Newman said there was no definitive diagnosis regarding whether or not he suffered a concussion. As a result, when asked in early March during an appearance on the Today show about his injury, he said he was suffering from a bruised brain.
“There was a little bit of confusion,” Newman explained. “I’ve had doctors tell me that I had a concussion and then I’ve talked to other doctors that said I didn’t have a concussion. Then I went back and talked to the same doctor that said I had a concussion and he says, ‘No, you didn’t really have a concussion, what you had was this.’ That’s why I kind of put it in layman’s terms of having a bruised brain because everybody knows what a bruise is. You can’t see a concussion. It’s just a medical diagnosis, but a bruise you can see and the part of your brain or the fact that my brain was injured, I guess, in this accident to the point that it knocked me out and I don’t remember the actual parts of the accident that day, tells me that something happened.
“So I kind of self-diagnosed myself with that bruised brain because the reality is you need to give time for a bruise to heal and that’s what I needed was time for my brain to heal,” Newman added. “I’ve really felt completely normal since. I guess in the last eight weeks no problem, no question. That doesn’t mean that I was, and that’s why when it comes time to having a bruise heal, especially one you can’t see, you have to be extra careful.”
Prior to being approved for his return to competition by NASCAR, Newman participated in a test session at Darlington Raceway to make sure he was up to the task. He said he felt no hesitation about getting back in a race car.
“We went down and did about 30 laps total at speed,” Newman explained. “We did two five-lap runs and then kind of checked the tires out and then put another set of tires on for a 20-lap run and wanted to see how I felt in the car. I had no apprehensions getting in the car. I was excited to get in the car. It’s my favorite race track and just really wanted to get back in it and at it. I’ve been working really hard to do the things that I needed to do test-wise to pass my concussion test and protocol and things like that, so I could be down there with my team and Dr. (Jerry) Petty to establish the fact that I felt well and could prove it, and I was well behind the seat of the race car, so I basically did that.
“The track was really green and was really fast,” Newman continued. “My first five laps of my 20-lap run were quicker than the pole-winning car from last fall, so I can handle the speed. There’s no issue with that. I just wanted to kind of get that behind me and Darlington being kind of close to home and away from a little bit of everything else, for me, was no different than how Dale Jr. did it. You take an opportunity to go down and shake things down and make sure that everything is connected.”
Newman said he believes that a number of factors were involved in saving his life, but he gave most of the credit to God for watching over him. The fact that he walked out of the hospital with his children by his side is a true miracle.
“I don’t remember anything about being in the hospital,” Newman said. “I couldn’t tell you who came to visit me. I couldn’t tell you who was in the room, but I do remember putting my arms around my daughter’s chests and walking out and holding their hands as I did that, and that tells me that God was involved. That tells me that I was blessed in more ways than one and that makes me so thankful for what I went through and being able to have the people around me that I love and trust. I don’t even know how to describe it more than that. I feel like a complete walking miracle.”