NASCAR Driver Tony Stewart Involved In Fatal Accident

Why is this investigation taking so long? When you exit your car you stay by your car and if Ward did that he would be racing this weekend, end of story. Ward's Dad stated that Tony shouldn't have driven so high, even though he was wasn't close to Ward's car where Ward should have been standing. You don't find a guy guilty just because he's known as a hot head and he allegedly reved his engine.

 

Any time there is an accidental death there will be an EXTENSIVE investigation, and these take time. They have to interview people, collect media (photos, video) and have it analyzed, and then go over everything again. This does take time. It's not like this is the only crime that is being investigated by this county.

 

That is complete garbage that its time to take a hard look at sprint cars and dirt tracks. You don't lump sprint car racing and dirt tracks in one bucket just because of this accident. I am a race director at a dirt track on Friday nights. We require drivers to have ear pieces (most tracks now mandate this) so we can communicate directly to them what it going on. There are several sets of caution lights around the track. There are rules in place that a driver must remain in the car except for emergency. If an emergency situation happens flip, fire, etc the race is immediately red flagged. There are rules in place to keep crew members off the track when there is an accident.

Never have I seen a dirt track throw a red flag for when a driver leaves a car especially sprint cars. All the cars will stall since they are direct drive. I have been around dirt track racing for nearly 30 years. Never seen an issue like this before. Yes, I have seen upset drivers. I have seen track workers have close calls but not this.

 

This wasn't a failure in safety, it was a lapse in judgement.

 

If you run a safe track then my post shouldn't surprise you. You above all know the difficulties in making sure everyone stays safe. Keeping people safe should be a requirement for all tracks, but some choose to foster a different attitude. I've seen some ridiculous things at the tracks down here in Florida and it appears that the track in NY is not as safe as the one you direct. I want the governing bodies to look at all Sprint tracks and review their safety standards. Your track should serve as a model to others and I commend you for that. Any track that fosters a dangerous environment where drivers feel they can run into a hot track to confront their opponents should be shutdown. This isn't a gladiator sport. You're supposed to bend sheet metal not kill kids.

 

Do you know how many hours it takes to investigate a death, interview a hundred witnesses, locate and examine any video evidence you can find while looking for more than what you have, conduct a full investigation into what boils down to a tragic death in a public arena? A ton. Do this while also juggling other caseloads and there is a reason investigations take a long time, because they're immense amounts of work and you have to gather information by finding it. Investigators are incredibly hard working people and often make large sacrifices to do what they do.

They dont have the luxury of knowing everything about what happened on the track that night like some do here.

 

Truth

 

Liar......

 

It's only an insult if it isn't true....































Just f-ing with ya!

 

doth*

 

Governing bodies in sprint car racing? Bwwaaahhhhahahahahaha........

There are a couple of national touring organizations that are fairly influential, the World of Outlaws, USAC or ASCS, but these guys don't bring home the bread and butter at a local track. The governing body is the race track promoter who depends on his weekly shows to pay the bills. It's his joint and he makes the rules. More than one promotor has told the WoO or ASCS to pack sand for their demands; mostly about money nevermind safety systems. Depending on the fatness (or lack thereof) of the promoter's wallet, and his relative feeling on track safety, you can have a wild variation in safety systems between tracks. Frankly, racers are effing stupid when it comes to this. Track safety systems are the last thing that keeps a car on the trailer.

While the sanctioning body might be able to legislate safety systems in the cars, they exhibit virtually no control over the track systems. None of the sanctioning bodies, national or local, have enough change in the bank to bring their own complete support staff, or upgrade facilities. If they want to race, they are very much at the mercy of the promoter and his facilities and staff. How this is received in the racing community is varied. Doug Wolfgang famously sued a track promoter when he was badly burned due to a lack of fire protection. He was widely vilified for suing when he knew the risks on one hand and widely praised for taking a stance on track safety on the other hand. The suit wasn't about a deep pocket raid (although the accident ended his stellar career) but was about the issue of track safety and the need for standardized safety systems. Since then, virtually nothing has changed. When Tim McCready broke his back at the Chili Bowl, he had to have a friend drive him to the hospital because the promoter would not place an ambulance at the facility. Arguably, the biggest short track race in the country, with stars from across the racing spectrum, and there's no standing ambulance! This is the reality in short track America and there is no mechanism outside of the courtroom to change it. Then, there is the question of insurance.........

 

especially since we can't talk politics

 

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Tony Stewart will not race Sunday at Michigan International Speedway, skipping a second straight NASCAR Sprint Cup race since striking and killing a driver in a dirt track race at a small New York track.

 

If he didn't, the loonies would take to the streets with their pitchforks and foil hats. What other choice does he have? He won't race until the investigation is over and he's found without fault if that is the case.

 

View from inside a sprint car

 

Meanwhile, in the wake of Ward's death, NASCAR could issue an edict as early as this weekend's race at Michigan International Speedway that makes it mandatory for drivers to stay in their cars until safety personnel arrive.

Brewerton Speedway and Fulton Speedway, New York dirt tracks under the same management, announced new rules that drivers would be required to stay in their cars during an accident.

"If a driver, for whatever reason, exits a car on the track during a caution period, the race will automatically be placed under a red flag and all cars will come to a complete stop," a news release on the tracks' website says. "A driver may exit a car if requested by a safety crew member or if safety warrants in cases such as a fire. Drivers that exit a car without permission, for whatever reason, are subject to fine and/or suspension at the discretion of track management."

Brad Keselowski, the 2012 Sprint Cup champion, said it could be tough for NASCAR to enforce a similar rule.

"I'm not aware of any rule or law that works without the ability to enforce it," he said. "I don't know how you can enforce a rule like that unless you had a robot on the track to grab the person and put them back in the car. The only way you can enforce it is with a penalty system afterwards. Really, at that point, it's not effective. It's a difficult rule to try to make work."

A "robot", Brad? Are you that stupid?
If you get out of the car, the race stops. Now you are responsible for stopping a race. On TV. In front of millions. You lose sponsors and get fined.
The system is self governing. Please no more robot ideas. It makes all the other drivers look dumb.

 

I think you missed his whole point. He said if you made a rule like that it would be hard to enforce it, UNLESS you had a penalty system to enforce it. The other tracks that have created a rule like this under the wake of this accident, don't have penalty's in place to enforce it, so it's gonna be hard to mandate. I personally would love to see a robot come on the track and throw someone's ass back in a car, probably would be the most effective solution.

 

100% correct.



I will leave this here...

 

It wouldn't be the first time I missed something obvious
I just think an off the cuff remark is not warranted for such a serious situation. Right now, the authorities in NY are trying to find a way to resolve this mess without specifically blaming the track, the sport or Stewart. Most likely, they will point blame on Ward and then let Stewart get pounded in a civil trial. No one will mention that a simple red flag would have saved his young life. People will blame it all on the lack of trackside robots.

Maybe Brad is right, but imagine an entire NASCAR race stopped dead because a driver got out of his car. How many drivers would want to be "that guy"?

 

I think that's the point