NASCAR driver Ryan Newman has walked out of a Florida hospital with his two young daughters just two days after his frightening Daytona 500 crash.

Roush Fenway Racing released a photo of Newman leaving a Daytona Beach hospital holding the hands of his daughters.

The announcement came just a few hours after the team said he was fully alert and walking around the hospital.

The 42-year-old Indiana native was taken by ambulance directly from the track in serious condition after the crash on the final lap of the race on Monday night.

Doctors said two hours after the accident that Newman’s injuries were not life-threatening, but no details have been released.

His release from the hospital was rapid. Roush Fenway said earlier Wednesday that Newman “continues to show great improvement.”

The team added that “true to his jovial nature, he has also been joking around with staff, friends and family while playing with his two daughters” and included a photo of Newman standing in a hospital gown, smiling with his arms around the girls.

Two hours later, he was leaving the hospital in jeans, a T-shirt and socks, holding hands with his girls.

Newman was injured when he crashed while leading NASCAR’s biggest race.

Contact from Ryan Blaney sent Newman spinning into the wall and his Ford went airborne, where it was then hit by Corey LaJoie in the driver side door.

Newman’s car landed on its roof, slid across Daytona International Speedway and came to a rest upside down and on fire.

It took a safety team nearly 20 minutes to remove Newman from the car and he was taken to the hospital.

Blaney and LaJoie have stepped back from racing to process their roles in the accident.

LaJoie climbed from his own burning car and dropped to his knees on the track, learning only after he was checked at the care centre that Newman was injured.

Blaney seemed distraught as he paced beside his car after his second-place finish to Denny Hamlin.

Roush Fenway said Ross Chastain will pilot the No. 6 Ford beginning this weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and that a timetable for Newman’s return has yet to be determined.