Ryan Newman waves to the crowd before the NASCAR Daytona 500 auto race at Florida’s Daytona International Speedway on Sunday, Feb. 16. The appearance was just a day before he was involved in a horrifying accident that involved his car flipping into the air twice and exploding into flames. Ryan was immediately raced to hospital after the scary crash.
Ryan Newman was born on December 8, 1977 in South Bend, Indiana. He began racing in 1993, making his debut in the United Midget Auto Racing Association and the All-American Midget Series. An immediate success, he won both Rookie of the Year and the championship and went on to earn many more accolades before racing for Roger Penske in 2000.
While racing professionally, Ryan went on to earn a degree in engineering from India’s Purdue University, graduating in 2001. He married Krissie Newman in 2004, and the pair are parents to two daughters, Brooklyn Sage and Ashlyn Olivia. On Feb. 13, 2020 — just four days prior to Ryan’s crash — he announced his separation from Krissie after 16 years of marriage.
