Disclaimer: I've been working on this post since the night of the Daytona 500. It's taken me this long to get it all into this post.
End disclaimer.
Silence.
It's the worst nightmare for a team after a crash. The last time I heard silence from a driver where on team communications, and then a long process to get a driver out of the car after a race was the 2001 Daytona 500. That silence was eerie. It has haunted me since that day after we found out what happened to Dale Earnhardt. And I feared I was reliving it last Monday.
I've been a Denny Hamlin fan since 2005. I've been in attendance for all three of his Daytona 500 wins. I celebrated hard in 2016 and 2019. But Monday night, I wasn't really interested in celebrating for a while.
The talk of the town has been Ryan Newman's last lap crash at the Daytona 500. Heck, FOX TV didn't even mention who won the race for a while after the race was over. The only reason I knew Denny Hamlin won was due to me listening to his team on the scanner. After Newman's crash, I immediately changed to Newman's radio, where I heard nothing from Ryan. I feared the worst.
After I heard the news that Ryan Newman was being cut from his car, and that NASCAR had put up dark curtains to block views, I feared the worst. Normally that doesn't equate to positive news. By then my friend, who has attended nine Daytona 500s with me, and I had already started walking out of the speedway grounds. I was receiving text messages from friends asking if I knew anything. At that point, I didn't know more than they did. Most of the news I was getting was on Twitter. When the decision was made to bypass the infield care center, concern was raised even more. We saw the ambulance leaving the speedway and heading to the local hospital. That was followed by 3 SUVs with a police escort racing down the road, presumably with family/team members. With each passing moment, I grew more and more concerned.
It wasn't until almost 90 minutes later, when we were driving on I-95 near the FL/GA line, that I heard the news that Ryan was in serious condition, but was doing ok. A sigh of relief came over me. I hadn't had a repeat of 2001.
I finally felt like celebrating. For a 3rd time, and the 2nd year in a row, my driver won the Daytona 500. When we stopped for the night, we went to a bar and I enjoyed celebrating finally. It wasn't as wild as 2016 or 2019, but I finally felt like celebrating.
Ryan has since been released from the hospital. While we still do not know the extent of his injuries, he at least is home with his family and is on the road to recovery. Hopefully we see him back on the track soon.
Denny Hamlin has since been able to celebrate his win, albeit subdued. And I have been able to finally celebrate as well.
End disclaimer.
Silence.
It's the worst nightmare for a team after a crash. The last time I heard silence from a driver where on team communications, and then a long process to get a driver out of the car after a race was the 2001 Daytona 500. That silence was eerie. It has haunted me since that day after we found out what happened to Dale Earnhardt. And I feared I was reliving it last Monday.
I've been a Denny Hamlin fan since 2005. I've been in attendance for all three of his Daytona 500 wins. I celebrated hard in 2016 and 2019. But Monday night, I wasn't really interested in celebrating for a while.
The talk of the town has been Ryan Newman's last lap crash at the Daytona 500. Heck, FOX TV didn't even mention who won the race for a while after the race was over. The only reason I knew Denny Hamlin won was due to me listening to his team on the scanner. After Newman's crash, I immediately changed to Newman's radio, where I heard nothing from Ryan. I feared the worst.
After I heard the news that Ryan Newman was being cut from his car, and that NASCAR had put up dark curtains to block views, I feared the worst. Normally that doesn't equate to positive news. By then my friend, who has attended nine Daytona 500s with me, and I had already started walking out of the speedway grounds. I was receiving text messages from friends asking if I knew anything. At that point, I didn't know more than they did. Most of the news I was getting was on Twitter. When the decision was made to bypass the infield care center, concern was raised even more. We saw the ambulance leaving the speedway and heading to the local hospital. That was followed by 3 SUVs with a police escort racing down the road, presumably with family/team members. With each passing moment, I grew more and more concerned.
It wasn't until almost 90 minutes later, when we were driving on I-95 near the FL/GA line, that I heard the news that Ryan was in serious condition, but was doing ok. A sigh of relief came over me. I hadn't had a repeat of 2001.
I finally felt like celebrating. For a 3rd time, and the 2nd year in a row, my driver won the Daytona 500. When we stopped for the night, we went to a bar and I enjoyed celebrating finally. It wasn't as wild as 2016 or 2019, but I finally felt like celebrating.
Ryan has since been released from the hospital. While we still do not know the extent of his injuries, he at least is home with his family and is on the road to recovery. Hopefully we see him back on the track soon.
Denny Hamlin has since been able to celebrate his win, albeit subdued. And I have been able to finally celebrate as well.
