Denny Hamlin tells TMZ Sports the only reason he celebrated his Daytona 500 victory on Monday night is because he had no idea Ryan Newman was badly injured in a crash.
As Hamlin took the checkered flag, 42-year-old Newman had to be rescued from his car following a terrifying crash during the final lap.
Newman's car not only flipped on it's top -- but it was rammed by another car and exploded into flames on the track.
While emergency responders raced to help Newman, Hamlin was doing victory donuts on the track as confetti fell from the sky -- shocking concerned viewers who felt the celebration was incredibly insensitive.