Racecar driving is one of the most exciting, most fascinating forms of sports there is out there. Simply thinking about the fact that a human being can make those split-second decisions while going through those speeds, those forces, is barely believable at times. However, there’s a flip side to that coin. Because the same thing that makes the sport exciting also makes it life-threatening, something we all saw during the horrific crash of Myatt Snider.
During the Xfinity Series race at Daytona, Snider suffered one of the most horrific crashes one is ever likely to see in their life.
The No.31 car went out of control in the final lap, turned right straight into the wall, went airborne, smashed through the fence, and landed with neither the No.31 visible nor the fact that it ‘was’ a car a minute ago.
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More importantly, though, Snider walked out with an injury to his left leg, which, in the scheme of things, is an incredibly fortunate scenario.
Big crash on the final lap at Daytona. Myatt Snider is okay. pic.twitter.com/ebTZFzfC8e
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) February 20, 2022
Right after this crash, there was silence for a couple of seconds as everyone gasped their breath. “Looks like he’s moving around, that’s a good sign,” the FOX commentator said as everyone took an enormous sigh of relief.
Soon afterward, fans, journalists, and drivers took to Twitter as they reacted to the crash.
Glad @MyattSnider is okay! Crazy wreck right in front of us. Scary stuff pic.twitter.com/68nSCemwdV
— Bubba Wallace (@BubbaWallace) February 20, 2022
Thank you god for protecting @MyattSnider pic.twitter.com/UwlqYWUk8t
— Dawson Cram (@dawsoncram41) February 20, 2022
Thank God Myatt Snider walked away from this! 😳 pic.twitter.com/kCKqNscbAo
— Bryon LaFlair Jr. (OBB) (@OriginalBigBry) February 20, 2022
glad to see @MyattSnider walk away after this one. wow#NASCAR #Beef300 @DAYTONA pic.twitter.com/GnX3c9N93C
— Steve Luvender (@steveluvender) February 20, 2022
Never been that scared in my life for a friend. Thank god @MyattSnider is okay.
— Ryan Vargas (@RyanVargas_23) February 20, 2022
Front suspension landed in the grill of the bus 😳. pic.twitter.com/yT99LhC1qQ
— Denny Hamlin (@dennyhamlin) February 20, 2022
Myatt Snider's entire engine just chilling in the Daytona infield after that horrific wreck. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/OntEgihE0s
— Thomas Schlarp (@TSchlarp) February 20, 2022
Myatt Snider recalls what he thought happened during the crash
Snider, who was lucky to only walk away with an injured left leg, described how things looked and unfolded from his perspective.
He said in a post-race interview, “It’s the last lap and everybody’s trying their best to push as hard as possible. I’m trying to keep as much momentum as I can get and I felt a push. I started to feel the car go right and I’m like, ‘Crap, I might be along for a ride here.'”
“Sure enough, I was.”
The 27-year-old tried to make sense of why the car ended up in such a horrible shape as it did, how it began to tear apart. “I think what happened is the left rear started yawing towards the fence and the fence caught it. And that’s what really started tearing everything up,” he said.
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Myatt Snider admitted that he’s “extremely buzzed to be as okay” as he came out to be.
Regardless, he described how, if not for the crash, they would’ve secured a top-five finish. “I feel like we were in contention all day,” he said.
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And if you’re wondering why would he, or anyone, after such a crash would still bother about a race result that could’ve been, well, that’s just the nature of racing.