“It's not something you ever want to remember” - When Ryan Blaney expressed his emotions about nearly ending Ryan Newman's life

Ryan Blaney once said he never wanted to remember what happened with Ryan Newman at the 2020 Daytona 500. The latter was on the verge of triumphing in the season-opener and was just meters away from earning the crown jewel. However, a fatal moment transpired in the final turn, knocking out the 18-time NASCAR Cup Series race winner.

Thanks to Blaney's draft, Newman lunged ahead of frontrunner Denny Hamlin, inching closer to the win. But trouble ensued when Blaney came right at Newman's bumper, sending him into the outside wall before the car faced back towards the Superspeedway and flipped into the air.

After going airborne, Newman's #6 Ford barely touched the ground when it was struck again, this time by Corey Lajoie's ride. As a result, Newman's damaged car drifted on the asphalt, crossing the start/finish line in ninth place.

The accident was so severe that Ryan Newman was unconscious. It took nearly 15 minutes for the officials to cut the Ford's roof and extract the driver for immediate medical attention.

Two years later, Ryan Blaney said the final turn incident was something he would never want to remember.

"It's not something you ever want to remember. It is hard to believe it was two years ago," Ryan Blaney said (via First Coast News).

"That was a difficult time for him and everybody around because we're all family. We're fierce competitors and want to beat each other, but you never ever want to see anyone get hurt. I remember talking to him a couple days later and he was making jokes. Made me feel better, personally, because I felt terrible," the #12 Ford driver added.

Newman was rushed to the Halifax Medical Center and was declared out of risk. Moreover, he was discharged just two days after a near-death experience.

"It got pretty frightening" - When Ryan Newman's father made an emotional admission about his son's incident involving Ryan Blaney

A year after Ryan Newman's horrific crash, his father Greg recalled the 'frightening' moment when his son didn't respond to his call. Newman Sr. said he is always connected to Ryan through the team radio in case anything goes haywire.

But the crash ripped Newman's car. The Roush Fenway Racing Ford's violent screeching on the asphalt echoed at the Daytona International Speedway, silencing the atmosphere.

"In his previous accidents, you can hear him and he will say, 'Yeah, I'm okay.' There was no voice this year, so it got pretty frightening at that point," an emotional Greg Newman said (via NASCAR on FOX YouTube) (1:16).

Ryan Blaney's initial wreck and Corey Lajoie's subsequent crash birthed the scary atmosphere, masking the allure of Denny Hamlin's second consecutive Daytona 500 triumph. Hamlin revealed he was unaware of the severity and expressed that Newman's recovery is over any victory.