NASCAR driver Ryan Newman has left the hospital following his stay that resulted after he was involved in a horrific racing accident earlier this week.
As of last night, Ryan was listed as being in "serious condition" following the accident in which his car flipped several times, split in two, and caught on fire. However, today officials confirmed that he was doing much better.
"Ryan Newman remains under the care of doctors at Halifax Medical Center in Daytona Beach, Florida. He is awake and speaking with family and doctors. Ryan and his family have expressed their appreciation for the concern and heartfelt messages from across the country. They are grateful for the unwavering support of the NASCAR community and beyond."
And later today, another update read: "Ryan Newman continues to show great improvement after Monday night's last-lap accident at Daytona International Speedway. The veteran driver is fully alert and walking around Halifax Medical Center. True to his jovial nature, he has also been joking around with staff, friends and family while spending time playing with his two daughters."
As of 10:47 a.m. PST, it has been reported that Ryan was spotted leaving the hospital. He was able to walk out alongside his two daughters, Brooklyn and Ashlyn. This great news follows other updates about his health and condition following the wreck at the Daytona 500 race. Footage of the wreck was extremely scary, especially when Ryan's car caught on fire.
Ryan's family released this statement yesterday: "Ryan Newman is being treated at Halifax Medical Center. He is in serious condition, but doctors have indicated his injuries are not life-threatening. We appreciate your thoughts and prayers and ask that you respect the privacy of Ryan and his family during this time. We appreciate your patience and cooperation and we will provide information as it becomes available."
Ryan was close to winning the race when the wreck happened in its final lap.
Four days before the race, Ryan and his wife had announced their separation. "We will continue to jointly raise our girls, while remaining friends and continuing to work together supporting Rescue Ranch. Thank you for the years of support and friendship. We ask that our daughters’ privacy be respected at this time."
The split came after 16 years of marriage.
Ryan appears to be a super loving dad, and he sometimes shares photos of the adventures he and his daughters go on. The family owns a farm in North Carolina, and Ryan has said it means a lot to all of them. "Our time on the farm is about giving Brooklyn and Ashlyn the understanding of the outdoors."
He added that he likes to make sure he's explaining different things about the natural world to his daughters. "I point out to them things like the sound a cardinal makes and why a ground hog does what he does and the time of year he hibernates." Ryan and his daughters also celebrated National Hunting and Fishing Day together.
On the other hand, his estranged wife Krissie is mostly involved in charity work. She works with numerous organizations, and has been called the "the First Lady of NASCAR" because she's so heavily involved. Other reports have said that she also liked to bake cookies for Ryan's NASCAR team.
Ryan and Krissie got married after meeting on a blind date in 2001. The two were set up by Krissie's grandmother and a friend from church.
Ryan is close to his family, and got his love for racing from his dad and granddad. He has explained, "My grandfather … helped build South Bend Motor Speedway so racing’s been in my blood for a long time."
He also added, "My dad always wanted to be a race car driver, so I don’t think without his drive I would be necessarily where I am or who I am. His dad, Greg, worked as a mechanic. Greg once shared: "When he turned 8 1/2 years old, we were driving him to the speedway one night and another hero of both of ours, Mel Kenyon, and some guys were there racing. I asked Ryan, 'Do you think you’ll ever be as good as these guys, or you want to be like these guys?’ He said, 'Yeah, dad. I’m going to do it.'"
Ryan has won the Daytona 500 before, and he said doing so made his dad really happy. "I said in Victory Lane that I heard tears dropping over the radio. He’s emotional. He’s had a couple of health issues at times and he’s put himself on the edge."
We can all likely be assured that Greg is really happy about how well his son is doing following the scary crash. Hopefully Ryan will continue to heal well.
