Did anybody see the video? Its on deadspin if you"re curious. That driver had to be nuts to go in front of a moving race car. Some are speculating stewart did it on purpose, but i couldnt determine that from the video. Just really sad.
Yeah it's pretty crazy. There is some reason to suggest he hit him on purpose. The only video I seen didn't show Tony and the path he was on before hitting that guy. He could of just been looking to pass the blue/white car and not seen/suspected some guy to be on the track without the trucks and warning lights around, or he swerved outta his way cause his angle was high to purposely hit him. I don't know.
I do know to get outta your car on a race track, going/walking low on the track, pointing your finger which seemingly looked like a bad case of road rage - I mean not to sound rude cause someone lost his life, but you're asking for nothing positive to come outta that situation.
I saw the video right up until he hit him, CNN paused it there, but I don't see how Stewart did it on purpose. I'm actually surprised anyone could even suggest that. The red car that went by right before it probably blocked the view of Stewart. And it didn't help that Ward was in the path of the cars too.
We've all seen situations like this before, driver gets spun out and then waits until a driver comes back around to throw his helmet or flip him off, but it's so dangerous for you to be standing on the track while other cars are going by. I would imagine some rules have to be put in place to protect the drivers from themselves. If you exit your vehicle and confront another car on the track you're suspended for a week or more.
Such a shame. Awful night.
Very sad, strange event. I can't read his mind or motivation, but I just know it was very odd.
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Very sad, strange event. I can't read his mind or motivation, but I just know it was very odd.
Tony would know, like most anyone that's driven a car, if you hit another human being, that person will die. It's not like they were racing soapbox derby's or inflatable clown cars. If you intentionally hit another person with that car, you would have the worst intentions in your mind (murder). How could someone suggest that of Tony?
I say that because, it's not like there would only have been a 5% of death if you hit them....it would be 95% death and 5% insanely injured.
To me it looks like it was accidental on Tony Stewart's part and that 'swerve' that was seen was more likely caused by the guy getting going under Stewart's rear tire and the car losing what little traction they have at that point.
I'm not sure what was going through the other driver's mind. You don't get out of a vehicle like that and go wandering around and pointing fingers. That isn't safe on a track with other vehicles.
I guess the deal was tony went to accelerate by the guy and as he did the car fishtailed and caught him
It didn't help that Ward kept going lower on the track...even after the blue car went by it looked like he dropped down a few more steps (hard to see as the camera moves wildly).-
After watching it a few more times, I would bet it was a mix of a few things:
- Ward trying to be tough and do what all drivers do (confront other cars driving by)
- He went too low on the track
- The other cars passing Ward blocked Tony's view of how low he really was
- Since there wasn't a yellow flag, Tony was going to take that turn as normal
- As he saw Ward, he was already trying to accelerate through his normal fishtail, but it was too late to do anything else.
Maybe, just maybe, you can make a case Tony still powered through the turn thinking he would buzz Ward and teach him a lesson or that he figured he'd let Ward put his own life on the line and Ward would get out of the way in time. But in either case, no intent was there. Sure, you're responsible for your car, but this isn't 1st and Main St. in Anytown, USA. These hotheads are out there pushing the envelope of safety and taking on special risks.
I don't see how anyone could think Tony did that on purpose. Of course, if you read the comments on the YouTube video, more than half think it was premeditated murder.
Was the fishtail on purpose? If the answer is yes, it is manslaughter.
My thing is that it seems that Ward got out of the car so he could confront Stewart on the track.
If you look at the time Ward hit the wall, he probably felt that Stewart purposefully put him into the wall. I'm not sure whether Stewart's car hit his, but Ward certainly went into the wall, whether forced there or on his own to avoid a collision with Stewart's car.
Even if that's the case, you don't get out of your car unless there is a real possibility of danger to your life by staying inside it. For example, it's burning and you're on fire. You simply don't get out thinking you can confront a driver you feel wronged you on the track. That's not very smart.
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Was the fishtail on purpose? If the answer is yes, it is manslaughter.
But fishtailing through that turn is how you go through that turn. Just because a driver is there, doesn't make it manslaughter.
I don't see anyway this was done on purpose. The guy was in a black jump suit on a dimly lit track, working his way further down the track. He nearly got hit by another car before Tony got him.
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Was the fishtail on purpose? If the answer is yes, it is manslaughter.
But fishtailing through that turn is how you go through that turn. Just because a driver is there, doesn't make it manslaughter.
Exactly ... on a dirt track where traction is so low that you have to fish-tail around the turns ... jumping anywhere close to the front of a car isn't exactly the smartest thing you can do. You can't exactly swerve to avoid people.
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It didn't help that Ward kept going lower on the track...even after the blue car went by it looked like he dropped down a few more steps (hard to see as the camera moves wildly).-
After watching it a few more times, I would bet it was a mix of a few things:
- Ward trying to be tough and do what all drivers do (confront other cars driving by)
- He went too low on the track
- The other cars passing Ward blocked Tony's view of how low he really was
- Since there wasn't a yellow flag, Tony was going to take that turn as normal
- As he saw Ward, he was already trying to accelerate through his normal fishtail, but it was too late to do anything else.
Maybe, just maybe, you can make a case Tony still powered through the turn thinking he would buzz Ward and teach him a lesson or that he figured he'd let Ward put his own life on the line and Ward would get out of the way in time. But in either case, no intent was there. Sure, you're responsible for your car, but this isn't 1st and Main St. in Anytown, USA. These hotheads are out there pushing the envelope of safety and taking on special risks.
I don't see how anyone could think Tony did that on purpose. Of course, if you read the comments on the YouTube video, more than half think it was premeditated murder.
My feeling is that...after watching the video...there's no way Stewart would run him over on purpose, but I certainly wouldn't be surprised if a second video showed Stewart not exactly veering away from Ward. Basically, it wouldn't shock me to see that Stewart intended on buzzing the guy as some show of machismo.
What's telling about Stewart...and very reflective of his long-earned reputation of being a real ass and a low-class guy...is that he fully intended on racing today. 
Really...after KILLING a man...you're going to turn around and race just hours later?
Even his manager was quoted as saying that Stewart would race because it was "business as usual."
Yikes.
Ward didn't deserve to die, but angry, rash hotheads do dumb things, and bad things happen to those people.
Now we'll get to see a canned, pre-written and rehearsed statement from Stewart which will show all the level of class and humility as that farse Tiger Woods put out when he walked to the podium and addressed his wife, the media, and his mom.
Yeah, I can see him trying to "scare" him or brush by him to basically say screw you ... but not intend to hit him
You can't tell from that video, but accounts from fans and media that were there all seemed like they thought it was intentional.
j/c
For those saying there wasn't a yellow flag...............why did all the drivers, including Stewart slow down? You can hear it in the engines. I have NEVER been to a race where there is a wreck, and the yellow isn't thrown.
There was a yellow flag.
Sprint cars. Under green flag conditions, you're pretty much throttle down all the way around the track..........if your ass end isn't sliding out, you're on the straightaway. Rear end out is how you steer the car. Stewart was coming around the curve, under caution (as were all the other drivers).
Just my opinion here now: Stewart wanted to throw some dirt on the guy, after having wrecked him the lap before - saw the guy out of his car - and he wanted to show him up even more. (also - the accident was just that - an accident. Stewart didn't mean to wreck him - from the footage shown. And, Stewart mis timed his revving the engine to get his rear wheels to spin.........thereby resulting in the rear of the car sliding out too soon.)
One other thing - I mentioned stewart wanted to "throw some dirt on the guy) - and that's a bad example, because in sprint cars, when you're in the racing groove, you aren't "throwing dirt".
Bottom line? Guy shouldn't have been out of his car..........and stewart shouldn't have tried to show him up even more. Listen to the engine - Stewart was going around under caution then jacked it, hit the guy, and killed him.
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stewart shouldn't have tried to show him up even more. Listen to the engine - Stewart was going around under caution then jacked it, hit the guy, and killed him.
...and to top it off, he still planned on racing today...until public and media outcry made him back off.
I hope he has a nice time living with this the rest of his days.
Thats what racers do..they race..They put their lives and others at risk everytime on the track..I grew up racing go karts, supermodifieds, and finally Sport bikes. My dad and uncles all raced supers and sprints and one even raced arca...My point is, it as much a fraternity as anything...I don't remember anyone intentionally going out of their way to hurt someone. Thats why I despise drivers like harvick, edwards and busch...they are a bunch of hot heads and shouldn't be allowed to race as they take their retaliation on the track.. Stewart may be an ass, but he's not the kind to intentionally try to hurt much less kill. He's old school, he'll just beat your ass in the garage area. You have this 20 year old kid full of . and vinegar, MAYBE 130lbs soaking wet, and you're going to get out of your car, at night, in a black firesuit and walk into traffic..thats just dumb...if anyone has ever driven these winged sprints, you will know that the visibility in peripheral and up to about 75 degrees right center sucks. What i see in the video is stewart seeing him last second and swerving..people talk about the acceleration, anyone thats driven these cars or follow this knows that you steer these with the throttle more than the steering wheel. While its tragic a young man died, I don't think stewart did anything intentional, and Ward is just as much to blame as stewart if not more so.
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.i, anyone thats driven these cars or follow this knows that you steer these with the throttle more than the steering wheel.
Not under caution you don't. Under caution - at "slow" speeds, you absolutely steer with the steering wheel.
Watch the video again. You don't see ANYONE "steering" with the rear wheels after the initial accident.
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Stewart may be an ass, but he's not the kind to intentionally try to hurt much less kill. He's old school, he'll just beat your ass in the garage area.
I don't see anyone saying he killed him on purpose. However, being "old school" would very-much mean buzzing someone to scare them just to prove a point. If the person being buzzed is so dumb as to get too close to a moving car, . like this happens.
Other racers avoided the kid. I think it's entirely plausible to believe Stewart wanted to send a message and the ensuing accident ultimately resulted in death.
Done on purpose? No. A purposeful move resulting in an accidental death? Yep, I can believe it.
yeah, but also if stewart was his intended target, then one would say that he would get alot closer to stewart than any of the other drivers..
Stewart did it on purpose and he knows it too.He put him in the wall,and was fired up coming back around.His intention wasn't to kill the guy,just to send a message.He gunned the throttle (plenty of witnesses testified to that) which fish tails the car.You don't do that on a caution coming out of a turn on a dirt track.He's a highly skilled driver and knew exactly what he the situation was.Anyone who is familiar with NASCAR,is also familiar with Stewarts temperament and how he rolls on the track.If you get out of the car on the track,Tony isn't going to play nice about it.The kid should have waited,for the pits to settle it,but in the heat of the moment that's what drivers sometimes do.Tony might fool 90% of the public and authorities on this,but he isn't fooling me a bit,his crew or other drivers on the circuit either.
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Stewart did it on purpose and he knows it too.
Did what? Meant to intimidate the kid? Kill him?
And how in the hell do you KNOW anything about what happened or what Tony Stewart knows?
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Stewart did it on purpose and he knows it too.
Did what? Meant to intimidate the kid? Kill him?
And how in the hell do you KNOW anything about what happened or what Tony Stewart knows?
Did you not read my post? I answered all those questions in it.
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Stewart did it on purpose and he knows it too.
Did what? Meant to intimidate the kid? Kill him?
And how in the hell do you KNOW anything about what happened or what Tony Stewart knows?
Did you not read my post? I answered all those questions in it.
What you said makes sense, but you have no way of knowing Tony's intent. The guy ran up to the side of Smokes' car. IMO opinion Tony gunned the engine to pull away from the idiot charging at his car and the car fishtailed a enough to make what would have been a close encounter into a deadly encounter.
I grew up racing quarter midgets, so I do agree about the handling, but I don't think for a second that Stewart intended for the guy to get sucked under his rear wheel.
KING
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Stewart may be an ass, but he's not the kind to intentionally try to hurt much less kill. He's old school, he'll just beat your ass in the garage area.
I don't see anyone saying he killed him on purpose. However, being "old school" would very-much mean buzzing someone to scare them just to prove a point. If the person being buzzed is so dumb as to get too close to a moving car, . like this happens.
Other racers avoided the kid. I think it's entirely plausible to believe Stewart wanted to send a message and the ensuing accident ultimately resulted in death.
Done on purpose? No. A purposeful move resulting in an accidental death? Yep, I can believe it.
pretty much my take as well...
When I first heard about it that was my inittial thought ... nothing in the video makes me think otherwise.
Prayers out to the family
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Basically, it wouldn't shock me to see that Stewart intended on buzzing the guy as some show of machismo.
I think that is exactly what happened. Stewart wanted to throw some dirt up in the guys face and ended up burying the guy in the dirt.
Tony has always been a hotheaded punk. Now his actions have resulted in the death of another driver. 
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Other racers avoided the kid. I think it's entirely plausible to believe Stewart wanted to send a message and the ensuing accident ultimately resulted in death.
Done on purpose? No. A purposeful move resulting in an accidental death? Yep, I can believe it.
Agreed. I think he intentionally wanted to send a message. Not hit him though. Brink of the moment thing of course, but the result was awful.
And as you said before, what weirds me out most is that he was ready to race the next day. He just ran someone over........ usually that's a life changing event (at least that's what I would imagine).
Had I run someone over like that, there's much more chance I'd be at church on Sunday than any race. And I'm more of a once a couple years to make mom happy catholic.........
Either way, racing needs to make some rules to keep guys from getting out of their cars unless in serious danger. Had that been in effect, this tragedy would never have happened.
As for Tony Stewart, we'll see where the investigation goes. I don't see him hit for criminal, but a civil case could get interesting, and I think that's what's coming.
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And as you said before, what weirds me out most is that he was ready to race the next day. He just ran someone over........ usually that's a life changing event (at least that's what I would imagine).
I was watching something yesterday that had an old racer being interviewed and he made a great point about this. Racing is Tony's life, that's why he was out there that night. He doesn't have a wife and kids. On his NASCAR off days, he races other circuits becuase he's a "racer". So maybe, his first thought was to race because that who he is. He's wrecked other racers that were hurt, nothing like this, and he raced the next day because that's why they do.
And also, maybe he thought the best way to get this situation out of his head was to climb in a car and block it out for a few hours. Sure he'd be swarmed out of the car, but in there, nobody could get to him.
I get it from that perspective, if that's what he was thinking. But yes, I think he ended up doing the right thing by staying away on Sunday. It would have been a circus around him.
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Stewart wanted to throw some dirt up in the guys face and ended up burying the guy in the dirt.
'Peen, how droll, sir...how droll 
That's some heavy stuff considering you've not always been known for your dark humor 
Not a big race fan so this could be way out of line but common sense says you don't get out of your car and charge into on-coming race cars so you can gesture and yell at a guy to make a point.
That being said, the guy still in his race car has to realize the advantage he has in that confrontation and show restraint.
I won't pretend to know what Tony Stewarts ultimate objective was but it's a sad event all the way around and hopefully others will learn from it.
I've been a race fan for 40 years and have seen quite a bit, including an unfortunate share of deaths (5 that I can recall) in person at the track. I may have been killed had I not changed my seat minutes before a car went through the catch fence and killed the person who was sitting in front of me at a local track. IMHO, there is just no way in my mind Tony Stewart tried to do anything to that kid. I am not a Stewart fan and here is my $0.02.
1. You are taught as a 5 year old who starts out in go karts, as Ward did and many of these guys do, is YOU NEVER EVER LEAVE YOUR CAR BEFORE THE SAFETY CREW GETS THERE UNLESS THE CAR IS ON FIRE! Sometimes sprint car drivers want out in case fuel line is cut, but don't do into traffic!
2. These sprint cars race on dirt. The right side rear wheel is out further from the body by about 2 feet more than what a casual person would think is normal. (See below pic) This turns the car left when they gas it. They turn left with the throttle. If you only turn the steering wheel left at a certain speed, the car doesn't want to go left. It wants to continue straight. If this kid is unexpectedly in Stewart's path and Tony is doing about 30 MPH under caution, just steering isn't going to do the trick. To make a quick evasive action, he would need to gas it (to go left) and then hard break and cut the wheels back to the right to try and swing around him. That is consistent to what you see and hear in the only video seen so far.
3. Tony is going somewhat blind into that turn. Visibility in a sprint car is pretty much straight on and to the left. Seeing out the right side is limited by the wing and mud plate. There is an unexpected person on the track coming from the right of view. The kid is wearing all black on a badly lit track that is all too common to local small tracks. There is going to be dirt on Stewart's visor if he did not get to the tear off film yet. (He may have been tearing it off at the time). Add the fact that there is a right rear tire sticking out about two feet further than the front tire and the kid may have initially thought he wasn't in the way. Also, the car in front of TS had just swerved because he almost hit this kid. There is so much going against this kid that to not get hit would be surprising.
4. The argument about Tony being a hot head is a bit overblown here. He wasn't the one wrecked. He had no reason to be pissed about what we see on video, but I would need to see the prior laps to see if there were any dust-ups on prior laps. Still, make no mistake. Tony Stewart knows what an open wheel car can do to anyone if touched by that rear tire. No way is he trying to "clip" or scare this kid by "buzzing" him. It is just to dangerous and Tony is way too experienced.
That kid needed to stay in that damn car or stay up by the wall and he would be racing next week. My thoughts and prayers go out to everyone including Stewart. He is the one who will have to live with the fact that it was him driving the car that did this and there are going to be those haters who are going to call him a murderer. Until I see or hear something more than what has been put in front of me, it was an on-track accident. No pun intended here...you sign your life away on the waiver form when you choose to get on that race track. Everyone who races knows that. (By the way, the person driving below, Jason Lefler, lost his life in this car last year.)
Couldnt have said it better myself
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Basically, it wouldn't shock me to see that Stewart intended on buzzing the guy as some show of machismo.
I think that is exactly what happened. Stewart wanted to throw some dirt up in the guys face and ended up burying the guy in the dirt.
Tony has always been a hotheaded punk. Now his actions have resulted in the death of another driver.
Exactly....you get it.
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Basically, it wouldn't shock me to see that Stewart intended on buzzing the guy as some show of machismo.
I think that is exactly what happened. Stewart wanted to throw some dirt up in the guys face and ended up burying the guy in the dirt.
Tony has always been a hotheaded punk. Now his actions have resulted in the death of another driver.
Exactly....you get it.
JC...
Don't we have someone on here who's husband racing these things? BrownsBabe maybe?
Would be cool to get their insight.
I feel like peoples biases against Tony are clowding their judgement.
If that was Dale Jr driving you wouldn't hear a blip about it being done "on purpose"
If it was someone without a name, it wouldn't even be a news story..
Stewart has an attitude. Sure. But say HIS actions lead to that guys death is just silly..
There will be a civil suit. Tony will settle out. Its a sad situation. Nothing more.
Rogue - Your post is SPOT ON! Tony had ZERO reason to be angry with Ward Jr. So he had no reason to even kick dirt up on him.
I'm not a huge fan of Tony's. I respect the hell out of his abilities as a racer and a person. He's a racer's racer. He loves it, lives it. And he gives generously to help people. Does he sometimes let the race get the best of him (throwing helmets etc.)? Yes, I think that happens to every racer. Do I think he would do anything to willfully, purposefully harm another racer? HELL NO!
How much do you think you could see out of this vehicle?
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Basically, it wouldn't shock me to see that Stewart intended on buzzing the guy as some show of machismo.
I think that is exactly what happened. Stewart wanted to throw some dirt up in the guys face and ended up burying the guy in the dirt.
Tony has always been a hotheaded punk. Now his actions have resulted in the death of another driver.
Exactly....you get it.
Ya'll can think what you want,I won't argue the point with people.
Jc
I don't know much about racing. But I do know enough to know that Tony Stewart is an elite driver. Him, and other elite drivers know how to handle their cars damn near flawlessly.
I don't see how, on a yellow flag, steward accidentally did anything. I don't think he meant to kill him, maybe just hit him with the wing or side or dirt to scare him, but there's no way anybody can say that tony Stewart didn't see him there. How is it that everybody else was able to pass Ward, yet Stewart clearly gunned the throttle.
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Don't we have someone on here who's husband racing these things? BrownsBabe maybe?
Would be cool to get their insight.
He doesn't race these winged things...he's into street cars converted to race specifications. His cousin, however, used to race these things though. Skylar was injured in a serious accident and lost his career because of it. (not his life, thankfully) Someone wrecked him and caused his car to flip and his safety equipment failed (his arm ended up outside the cockpit of the car and crushed his arm).
My husband witnessed a close friend and track worker die right in front of him. Someone he'd known for 20+ years. A driver got 2 wheels off into the wet grass, slid out of control and hit Glen. Glen was an experienced corner worker, but was not following their rules. He was not standing out of harms way, as they were supposed to. He was standing, unprotected too close to the track. He paid for that with his life. Glen's family lost a husband and father. The driver of the car is still racked with guilt and fear. He's raced since then (happened over 10 years ago) but I'm fairly certain he's not returned to the track this happened at.
This whole situation is just tragic, no matter how you look at it. A young kid lost his life and another racer will have to live with this for the rest of his life.
I'm not so sure about a civil suit though. Racers sign waivers before each and every race knowing anything, including death, can happen. They would have to really prove intent. But, Tony will probably settle if it does come to that, however.
J/C......Nobody but Tony can know for sure. but I still suspect he is trying to convince himself he did nothing wrong.
No doubt in my mind he never waned to kill a fellow racer, but his actions did.....NO doubt about that.
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J/C......Nobody but Tony can know for sure. but I still suspect he is trying to convince himself he did nothing wrong.
No doubt in my mind he never waned to kill a fellow racer, but his actions did.....NO doubt about that.
If you were on a range, shooting a gun, and someone ran in front of the barrel as you were pulling the trigger. Would you think that your actions caused that persons death??
KING
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I don't know much about racing.
Let's preface things with that ... 
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I don't see how, on a yellow flag, steward accidentally did anything. I don't think he meant to kill him, maybe just hit him with the wing or side or dirt to scare him.
There's no way in hell he would *intend* to clip him. I think just about any driver knows that clipping a person, even at 30-40mph is going to kill someone. An elite driver with an understanding of how large the back-end of a midget car is wouldn't even think twice about attempting to clip someone. They would know what the end result would be.
And like others have said, I don't see why he would even want to toss dirt on him. The other guy went into the wall and Tony is dinking around having fun on a dirt track on a Saturday night in a race that means absolutely zilch to him. Why would he be P.O'ed in the slightest??
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but there's no way anybody can say that tony Stewart didn't see him there. How is it that everybody else was able to pass Ward, yet Stewart clearly gunned the throttle.
Okay, first off ... there was only a handful of cars that really went past when he started running down the track to yell at Stewart. The last one of them DID have to swerve out of the way.
But a few things you have to know about these cars ... One, as others have stated, they have TERRIBLE visibility. Not only are your driving around in a dusty cloud, getting dirt all over your visor, you've got a low wing partially blocking your field of vision and the lighting at these tracks is pretty bad. The other, these are Direct-Drive cars ... meaning they don't have a clutch and are always in motion. It's not like you can just stomp on the clutch, hit the brakes and veer out of the way. These cars are meant to be steered by drifting and revving the engine. Not to mention, you're driving on dirt. Even at 30mph, you can't exact turn on a dime and get out of the way.
Like someone else said ... I think everyone's hatred of Steward is clouding their judgement.
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Like someone else said ... I think everyone's hatred of Steward is clouding their judgement.
That or it's just a better story to have it be intentional. For some, there aren't accidents because that reminds them the universe and life are very random. While he put himself in a bad situation, tons of other drivers do that and are fine, so someone with evil intentions have to be the reason this one went badly.
Stewart.
And I must say, he was one of my favorite drivers. In fact, I'd say he was my second favorite behind Bobby Labonte, and then when Hornish got into nascar, Stewart was second for me, behind Sammy.
With that said - I have NO doubt that Stewart was intending to hit Ward. None. Smoke may be a hothead, but he's not dumb, and I have no doubt intent to "hit" was on his mind.
What was? Spraying some dirt.
In the vid - people mention the guy in front of Stewart had to swerve to miss Ward. Okay. I certainly didn't see him spin though. I've also read that caution speed was 25-35 mph. Sprint cars steer just fine at that speed.
This is in general to everyone: Some have said "why was the guy on the track when they were racing?" Legitimate question. However, before that can be answered, understand that the cars had gone a lap under caution. From the time the guy was hit until the track workers got to him is less than 10 seconds. That means they were on their way onto the track after the race was yellowed and cars had slowed down. They did NOT decide to go onto the track because the driver was on the ground - they were on their way before that.
Why was Ward on the track? Shouldn't have been, but he was angry. Possibly Stewart's "fame" came into it as well - as in "hey, this nascar champ just wrecked me, watch what I'm going to do - ........." I don't know.....
I'm not blaming Stewart, although I think he was going to spin some dirt on the guy. I'm not defending Stewart, as I'm sure he didn't mean to even hurt, let alone kill Ward.
Some have mentioned the lack of visibility for Stewart - on the right side of the car. Stewart could see the car on the side of the track - he was under caution anyway. I think the visibility issue probably wasn't much of an issue. Stewart gunned it, as evidenced by the rear of his car tailing outwards. Again, at 25-35 mph - sprint cars don't "turn" with the rear wheels.
Well I don't hate the guy, or like him. I don't watch nascar. I just seen the video and made my conclusion from there.
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Smoke may be a hothead, but he's not dumb, and I have no doubt intent to "hit" was on his mind.
That makes no sense. You say he's not dumb, but he had intent to hit him?? And then you later go on to say you don't blame Stewart. What are you saying? If he had intent to hit him, I think every reasonable driver would know what would happen in that instance.
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Smoke may be a hothead, but he's not dumb,
That makes no sense. You say he's not dumb, but he had intent to hit him?? And then you later go on to say you don't blame Stewart. What are you saying? If he had intent to hit him, I think every reasonable driver would know what would happen in that instance.
Talk about an "egg on your face" moment!!!!! Geez, I need to proof read. I said Quote:
and I have no doubt intent to "hit" was on his mind
What I absolutely meant was I have no doubt that Stewart did NOT intend to hit Ward.
My bad. Thanks for catching that. And, my apologies.
I am glad you cleared up what you said, because I was reading you post and thinking "huh"
I agree though. But I just figured Tony gunned it to get away from the moron who was charging at his car, wanting to reach and grab ahold of him
KING
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J/C......Nobody but Tony can know for sure. but I still suspect he is trying to convince himself he did nothing wrong.
No doubt in my mind he never waned to kill a fellow racer, but his actions did.....NO doubt about that.
If you were on a range, shooting a gun, and someone ran in front of the barrel as you were pulling the trigger. Would you think that your actions caused that persons death??
KING
Yes to some degree. You could always try to console yourself with the fact that their actions contributed to it but in the end most people would struggle for the rest of their lives with the fact that they were the one that pulled the trigger. They would struggle with what they could have done differently, should they have seen the person, should they have been more aware, etc.. it's human nature.
And that wasn't even a good analogy. It would have been more on point if I had aimed my gun to hit 2 feet away from the guy, but missed and ended up hitting him.
j/c
I suggest a lot of people need to go search out some slow motion of the video and tell me you reach the same conclusion. IMO this is all on Ward and not Stewart. Kid paid the ultimate price for his stupidity.
Too many people are letting their own personal opinions of Stewart cloud their judgement and want to condemn Stewart.
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And that wasn't even a good analogy. It would have been more on point if I had aimed my gun to hit 2 feet away from the guy, but missed and ended up hitting him.
He didnt aim anything, the guy ran up to the side of his car to try to take a poke at him. I guess he forgot it was open wheel racing
King
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J/C......Nobody but Tony can know for sure. but I still suspect he is trying to convince himself he did nothing wrong.
No doubt in my mind he never waned to kill a fellow racer, but his actions did.....NO doubt about that.
If you were on a range, shooting a gun, and someone ran in front of the barrel as you were pulling the trigger. Would you think that your actions caused that persons death??
KING
Yes to some degree. You could always try to console yourself with the fact that their actions contributed to it but in the end most people would struggle for the rest of their lives with the fact that they were the one that pulled the trigger. They would struggle with what they could have done differently, should they have seen the person, should they have been more aware, etc.. it's human nature.
Ok, I wasnt clear. I am not talking about how Tony feels. I am talking the blame others are putting on him.
Gotcha.
Driver who witnessed tragedy: Tony Stewart ‘did everything in his power … to avoid (Kevin Ward Jr.)’
web page Jerry Bonkowski
Aug 13, 2014, 3:33 PM EDT
Lost in all the resulting fallout of the Tony Stewart – Kevin Ward Jr. tragedy is a report by a fellow driver who was also in Saturday night’s fateful race field and witnessed the incident.
“From what I saw, Tony did everything in his power to turn down away from Kevin to avoid him,” sprint car driver Cory Sparks told Rochester.twc.news.com.
Sparks was a few cars behind Stewart on the racetrack but had a clear field of vision of what occurred, and said that videos that have been made public do not tell the whole story.
“People say that they heard the engine rev up and he gassed it,” Sparks said of Stewart. “In a sprint car, the only way to steer is you steer with the rear wheels as much as you do the steering wheel. In my opinion, what he did was he (Stewart) gassed it to turn down away from him (Ward).” Sparks also confirmed the belief of many that Stewart’s vision may have been limited and that Stewart likely did not see Ward until it was too late.
“Kevin was wearing all-black,” Sparks said. “A black fire suit, a black helmet, which in normal situations isn’t a big deal, they are to go with the colors of your car. It was tragic accident and a mistake was made.”
Although Ontario County (N.Y.) Sheriff Philip Povero has said his investigators have spoken to other racers, it was unclear from the Rochester.twcnews.com story if Sparks has been questioned yet by investigators about what he saw unfold on the racetrack.
“I think that the biggest thing is to remember Kevin Ward as a great race car driver, not a victim of Tony Stewart,” Sparks said.
Whoah. What? A guy who drives a sprint car and witnessed the event just came out today and said the exact same thing as the people on this board who are familiar with sprint cars and dirt? Gas it to turn it? (insert purple in your minds here) Why that cannot be. Surely Stewart was spraying dirt, trying to clip or just flat out run the kid over because Stewart is a hot head and was mad at Ward for absolutely nothing that happened to Stewart to be mad about.
...because his comment and our level-headed comments don't sell newspapers or fuel social media conspiracy theories. It was an accident.
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Too many people are letting their own personal opinions of Stewart cloud their judgement and want to condemn Stewart.
Stewart's actions of deciding to race the very next day bring his character into question. Only after massive outcry did he back off his stance and provide a canned, written letter of remorse.
I also don't believe for one moment that Stewart had no clue Ward was there, and therefore had no chance to avoid him.
If I were the police or a judge I would never consider convicting or otherwise blaming him based on what limited bit of video we've seen, but that won't stop me from believing that one of the most talented race car drivers in the world couldn't have avoided a guy that several other cars did.
I don't believe Stewart did anything on purpose to hit Ward, but I do believe Stewart intentionally didn't do enough to avoid him.
Ward is responsible for his own death. Stewart, on the other hand, may have to live with the idea that he should have done more to avoid an accident.
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Stewart's actions of deciding to race the very next day bring his character into question.
He should have raced the next day.
The public outcry was the ridiculous part of that.
The character in question, is that of a driver.
It's who he is. It's what he does. It's what he loves.
It's the reason a guy who's made a lot of money over the years is in bum crap egypt racing against nobodies in Sprint cars...
He loves it.
That 3 hours in a Nascar race probably would of been the safest place for him. Because then it's just him and his car.
But no, he's some horrible person because he wanted to race, and that obviously meant he did it on purpose
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Too many people are letting their own personal opinions of Stewart cloud their judgement and want to condemn Stewart.
Stewart's actions of deciding to race the very next day bring his character into question. Only after massive outcry did he back off his stance and provide a canned, written letter of remorse.
I also don't believe for one moment that Stewart had no clue Ward was there, and therefore had no chance to avoid him.
If I were the police or a judge I would never consider convicting or otherwise blaming him based on what limited bit of video we've seen, but that won't stop me from believing that one of the most talented race car drivers in the world couldn't have avoided a guy that several other cars did.
I don't believe Stewart did anything on purpose to hit Ward, but I do believe Stewart intentionally didn't do enough to avoid him.
Ward is responsible for his own death. Stewart, on the other hand, may have to live with the idea that he should have done more to avoid an accident.
I guess thats your choice to avoid actually reading what other drivers of these cars said (those that weren't close buddies with Ward) or even looking closer at the video. The 45 car right in front of Steward narrowly missed him and Ward came down the track further towards Stewarts car. Try taking a look at the visibility out of the right side of these cars....but hey, you hate Stewart so lets convict him of murder.
