say? It was a scary wreck, for sure. Hopefully, we don’t have to worry about things like that, for sure. We just have to figure out ways to keep the cars on the ground.”
Kevin Harvick Issues Challenge To Kyle Busch’s Domination In Trucks
With seeming ease, Kyle Busch won Friday night’s Strat 200 NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. It was Busch’s seventh straight victory in as many starts in his own trucks.
But when fans on Twitter decried the reigning NASCAR Cup champion’s moonlighting in the Gander Truck Series, fellow Cup champ Kevin Harvick came to his defense, offering a $50,000 bounty if any driver could beat Busch in any of his four remaining truck races this year (Atlanta, Homestead, Texas and Kansas).
The rules are simple. The Cup driver has to beat Busch fair and square, without wrecking him.
Marcus Lemonis, owner of the series sponsor, chimed in with an offer to match Harvick’s $50,000. Naturally enough, Busch wanted to know what he would get if he kept the competition at bay for all four races.
“If you put money on a bounty on somebody, then bad things tend to happen,” Busch said. “Make it whatever you want. It doesn’t matter to me. I’ve got great stuff, I’m a good driver — bring it.”
Harvick later tweeted that, if Busch wins the challenge, he would donate the $50,000 to the Bundle of Joy Fund founded by Busch and his wife Samantha to help couples who are having difficulty conceiving children.
WDUN will carry live PRN Radio coverage of Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series Pennzoil 400 beginning at 2:30 pm on 102.9 FM, AM 550 and streaming live on AccessWDUN. Live PRN Radio coverage of the resumption of the NASCAR Xfinity Series Boyd Gaming 300 will follow one hour later on 102.9 FM, AM 550 and streaming live on AccessWDUN.
NASCAR Cup Series
Las Vegas Motor Speedway – Las Vegas, NV
Pennzoil 400 – February 23, 2020
Sunday’s Starting Lineup
1. (18) Kyle Busch, Toyota, Charter Team Owner Points 1st.
2. (19) Martin Truex, Jr., Toyota, Charter Team Owner Points 2nd.
3. (4) Kevin Harvick, Ford, Charter Team Owner Points 3rd.
4. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, Charter Team Owner Points 4th.
5. (22) Joey Logano, Ford, Charter Team Owner Points 5th.
6. (42) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, Charter Team Owner Points 6th.
7. (12) Ryan Blaney, Ford, Charter Team Owner Points 7th.
8. (2) Brad Keselowski, Ford, Charter Team Owner Points 8th.
9. (14) Clint Bowyer, Ford, Charter Team Owner Points 9th.
10. (9) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, Charter Team Owner Points 10th.
11. (24) William Byron, Chevrolet, Charter Team Owner Points 11th.
12. (88) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, Charter Team Owner Points 12th.
13. (1) Kurt Busch, Chevrolet, Charter Team Owner Points 13th.
14. (10) Aric Almirola, Ford, Charter Team Owner Points 14th.
15. (6) Ross Chastain(i), Ford, Charter Team Owner Points 15th.
16. (20) Erik Jones, Toyota, Charter Team Owner Points 16th.
17. (41) Cole Custer #, Ford, Charter Team Owner Points 17th.
18. (48) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, Charter Team Owner Points 18th.
19. (21) Matt DiBenedetto, Ford, Charter Team Owner Points 19th.
20. (37) Ryan Preece, Chevrolet, Charter Team Owner Points 20th.
21. (3) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, Charter Team Owner Points 21st.
22. (95) Christopher Bell #, Toyota, Charter Team Owner Points 22nd.
23. (17) Chris Buescher, Ford, Charter Team Owner Points 23rd.
24. (13) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, Charter Team Owner Points 24th.
25. (8) Tyler Reddick #, Chevrolet, Charter Team Owner Points 25th.
26. (47) Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., Chevrolet, Charter Team Owner Points 26th.
27. (43) Darrell Wallace, Jr., Chevrolet, Charter Team Owner Points 27th.
28. (34) Michael McDowell, Ford, Charter Team Owner Points 28th.
29. (38) John Hunter Nemechek #, Ford, Charter Team Owner Points 29th.
30. (32) Corey LaJoie, Ford, Charter Team Owner Points 30th.
31. (53) Joey Gase(i), Ford, Charter Team Owner Points 31st.
32. (00) Quin Houff #, Chevrolet, Charter Team Owner Points 32nd.
33. (15) Brennan Poole #, Chevrolet, Charter Team Owner Points 33rd.
34. (51) Garrett Smithley, Chevrolet, Charter Team Owner Points 34th.
35. (96) Daniel Suarez, Toyota, Open Team Owner Points 35th.
36. (77) Reed Sorenson, Chevrolet, Charter Team Owner Points 36th.
37. (52) J.J. Yeley(i), Ford, Charter Team Owner Points 38th.
38. (66) Timmy Hill(i), Toyota, Open Team Owner Points 42nd.
