Yikes. What a horrific ending to the Daytona 500. Ryan Newman was severely hurt in a devastating crash. As I write this there is still no update on his status. It was a truly awkward scene as Newman’s #6 car flew backwards through the air while Denny Hamlin raced to a thrilling photo finish victory. All the viewers at home instantly knew that the Newman crash was serious. Meanwhile Fox cut to Hamlin doing donuts on the infield and his team rushing over to celebrate. I’ve seen lots of people crushing Hamlin for celebrating, but it’s pretty obvious he had no clue what had happened behind him or how severe the accident was. Still it was a pretty piss poor job by Fox in continuing to interview drivers including Hamlin in Victory Lane. I mean it was just so obvious we were dealing with a life and death situation. If we knew it instantly you’d think Fox should have known it instantly as well. Granted it’s easy to second guess from your couch, but it was very surreal scene for 5-10 minutes after the race.

Regardless none of that really matters at this point. All that matters is that hopefully Ryan Newman is able to survive this crash. It’s also a very real reminder just how brave Nascar drivers are. In no other sport do the athletes literally put their lives on the line everytime they compete like motor sports.