Tony Stewart Hits and kills driver at sprint car race

[Gearslingr]

Sad.... sad.... sad.

Check the news and you tube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTyC467RKjs

[problemchild]

One of those "oh sh!t moments" that everybody wishes they could do over. The moronic comments tagged onto the video are almost as sad as the incident itself.

[Kazis31]

Since when it's acceptable to get out of race car and go into oncoming traffic during race.
It's a tragedy ,that could have been avoided if NASCAR type of behavior would have not
been tolerated.It's not like Tony is know for classy behavior as well.
This would have never taken place in open wheel racing.

[chrisw52]

a stupid, tragic, and totally preventable accident if one of the drivers had kept a cooler attitude.

[Steve Bamford]

Horrible accident...very sad to see as this was totally avoidable.

Nascar, or any series for that matter, should immediately suspend any racer who gets out of their car & confronts another driver on the race track. I have seen numerous clips of drivers doing similar things over the years. I have even seen this from drivers in open wheel junior racing do this after contact on full course caution laps.

Something needs to be done so this type of incident is never repeated.

[Kazis31]

Yes it does.
You get out of race car and go into traffic.....
Banned for life from any form of motor racing.
See how many will do it after.

[rob66x]

I just sold my sprint car last week just because of that kind of mentality. I'll stick with my f 600, not as much competition but much calmer people

[racerdad2]

How many times are we told to stay in our cars....

[Matt King]

How many times are we told to stay in our cars....

Exactly. And when was the last time you heard an official say, "if you have an incident, first thing you do is jump out of the car, run onto the track, and try to jump in the other guy's car to kick his ass"? The kid did win something that night, a Darwin Award.

[Torro]

I'm not superstious myself, bu did anyone else notice Wards car number?

Todd

[JohnPaul]

There are some whisperings of Stewart intentionally trying to nudge Ward (not my feeling), even some of the news reports are leaning towards that theory.

From FOX sports website:

"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."
Graves said he didn't believe it was intentional.
"You never mean to do something like that," Graves told Sporting News. "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."
Video of the crash showed Ward, in the No. 13 car, spin into a wall after contact with Stewart's car. Ward, wearing a black firesuit and black helmet, climbed quickly from his car and briskly walked around it in what appeared to be an attempt to confront Stewart as he passed by in his own car, his familiar No. 14.
The video showed Ward to the right of Stewart's car, which seemed to kick out from the rear and hit Ward. The driver was hurtled through the air and emergency personnel quickly reached Ward as he lay on the track.
Michael Messerly, a fan who witnessed the crash, told The Associated Press it appeared Stewart struck the driver as he tried to "speed past" him.

[David Locke]

I've been around/involved in club racing for 35 years and I have never seen a driver do what Ward did, but I've certainly seen it done many times in "professional" series. I suspect we've all said and done some things in the heat of the moment that we wouldn't ordinarily say or do, but most people would draw a line at walking out onto a race track directly toward an oncoming car. Nevertheless, I think this incident should serve as fair warning and all racing organizations should proactively put drivers (and, for that matter, team members) on notice by adopting severe penalties for anyone who does this. I didn't know Ward, but one has to wonder whether the fact that it was Tony Stewart involved in the contact motivated him to react differently than if it had been another (unknown) driver. In any case, this whole affair seems to have been the result of two drivers with "I'll show you" attitudes converging and things going terribly awry. Sad.

[BLS]

It looks to me as though the young man almost got clipped by the car previous to Stewarts car. Tragic.

[formulasuper]

Anyone know if those cars have in-car camcorders?

[racerdad2]

Cameras are not mandated.

[Daryl DeArman]

Even if they do have cameras, it doesn't mean Tony was looking where the camera was pointing.

Even if he steered towards Ward it could have been a coincidence.

Clipping him with the tire could have been completely intentional.

I'd be more interested in radio communications between Tony and crew/spotter.

[Keith Carter]

Since when it's acceptable to get out of race car and go into oncoming traffic during race.
It's a tragedy ,that could have been avoided if NASCAR type of behavior would have not
been tolerated.It's not like Tony is know for classy behavior as well.
This would have never taken place in open wheel racing.

Agreed, 100%. Although it's an extremely tragic event, the on track antics of on track driver confrontation for being "wronged" should not be tolerated at all in any kind of motorsports.

[marshall9]

Even if they do have cameras, it doesn't mean Tony was looking where the camera was pointing.

Even if he steered towards Ward it could have been a coincidence.

Clipping him with the tire could have been completely intentional.

I'd be more interested in radio communications between Tony and crew/spotter.

Yup.

This could go real bad for Tony. I pray that it isn't found to be intentional in the end. Due to Tony's celebrity status, this will be uber investigated. In this day and age of cell cameras, someone must have an angle of video that will be persuasive one way or the other. Tragic, no matter how it comes out.

[gt250]

Just tragic. I wonder if Stewart even knew he was there. It looked like the #45 just barely was able to avoid him and seemed to check up hard.

[R. Pare]

In watching the video ( admittedly not shot from the best angle), it looks like Tony's car is going straight before hitting Ward, even if he did goose it a bit up the track further. The "turning" that can be seen is most definitely from Ward being hit, not from Tony turning into him.

Hopefully other videos will show that to be the case.

Sad, and totally avoidable.

[BLS]

It is about 1 second from the time the car in front of Stewart avoids the man until Stewart clips him. Not much time, and from Stewarts angle he may not have been able to see him until it was too late.

[Modo]

Best swept under the rug and move on, spun driver recklessly showboating for the fans, and, on track drivers not reacting dilegently (driver before Tony and Tony) to the new unexpected danger, I would avoid TV interviews.......... bad decision making for sure!!!!!

[dalz]

I think it's very unlikely that TS would've even expected an angry driver confronting him. He just knew that he passed a car that got wide and a caution came out. He had maybe one second to react to a black-suited, black-helmeted driver ranting at him on a poorly-lit backstretch. IMO the kid's grounds for a beef are questionable. Still the heat of the moment can blur judgement. I don't think Tony is at fault in any way but it's a tragic situation, I feel for all involved.

[rob66x]

if tony goosed the throttle with all the stagger they run the car would have turned the other way. my guess is the car turned to the right when it hit the guy. also they do not allow radios in sprint cars some tracks require raceivers to aid in lineup but no communication from crew.

[bob darcey]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ly3if3rRWH0

slow motion begins at ~29 seconds.

[rob66x]

Ya know, I think this poor guys death was caused by a total lack of responsibility of the promoters and people in general these days . Nascar and oval track racing seem to love it when drivers get into fights . in my opinion when someone assaults somebody they should be arrested for assault and battery not interviewed by the media. people just don't take responsibility for their actions anymore. its very disturbing.

[Brian C in Az]

This type of bad behavior is something that NASCAR drivers are well known to do. It shouldn't be tolerated, but it is because the fans love the altercations in the pits. Now, after years of tolerating this type af behavior, we get the worse possible tragedy.

As a side note,
I think the thread title "Tony Stewart Hits and kills driver at sprint car race" implies Tony is at fault. It's not Tony's fault that Ward acted like an idiot.

[EYERACE]

As a driver, even if I was hot under the helmet, I'd try to get off the track after getting out of a car on a hot track and save it for the Stewards.

As a worker, I'd be doing my best to get a driver, who got out of a car involved in an incident while the track is hot, off the track and behind the wall.

The original contact looks like simply a racing incident to me.....and then the kid walked out into a hot track making things worse.

[Daryl DeArman]

also they do not allow radios in sprint cars some tracks require receivers to aid in lineup but no communication from crew.

Interesting....some tracks/series allow one way communication on series/track issued radios. Driver to crew, or crew to driver doesn't violate that rule.

[Offcamber1]

There are a great many U-tube videos that you could not pay me to watch. I'm sure this is one of them.

Gladiator mentality; participants as well as spectators.

[SEComposites]

There are a great many U-tube videos that you could not pay me to watch. I'm sure this is one of them.

Gladiator mentality; participants as well as spectators.

I glad I'm not the only one that finds the thread title and video links distasteful in the extreme.

[Jeremy Soule]

A driver lost his life last night.
I think it's important for us to look at this incident (not nessarly the video) for two reasons.
1) it is national news and our non-race friends and co-workers will be talking about it tomorrow. what will we say to them? I don't think that a shrug and a Darwin Award joke is the correct response(even if it's a little true). And I have seen plenty of video from Europe where there are more younger drivers competing in formula cars and I have seen plenty of steering wheels flying, helmets thrown and fist shaking after the cars grind to a halt. We don't know the real story at the track last night, could have been he was the coolest cat at the track but this was the third race in a row he was taken out, seasons hope dashed... We don't know. I don't know about the rest of you drivers but I will/must admit that as a young driver my emotions got the better of me once or twice on the track. Luckily nothing came of it so this becomes a reminder for me.

2) it's not just NASCAR or short track tolerance (maybe promotion) of hostility that's a problem, that "in your face, you want a piece of me!" attitude seems to have permitted many aspects of our culture, it's everywhere man. I'm not sure how to deal with that but I have come to understand thet armoring up and acting aggressive is not the same thing as, nore come from the same place as, true courage.

There is a racing family that's hurting bad tonight.
Thanks for reading. Jeremy

[problemchild]

A driver lost his life last night.
I think it's important for us to look at this incident (not nessarly the video) for two reasons.
1) it is national news and our non-race friends and co-workers will be talking about it tomorrow. what will we say to them? I don't think that a shrug and a Darwin Award joke is the correct response(even if it's a little true). And I have seen plenty of video from Europe where there are more younger drivers competing in formula cars and I have seen plenty of steering wheels flying, helmets thrown and fist shaking after the cars grind to a halt. We don't know the real story at the track last night, could have been he was the coolest cat at the track but this was the third race in a row he was taken out, seasons hope dashed... We don't know. I don't know about the rest of you drivers but I will/must admit that as a young driver my emotions got the better of me once or twice on the track. Luckily nothing came of it so this becomes a reminder for me.

2) it's not just NASCAR or short track tolerance (maybe promotion) of hostility that's a problem, that "in your face, you want a piece of me!" attitude seems to have permitted many aspects of our culture, it's everywhere man. I'm not sure how to deal with that but I have come to understand thet armoring up and acting aggressive is not the same thing as, nore come from the same place as, true courage.

There is a racing family that's hurting bad tonight.
Thanks for reading. Jeremy

Thankyou for posting Jeremy. This was a local story for me, and it has hit my local racing community hard. Your perspective is appropriate for the situation.

[Robins Ken]

The young man lost his temper. He paid for it with his life.

Huge lesson there for all of us to apply to the rest of our lives.

Did Stewart take a run at him? I really hope not.

KR.

[CDS]

The young man lost his temper. He paid for it with his life.

Huge lesson there for all of us to apply to the rest of our lives.

Did Stewart take a run at him? I really hope not.

KR.

My feelings exactly.

[wannabe]

I've often wondered whether a person could be prosecuted for reckless conduct resulting in injury. I guess we'll soon find out.
Where I'm from the negligent homicide statute or manslaughter statute could very well apply and could end Tony with a class B felony punishable from 1-10 years in prison. The problem is the liability any race team he works for would subject themselves to future liability if he hurts somebody while he's in their employ.
Looks to me he intended to spin his wheels when he rode by the guy and the car went sideways and struck the guy. (reckless conduct?)Unfortunately, contributory negligence (actions by the deceased that contributed to his death) is not a defense.

[BeerBudgetRacing]

I've often wondered whether a person could be prosecuted for reckless conduct resulting in injury. I guess we'll soon find out.
Where I'm from the negligent homicide statute or manslaughter statute could very well apply and could end Tony with a class B felony punishable from 1-10 years in prison. The problem is the liability any race team he works for would subject themselves to future liability if he hurts somebody while he's in their employ.
Looks to me he intended to spin his wheels when he rode by the guy and the car went sideways and struck the guy. (reckless conduct?)Unfortunately, contributory negligence (actions by the deceased that contributed to his death) is not a defense.

You obviously can be prosecuted for anything. Convicted is the question.

So, your driving down the freeway and you pass under a bridge and bam - a guy had jumped from the bridge and gone through your windshield. He never hit the ground.

According to your comment (actions by deceased is not a defense), you're liable for the death of your new passenger....

Gotta love the law

Intent is really hard to prove. The car being sideways is not an unusual/reckless action.
Clearly running around on an active racetrack would be considered a reckless action.

[David Locke]

I've often wondered whether a person could be prosecuted for reckless conduct resulting in injury. I guess we'll soon find out.
Where I'm from the negligent homicide statute or manslaughter statute could very well apply and could end Tony with a class B felony punishable from 1-10 years in prison. The problem is the liability any race team he works for would subject themselves to future liability if he hurts somebody while he's in their employ.
Looks to me he intended to spin his wheels when he rode by the guy and the car went sideways and struck the guy. (reckless conduct?)Unfortunately, contributory negligence (actions by the deceased that contributed to his death) is not a defense.

To convict someone of these crimes requires very clear evidence. I've never been to Canandaigua, but the only video I've seen appears to have been shot from the front straight grandstand looking at the left sides of cars in Turn 2 -- not a very good perspective of what actually transpired. If video from a better perspective exists, one would think it should have surfaced over the course of the two days since the incident, so I suspect we've seen the only video available. Did the engine sound we hear in that video come from Stewart's car? Who knows? I assume the microphone for the video camera was on the front straight, so the sound very well could have been from a car in that location (which cannot be seen in the clip) rather than from a car in Turn 2. With this quality of evidence, would a prosecutor feel that he/she could convict Stewart of committing a crime beyond a reasonable doubt? I'd be very surprised if this were the case.

You obviously can be prosecuted for anything. Convicted is the question.

So, your driving down the freeway and you pass under a bridge and bam - a guy had jumped from the bridge and gone through your windshield. He never hit the ground.

According to your comment (actions by deceased is not a defense), you're liable for the death of your new passenger....

Gotta love the law

In your example, what is the allegedly criminal conduct of the person driving down the freeway? There is none mentioned in your example. So, no crime would be charged or prosecuted, and the "contributory fault" of the decedent is therefore irrelevant.

[Doug FST 5]

I'm not a regular spectator at my local dirt track but I've been there enough to know that this kind of problem is supposed to be settled out behind the snack bar after the race is over. I've not watched the video and don't plan to do that but I've read enough to figure that both men could have behaved differently and changed the outcome.

No doubt the big roar from the crowd when the offended driver shakes his fist or finger has kept this kind of thing from being policed better in the past. I'd hope the circle track promoters think this one through again.

Once the track is running under caution I can't fault the guy for getting out of the car. Even if I didn't plan on yelling at the other driver I'd really want to look over the car and see if I had all the parts I needed in the trailer to salvage the evening. Its a business afterall.

A big lesson in this should be that we all take risks to do what we do behind the wheel. There's no room in our sport for allowing ourselves to add to that risk because we get pissed off.

Doug FST 5

[BeerBudgetRacing]

In your example, what is the allegedly criminal conduct of the person driving down the freeway? There is none mentioned in your example. So, no crime would be charged or prosecuted, and the "contributory fault" of the decedent is therefore irrelevant.

Speeding..... or even DUI.....