Safety Technology That Helped NASCAR Driver Ryan Newman Survive Major Crash Protects Us, Too

DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) – Just two days after a terrifying crash in the final lap of the Daytona 500, driver Ryan Newman walked out of a hospital holding his two daughters’ hands.

His survival may have come as a surprise to some, but not Neil Hannemann. “I actually thought he wouldn’t be that badly injured because of the way the car performed,” said the automotive engineer and former race car driver. Hanneman said Newman’s crash was similar to the one that killed Dale Earnhardt nearly 20 years ago. “In that the car was bumped from behind and took a sudden right turn into the wall,” he said. But, Newman benefitted from safety innovations that followed Earnhardt’s death. Race track walls are now designed to absorb impact, a driver’s harness to protect his head and neck, and the car’s roll cage to keep the cabin intact. […]

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