-
Comment -
Matt Kenseth, unlike other drivers, decided to spare Tony Stewart's life.....
ah, yes, last night's tradgedy reminded me of races gone past, and one incident in particular.....
Kenseth, not being quite the hot head as tony, didn't decide to ride as close as possible to tony. if he had, he might have clipped ol Fatboy as he hurled his helmut at him...... sad and tragic event last night..... both competitors have a little blame here; i feel tony is 80 percent, ward 20.....
this may very well end tony's racing career, and not just b/c of sitting in jail on sundays due to a manslaughter or nefligent homicide conviction..... the p.r. fall out and emotional impact of what's about to come down on him may force him from the sport.........Comment -
clearly lit the tires so he is going to have to say he was trying to avoid him which is a lieComment -
lol you guys are hilarious. Absolutely nothing will happen to TonyComment -
80%? Fukkin dummy. Who chases down cars on a race track?Comment -
After watching the video several times, IMO, I think the kid got clipped by the upper wing as he was leaning in to give Smoke the old fuk finger, and from there went down and then was clipped by the right rear tire.
Didn't see the right rear kick out as though Smoke was trying to scare him. Having been a crew member on a winged sprint car for a few years, the upper wing is obviously wide, but is also very low in the frontal area.
Anyway very tragic, and all sanctioning organizations should require drivers to stay in their cars, unless it is on fire, until safety personel are on the scene.Comment -
Missing the race today due to his own reasoning not a ban from Nascar.Comment -
tough to see the kid ragdoll like that
gives you that bad feeling in your stomachComment -
the guy got out of his car, and actively sought out tony's car and stood in front of it. Tony Stewart did nothing like that in the video.Comment -
I could never find the vid of Tony attacking that pit man.ah, yes, last night's tradgedy reminded me of races gone past, and one incident in particular.....
Kenseth, not being quite the hot head as tony, didn't decide to ride as close as possible to tony. if he had, he might have clipped ol Fatboy as he hurled his helmut at him...... sad and tragic event last night..... both competitors have a little blame here; i feel tony is 80 percent, ward 20.....
this may very well end tony's racing career, and not just b/c of sitting in jail on sundays due to a manslaughter or nefligent homicide conviction..... the p.r. fall out and emotional impact of what's about to come down on him may force him from the sport.........Comment -
are you insane? ward and tony were nearly identical in their actions, only tony hurled a helmet, and ward was just shaking a fist. difference is, Kenseth wasn't trying to "buzz" stewart on a line that left no room for error.... and even then, if ol fatboy's momentum and the grade of the bristol track had made him lose his balance and take an additional step or to, kenseth would've greased his chasis with ol fatty......... both drivers in both situations were doing the same thing.... difference is, tony lit his wheels in agression, and slid up a bit with no room for error, and killed a guy.......... easilty could be facing criminally negligent homicide charges....
and here's the quesiton u need to ask yourself..... if tony was ward, and ward was tony, and stewart was dead this morning, would ward be facing crim. charges????
your damn right he would be!!!!!!Comment -
"Tony Stewart needs to be put in prison for life."
Tony Stewart hit and killed driver Kevin Ward Jr., who walked toward Stewart's sprint car Saturday night after the two had an altercation at Canandaigua (N.Y.) Motorsports Park, according to authorities, witnesses and video of the tragedy.
The three-time Cup champion was racing a sprint car in the Empire Super Sprints series at the half-mile dirt track in upstate New York, about an hour from Watkins Glen International, site of this weekend’s Cup race.
UPDATE: Tony Stewart plans to race today at Watkins Glen
The Ontario County (N.Y.) Sheriff’s Office confirmed in a news release that the victim, whom it did not name, was declared dead 45 minutes after the accident upon arrival at Thompson Hospital.
"Mr. Stewart has cooperated with the investigation, which is ongoing," the release stated.
Stewart was not arrested and the sheriff told reporters that the driver had returned to Watkins Glen. The case will be handled by the district attorney.
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."
Rich Willis, who was at the track, said he didn’t see exactly what happened but his sister down in Turn 1 did. His description was similar to that of Graves and video of the tragedy showed Stewart's car hitting Ward.
“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.”
Graves said it appeared to him that Stewart swerved before gunning the engine but he did not believe it was intentional.
"You never mean to do something like that," Graves said. "Kevin was pissed and he let Tony know. And Tony was trying to give the message back that he wasn't happy either. He went over the line with it."
Graves got emotional as he talked about Ward, whom he raced against last week in the Patriot Sprint Tour. In that race Graves' car broke, he got upside down and Ward hit him.
"The first thing Kevin said to me (last week after the accident) was, 'I'm glad you're OK,'" Graves said. "He hit me full throttle. I've been friends with Kevin for the last several years. … He's a clean racer."
The sheriff's department asked for any amateur video be sent to it for use during the investigation. It said the race was on lap 14 of a 25-lap event.
"The driver of the car that spun, exited the race car and walked down the track onto the racing surface," the sheriff's news release states. "Two racecars traveling in tandem approached as the driver continued down the track, gesturing to the two approaching cars.
"The first car swerved to avoid the driver out on the track. The second car, operated by Tony Stewart, struck the driver."
The 43-year-old Stewart has 48 Cup wins in 542 career starts. Stewart, who missed the last 15 Cup races last year after breaking his leg in two places in a sprint-car crash, is winless and 19th in the standings this year.
There was no immediate word whether Stewart-Haas Racing, co-owned by Stewart, would field Stewart’s car Sunday at Watkins Glen. With him released without being arrested, Stewart could race at The Glen, or the team could opt to put a different driver in the car or withdraw. Stewart is scheduled to start 13th .
"A tragic accident took place last night during a sprint car race in which Tony Stewart was participating," an SHR spokesman said in a statement. "Tony was unhurt, but a fellow competitor lost his life. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends."
Graves, who described himself as a huge Stewart fan until Saturday night, doesn't think Stewart should be racing.
"Tony Stewart needs to be put in prison for life," Graves said.
Comment -
I don't watch car racing of any sort. I don't know the difference between formula 1 & sprint car. I don't know the difference between rally car & NASCAR. I don't know who drives for who & I don't even know how to fix a car.
Here one thing I do know. I know these guys get paid a lot of money. A lot more money than I will ever see in my lifetime.
Here's another thing I know. These guys, all of them, are well aware of the risks involved when they drive across pavement at 200 miles an hour in thousand pound vehicles. They know there's a great deal of risk involved, that's why they get paid so well.
When they sign up for all that cash & fame & fortune, they do so, knowing full well that they may die on the track in those vehicles.
Now when you are on the track & leave your vehicle, you have to assume that a driver knows his risk of death increases dramatically.
That being said, the family of the deceased would be irresponsible if they don't sue the event promoter, the sprint car body, tony Stewarts company & Tony Stewart himself.
Deuce could tell you else they could name.
They should do better in civil court than they would in criminal court, as the standard of proof is much different.
Proving that TS had intent to scare/injure the victim, would be tough but doing so, creates a case for depraved indifference or perhaps wreckless endangerment. Like yelling fire in a crowded theater.
If he raced today, whether he wanted to or not, he would have appearred lime a jerk off.Comment -
Animals.Comment -
Comment -
no jail time at all. the kid got out of his car and went on track. tony the dick will pay a few coins but jail time NO WAYComment -
Great prayer from the Reverend at Watkins Glen.
"Thank you God for this great weather."
Comment -
Why would they mention it?Comment -
Sad story.
Hopefully he didn't die a virgin.Comment -
Is it common for a race car driver to walk in the middle of the race track while the race cars still circling the track at night?Comment -
The problem is that the sport of racing has glorified incidents like this in the past. These guys that have gone on track, throwing stuff or shaking their fists have been looked at in the wrong way.
All racing sports should have banned these actions years ago.Comment -
-
Ward 80% at least to blame here. Tony definitely shoulders blame but kid got out and stood in front of race car in middle of race. Sucks bad what happened to him. A couple bad decisions by both drivers ended a kids life, but ward definitely shoulders more blame in my bookComment
