Daytona 500 Winner Denny Hamlin Says 'Someone's Health' Is More Important Than Winning, Apologizes For Celebration After Ryan Newman Crash

Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin said there was a "quiet victory lane" following a crash on the final lap of the race that left fellow NASCAR driver Ryan Newman hospitalized with serious injuries.

"When they called off the interview at the start/finish line, I knew something was up at that point so I drove into victory lane and they said there was a serious injury with Ryan [Newman]," Hamlin said during a Tuesday appearance on The Dan Patrick Show, while noting that he watched a replay of the crash. "So, it was a bit of a quiet victory lane."

"You think about someone's well-being or someone's health as obviously being way more important, than any sporting event you could win," Hamlin said on the podcast. "You know, we're out there for entertainment purposes, Ryan's [Newman] got two daughters and I've got two daughters myself, so you definitely can relate, and you definitely think about them and their family during that time."

Hamlin's comments came hours after he and his team owner Joe Gibbs were criticized by some NASCAR fans for celebrating the team's victory while efforts were ongoing on the race track to remove Newman from the car, and the extent of his injuries were unknown.

"First a [sic] foremost I want to give well wishes and prayers to @RyanJNewman. I had absolutely NO IDEA of the severity of the crash until I got to victory lane. There's very little communication after the finish and I had already unhooked my radio. It's not anyone's fault," Hamlin, who won his second consecutive Daytona 500 Monday, wrote on his Twitter account about an hour after the wreck.

"I knew that there was a (wreck), but I never even focused over there (by Newman's car)," Gibbs told reporters after the race. "I was focused on our car, and everybody started celebrating it around us. So, I said to everybody out there, some people may have saw us and said, 'Well, these guys are celebrating when there's this serious issue going on.' So, I apologize to everybody, but we really didn't know. We got in the winner's circle, and that's when people told us later."

The crash occurred during the final lap of the race as Newman, and fellow racer Ryan Blaney collided bumpers, sending Newman into the side wall. As he hit the wall, Newman's car flipped into the air and was hit by another car on the driver's side, flipping the car on its roof. Following the crash, safety officials were able to roll Newman's car over and remove him from the vehicle in order to be transported to a hospital.

Hours later, NASCAR's Twitter account said Newman had been evaluated by doctors who "indicated his injuries are not life-threatening."

During his interview Tuesday, Hamlin also spoke about crashes like this one, which he called "a worst-case scenario," take place despite the different safety regulations NASCAR has in place.

"It's something that sometimes we do take for granted, because the cars and all the equipment we wear has innovations and safety advancements have come so far but you forget that we are going 200 MPH and anytime a car can turn up on its roof like that, that's an opportunity for another car to drive right into it and that's kind of what happened," Hamlin said.

On Tuesday, during another interview on Live! with Kelly and Ryan, Hamlin gave an explanation to how he didn't see the crash behind him because instead of using a rearview mirror, NASCAR drivers use a spotter who tells them what is going on behind them.

"We're in like a cocoon type of seat, like a horse with blinders, that's why we really rely on our spotters to tell us," Hamlin said. "He paints the picture of what's going on behind us, that way we don't have to look up."

Hamlin's spotter Chris Lambert posted on Twitter following the crash to speak on the situation.

"For those hammering @DennyHamlin for his donuts, put the blame on me if you must blame anyone. I told him to slow down on the backstretch & give the emergency staff time to roll, that we had a bad wreck. I saw DH get in line for lug nut check & assumed he was going straight to [victory lane]," Lambert wrote.

In addition to Hamlin's comments on the crash, Blaney also spoke about his experience, saying his intention had been to push Newman forward for the win.

"We got bumpers hooked up wrong and turned him, I hope he's alright," Blaney said during a post-race interview. "It looked pretty bad; I was definitely trying to push him to a win. I feel really bad about it and I hope Ryan is alright."

No additional information on Newman's condition had been released as of publication time.