Non-life threatening? After that crash?
And following a media silence unlike today’s press?
The fact Ryan Newman, a 42-year-old who’s been in the racing circuit the past 20-plus years, was released from Halifax Medical Center in Daytona earlier today, only two days after a horrific accident, represents a racing miracle as far as professional driver Travis Braden is concerned.
“Anyone who saw that wreck thought the worst,” said the Wheeling Park High graduate now living in Charlotte, N.C. “When Ryan slid and hit the wall, there was a chance he’d settle, but then the cars behind him came into play, and then he went airborne.
“There were two laps left, and he was competing, and everyone up front was really going fast. They all were pushing it as hard as they could,” Braden explained. “The cages in our cars are very solid, but that doesn’t mean something else couldn’t happen. In this case, thank God, Ryan is going to be OK, and everyone in this business breathed a sigh of relief as soon as it was reported.”
All OK?
For only a few moments, Braden believed Newman’s No. 6 Ford Mustang would settle on the side of the track, but then the unexpected took place.
“At first, it looked like Ryan was in a normal wreck for that time in the race,” Braden explained. “They were all pretty close to each other, and Ryan got spun, and it looked like it would be over once he hit the wall, but then he went airborne and flipped, and that’s where it got more violent.
“Then, when another car hit him on the driver’s side, that’s when you really started thinking the worst,” he said. “We’re pretty protected inside the cars, but you never know what’s going to happen in a wreck like that. It’s a miracle he’s alive, and the best news is that his injuries aren’t life-threatening. Now we’re just hoping he can fully recover from the injuries he did suffer.”
Reality of Risks
Seldom is there a race on any professional level during which wrecks do not take place, the 25-year-old Wheeling native said, so when he suits up for Team Platinum at the Hickory Motor Speedway in March, Braden once again will realize the risks of racing.
“I can’t lie. It was a tense moment for me because no one in this business ever wants something like that to happen,” Braden admitted. “And then it seemed to take forever for any information to come out. Everyone was just silent, and all we could do was wait for NASCAR to come out and say something.
“It was weird for me, too, because you can’t help but think about it,” he said. “You know being involved in a wreck like that is always a possibility when you go out there, but you never think about anything happening because, most of the time, the accidents are pretty minor as far as injuries. Your car might get damaged to the point that the race is over for you, but at least you can walk away from it.”
Braden is coming off a triumphant trip to Pensacola, Fla., in early December, where he claimed the checkered flag in the annual Snowball Derby. It was an improbable victory, too, because of damage sustained to his No. 26 Ford during the qualifying rounds.
The Way to Win
The crew of Team Platinum, however, worked diligently on the necessary repairs that enabled Braden to compete. At the conclusion of the race, however, it appeared Braden had finished second in the derby, but after the lead driver was disqualified for utilizing illegal equipment, Braden hoisted the huge Snowball trophy.
“You and your crew do everything possible in the name of safety,” he explained. “And then you go out there and run it as hard as you can. That’s the mindset I have, and I can only speak for myself.
“I think the racing industry has made a lot of changes, too, to increase the safety of the drivers, and I think those things have made big differences. Ryan Newman’s wreck is another example,” Braden added. “When an accident like what took place in Daytona happens, you pray for the driver, and then you do your best to get it out of your mind because you can’t go out there and compete with that on your mind. You won’t win that way.”
