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What we thought was wild, way back in those innocent days before the coronavirus pandemic, seems a bit strange today. Take NASCAR, for example—remember the 2020 Daytona 500? We thought that was a wild ride, and it seems like it happened five years ago. In fact, it was just 45 days ago. And it started off with a bang. Or rather, a wall of water, like a rain tsunami, that halted the race after 20 laps, to resume the next day.
And things stayed wild the next day. A push by Joey Logano with just 17 laps to go led to a crash that gathered up a lot of the field, including some contenders. With the race almost over, Logano himself got slammed by Ross Chastain after he clipped the apron and lost control violently, knocking out some other cars in the process in a shower of sparks and smoke. That pushed the race into overtime, with cars hitting the grass right at restart. After another restart, the race became a nail-biting duel between Ryan Newman and Denny Hamlin on the final lap.
You might remember what happened next: a heart-stopping crash after a late push by Ryan Blaney that sent Newman into Corey LaJoie’s No. 32 car and then up into the air, his car landing on its roof. Blaney wasn’t caught up, but Hamlin got him by a hair—0.014 second, nearly the closest finish in Daytona 500 history. But all eyes were on Newman, who was rushed to the hospital in serious but ultimately not life-threatening condition. It was the kind of wreck that in another era would have been the end for its driver.
Thankfully, Newman recovered. He was knocked out by the impact, and suffered a brain bruise. LaJoie’s car actually impacted his seat. But he was out of the hospital 42 hours after being admitted, talking about getting back into the driver’s seat. This was late February. A few days later, the coronavirus thing started getting serious in the U.S., and we all know how that turned out. By mid-March, NASCAR had postponed all events. And at the time of this writing, it doesn’t seem like Newman (or anyone else) will be racing anytime soon, except online.
In fact, we’re hosting a watch party for the season finale live with Corey LaJoie, and that starts today at 5:00 p.m. PT/8:00 p.m. ET. Find us on the MotorTrend YouTube channel and relive our more normal existence just a few weeks ago with a star of the show. And if you want even more distraction from the news, check out our other MotorTrend On Demand shows like Roadkill, Hot Wheels Life Size, and Engine Masters. Right now a subscription is just $1/per month, a special offer to help keep you steeped in automotive goodness.
We hope to see you Friday on YouTube. #stayhome and hang out with us!
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