NASCAR driver, Ryan Blaney has finally spoken out to the media following Ryan Newman’s terrifying Daytona 500 crash.
Speaking extensively while in Fontana, California for Sunday’s XFINITY SERIES Auto Club 400, the 26-y-o opened up about his emotions in Daytona’s last-lap tragic — where the 26-year-old driver hit Newman from behind in the tri-oval, sending the car flying into the wall.
While talking with the media ahead of Sunday race, Blaney admits he saw the accident footage just few minutes after he got out of the car, and wasn’t unsure how serious it really was.
“That happens, you lose the race by a foot, you get out of the car and then you see a replay of that — I was like, ‘Oh my gosh,'” Blaney said. “It was a big, big range of emotions within 10 minutes. It is tough to watch it. I don’t want to see the in-car high speed camera. I don’t want to see that.”
The 26-y-o, evidently uneasy over the moment, admitted it was “not comfortable to watch” on a personal level, and knows it is also tough for the other drivers as well.
“It is literally the worst place you can get hit with these cars,” he said. “It proves a lot about the safety of them for that to happen and Ryan to be okay but there is still a lot we can do to keep these things on the ground and not get over and be in a position to get hit like that. It is definitely not comfortable to watch. I don’t try to watch it.”
“You have people that aren’t even involved and have never even watched the sport that have their own opinion on bad things,” he said. “The outreach I got from the calls from former drivers and current drivers that week was pretty remarkable. Their support was good.”
Ryan also added that even though it was an “accident” and just a part of “racing,” it takes a toll on a driver when it’s off your own nose.
“You never wanna see anyone get hurt in this sport,” he said. “We are all competitors but we are also a big family. Ryan [Newman] and I have gotten along really well, and that was just a bad circumstance, and it’s great that it worked out for the best. It was nice to have the friends and family and drivers and teams support. That really helped me out.”
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Ryan Blaney met the media for the first time since the Newman accident. He explains what talking to Ryan meant to him, how he spent the day after the accident and seeing the replay. pic.twitter.com/hoMgl1aoA5
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) February 29, 2020