NASCAR Driver Tony Stewart Involved In Fatal Accident

If you watch the vid, the driver in front of Stewart has to dive down to avoid the guy. Ever drive behind someone at a higher rate of speed and they all of a sudden swerve to avoid a pothole? You don't get to see it and more often than not will probably hit it. I'm wondering if that driver's car somewhat blocked Tony's vision of the idiot coming down the track toward him. He was probably focused on that car in front of him and not on looking for some guy walking down the track. I say benefit of the doubt unless evidence proves otherwise.

 

Very sad. Stewart is my favorite driver. I have always been a fan of his passion for all types of racing. However because of the race he missed yesterday, this could possibly be the second season in a row that he's cost himself a chance at a championship because of his Sprint racing hobby.

 

Not sure if this article has been posted in this thread yet.. Good read.

http://www.motorsport.com/sprint/ne...iver-who-was-killed-but-know-the-whole-story/

 

Dirt track w/ low traction, dirt on face shield , they say Tony rev'd his engine but it could have been a down shift to slow down. It's a tragedy either way. Sometimes bad things have to happen in order to get things changed.

 

And once again mainstream media with their infinite knowledge of everything in the universe has the whole story frigged up.

 

Those sprint cars can flame up fast after a crash, so I can't blame Ward for climbing out of the car. However, walking down the track to yell at another driver - as if Stewart could hear him at all - is what ultimately caused this incident. A driver with a black helmet wearing a black fire suit on a dimly lit part of the track... There are no spotters or radio communication.

Now I have heard Stewart say that he would wreck his own grandmother or someone else's grandmother to win a race ... still doesn't make this Stewart's fault.

Looked to me like Ward was trying to pass on the outside when he and Stewart's car got together... this was also not a good idea and that contact could have damaged Stewart's car and reduced what little visibility Stewart had before clipping Ward with the right rear tire

The investigation and speculation continues ...

 

What driver do you expect to suspend for 2 races? Tony, who has not been accused of doing anything wrong?

I can't say for sure in this situation, but I do know that when I was racing dirt tracks, we had to sign a legal waiver, stating that the track, it's employees, no other car teams, owners, or drivers we liable for injury or damage.

How do you figure taking a higher lane is irresponsible? As you go around a track the wreck could be high, or low. You would want to go high to avoid a low accident blocking the track. Armchair quarterback all you want, NONE of us know what Tony saw.

 

Is that a serious question?

1. Tony is the one who put him up there so he already knew where Ward's car was.

2. He took the highest line of every single car.

As you state, you should go opposite of where the accident is. Tony did NOT do that. Only Tony knows what his intentions were, but I don't know why he would drive that high when he just put a driver up there, especially when everyone else goes low. I'm not condemning him and saying he tried to kill the guy, but he shouldn't have been that high. Just as Ward shouldn't have been down there. They both played a part in this tradgedy.

 

He was saying if a driver leaves their car then suspend the driver and the car for 2 races

 

Only one of those things did not belong in the middle of the track

 

I grew up watching sprint cars and have witnessed many wrecks that were a lot more serious but the drivers were wiser and kept their cool, never seen anyone storm the track while a race was in progress. Even when my brother and I were in the pits after the race I didn't see any fights. I think Ward's temper just got the best of him. Should have let it go and he would have lived to race another day.

 

I know you hate America, Americans, and Nascar, but this shits getting old. Just because one of the guys is a driver for the series you attack Nascar and blame Americans for his death because we won't institute penalties because we want to see blood

Your subtle attacks on us is getting very fucking old.

Get a life and stop being such a douche all the time towards our country our sports and our citizens.

Common sense isn't so common these days.

 

It looks like he revved the engine after the guy was practically all ready hit and the tire swung away from the guy not towards him. It almost looked like he tried to turn right and hit the gas to avoid hitting the man with his rear tire after he saw him get so close.

It probably happened so fast.

 

Just a bad situation all the way around

 

Thats what I saw too Gabe, the 45 car, a second or 2 later theres Stewart & right before Tony was there that kid took a couple steps towards the direction he was traveling, peopkle gotta remember its a dirt track & its a sprint car, lots of drifting/sliding & steering with the gas pedal, personally I don't really like Stewart, never have & he IS a bit of a cry baby , none of this matters tho'... It's ridicules to think he intended to hit Kevin....

Also from what I gather most all agree that the contact that caused Kevin to crash was incidental , not intentional

Theres alot of truth in this statement...

 

http://deadspin.com/reports-tony-stewart-ran-over-opposing-driver-during-1618893708



NASCAR driver Tony Stewart ran over a competitor, 20-year-old Kevin Ward Jr., during a confrontation at a sprint car race on Saturday night at Canandaigua Motorsports Park in New York. Ward was killed.

In the video above, via YouTube, you can see Ward apparently confronting Stewart on foot after Ward's car is run into the wall. He is struck, dragged, then thrown a number of feet. According to Ontario County Sheriff Philip C. Povero, Ward was dead on arrival at the hospital.

Our original post, with several updates, is below.


CMP posted the following to its Facebook page:

Tonight's racing events were suspended due to an accident. Please hold off on any speculation until we have further information to share.
Accidents are, obviously, common in the motorsports world. To shut down a track entirely following one is extreme, and if you look at the above photo you'll notice a major law enforcement presence. That's not standard for an auto racing accident, either. (Fox Sports confirmed law enforcement is looking into the incident.)

Here's how alleged eyewitnesses are telling what happened. Keep the usual caveats about things you hear on the Internet in mind, but the number of people who saw it happen—and their previous track records for motorsports reporting—suggests the worst.






Charlotte Observer reporter Jim Utter says police are preparing a statement that will be released in the next few hours. Utter also says the driver allegedly struck by Tony Stewart's car was 17-year-old 20-year-old Kevin Ward Jr.


Stewart's currently scheduled to start 13th in Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup event at Watkins Glen.

Update (12:29 a.m.): The Sporting News's Bob Pockrass has some more details:

Rich Willis, who was at the track, said he didn't see exactly what happened but his sister down in Turn 1 did. He saw Stewart and Kevin Ward get into the wreck.

"People (who could see it better) said the guy got out of his car and was gesturing angrily at Tony Stewart when Tony Stewart came by during the next lap under yellow," Willis said in a phone interview. "He approached him and evidently when he was driving by the guy standing on the track gesturing at him, he gunned his engine.

"What happened was the back end kicked out and clipped the guy and the guy flew across the track."
Update (1:06 a.m.): More from Pockrass:

Tyler Graves, a sprint-car racer and friend of Ward's, told Sporting News in a phone interview that he was sitting in the Turn 1 grandstands and saw everything that happened.

"Tony pinched him into the frontstretch wall, a racing thing," Graves said. "The right rear tire went down, he spun on the exit of (Turn) 2. They threw the caution and everything was toned down. Kevin got out of his car. … He was throwing his arms up all over the place at Tony for most of the corner.

"I know Tony could see him. I know how you can see out of these cars. When Tony got close to him, he hit the throttle. When you hit a throttle on a sprint car, the car sets sideways. It set sideways, the right rear tire hit Kevin, Kevin was sucked underneath and was stuck under it for a second or two and then it threw him about 50 yards."



Buddy of mine in PA knows photogs and media people in NY, all confirming Kevin Ward has passed away. Tony Stewart lit the tires and hit him
— Daniel Farish (@danielfarish) August 10, 2014


SMOKETimothy Burke
Yesterday 12:34am

WAS AT SPEEDWAY AND RIGHT NEAR TONY STEWARTS RACE HAULER.AFTER HE CAME IN HE HAD THE CREW CHAGE HIS RIGHT REAR TIRE .THEY ENDED UP PUTTING A LEFT ONE ON. COPS WERE TOLD ABOUT IT SO HOPEFULLY THEY DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. HE ALSO HAD A GO PRO CAMERA ON HIS CAR HOPEFULLY THEY CONFISCATE THAT ALSO BEFORE THAT GETS DESTROYED. HEARD THE YOUNG DRIVER DIDN'T MAKE IT AND I HOPE IT'S NOT TRUE BUT THEY WOULDN'T BRING TONY OUT UNTIL ALL OTHER HAULERS WERE GONE .ALOT OF POLICE AROUND HIS HAULER ALONG WITH HIS PERSONEL SECURITY. HOPE IF THIS IS ALL TRUE WHAT HAPPENED ON THE TRACK THAT HE DOESN'T GET AWAY WITH IT. HE FINALLY LET HIS TEMPER GET THE BEST OF HIM........
131268Reply

 

Most peoples posts are right on with what I saw in the video and I don't think Tony ever seen the guy due to the blue car in front of him blocking his view. For those of you who don't have a clue, there are no spotters or radios in there helmet. The yellow flag probably didn't fly until Tony was half way down the back straight going into turn 3. I'm guessing about 5-7 seconds later Tony was approaching the accident seen and the last thing he expected was the hot headed Ward to be running towards him in the middle of the freakin track. Tony really has nothing to prove and he did nothing wrong. There was also no reason for Tony to be upset, angy, pissed, hot headed as you idiots keep bringing up for some reason prior to hitting Ward. Tony was racing and making a typical sprint car pass on Ward, that's it. When Tony gets wrecked and taken out of a race he does get angry and hot headed about the incident, but it has nothing to do with this situation. Tony will be cleared of any wrong doing and he will have to live with the fact that he killed a young kid in a tragic situation.

 

Tony Stewart has always played a big role in local/small racing sports. He sponsors a dozen sprint cars and other types around the country. He tries to race in a local sprint race where ever NASCAR is. This event not only hurts him, it hurts the sport and all the people that he has helped.

As everyone else has said, Ward did not belong on that race track. He knew that he shouldn't do it and he either let his temper get the better of him, or he was show-boating for the crowd. Either way, HE caused his own death and in turn is making others live with the consequences.

We will only know what Tony tells us (via media or official investigation reports) happened in his car. FOr those that don't: A) ever sprint car track I have ever been to is poorly lit B) The driver's visibility out the right side is extremely limited by the wing c) the faster you are going on loose dirt, the harder it is to maneuver.

Here is a pic from Bruce St. James car, a phoenix news radio guy and sprint car racer:

 

Damn, I had no idea the wing came down that far on a Sprint Car

 

I call bullshit on the part in red. The guy obviously has a way of exaggerating things! Kevin was not even "under" the car but for a split second, and that is OBVIOUS from the video. Not the "second or two" that the guy claims. Also he was not thrown "50 yards" as he claims either. 50 yards is 150 feet! That would have thrown him off the track, past the turn! The video shows he MIGHT have been thrown 30 feet or so. Now granted this is a sad event in ANY case, but again, there is absolutely no founding for Tony to have been angry or hot headed or upset at Kevin. Also, this guy said he was in the stands, so how can he tell for SURE what Tony saw or didn't see? He has, just like the rest of us, NO IDEA AT ALL what Tony saw. Considering that the video shows the track is dark, and Kevin was wearing a black fire suit and a black helmet, how can ANYONE know if Tony saw him or not? Trying to claim that he knows what you can and can't see out of that car is stupid. There was a car right in front of Tony by about 4 car lengths or so, IN A TURN which blocks even MORE of your field of view. You are going to tell me that some guy in the STANDS could tell what Tony could see? He is full of it.