NASCAR driver Tony Stewart’s famous temper has struck again, this time on a dirt track in New York, just north of Watkins Glen, where Stewart was to race this weekend. Stewart and fellow driver, Kevin Ward, got into an altercation during a sprint car race. According to reports, Ward approached Stewart to confront him and Stewart clipped Ward with his car, sending Ward flying through the air and then laying motionless when he landed.
I can’t imagine there’s a way to prove intent and he’ll come up with a ton of excuses. Good luck prosecution cause he seems a real dickhead.
Manslaughter….Tony’s a douche bag and always will be….I don’t think he meant to hit the guy,instead I think he meant to clip him…alas he killed him. The lawsuit will cost him millions .
Suicide.
Walking on a racetrack directly towards a speeding race-car. huh. Ward is one Stupid Ass Motherfucker.
Shit like this must make Kunstler’s day.
Tragic (and senseless) in any case…obviously the young Ward upset with getting bumped on the track by Stewart, but to put yourself in harm’s way just to display your rage? No matter what the legal outcome, criminal or civil, this spells big trouble for Stewart.
Ever drive a race car? I have. I’d bet that Stewart was mostly watching ahead and left, not to the right. No potential hazard to his right.
Not Stewart’s fault at all. Dumbass hot-head. Even if the anger were justified, acting stupid is not–and was fatal.
From a sprint car driver’s perspective. He doesn’t think it was at all intentional.
http://talk.newagtalk.com/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=493955&mid=4012260#M4012260
EF
Suicide by stupidity is what this is. I love road racing and couldn’t really care a lick about NASCAR (I think it is closer to professional wrestling than actual racing), and realize that Tony Stewart has a hot-headed history, but if the young man would’ve only had the sense to stay in his car instead of walking/running towards moving race cars in the dark while wearing a black driving suit he would still be alive. I have no idea what Tony Stewart may have done, planned to do, or any of that, but this was entirely preventable by the 20 year old if only he would have acted like an adult instead of a six year old throwing a tantrum. I feel bad for the young man’s family and friends and also for Tony Stewart.
I spent sunday doing some archery target shooting with friends. What Ward did was akin to retrieving his arrows while the rest of us were still shooting. Car racing, especially this sprint cup whatever bullshit isn’t my bag, but I’m smart enough to know you don’t walk onto any track unless the cars are STOPPED.
This is a sad tragedy about a 20 year old who had too little life experience and just wasn’t thinking. Granted I did stupid shit when I was his age, I just didn’t race cars.
Ward certainly shouldn’t have wandered into high-speed traffic.
That being said, Stewart’s reaction spills the beans on the whole incident. The photo of him calmly sitting in his car with a microphone in his face after just killing another human being is not normal. A normal person would be physically distraught and in shock. Also, the initial reports that he would race again the next day saying “It’s business as usual” show he is a card-carrying member of the psychopath club. It was only because of the video and after Drudge nationalized the news story that he unleashed his professional spokesmen to craft a couple hollow quips about how sorry he is. Perhaps he should run for office.
the tumbleweed – “Also, the initial reports that he would race again the next day saying “It’s business as usual” show he is a card-carrying member of the psychopath club.”
Yep, the psychopath club is exactly right.
At least Ward died doing what he loved.
@Iska: I doubt the boy really lived playing in traffic. 😉
@tumbleweed: “That being said, Stewart’s reaction spills the beans on the whole incident. The photo of him calmly sitting in his car with a microphone in his face after just killing another human being is not normal.”
Not to defend Stewart, but Ward was not pronounced dead until he got to the hospital. We may never know if this was intentional or an accident. But Ward should have stayed in his car, as everyone has pointed out.
Even if he was right,he was dead right.
If Stewart was a cop, Dick Cheney, or a Kennedy, he’d get away with it.
I used to race karts and cars and I always thought is was stupid to allow a driver to get out of his car unless he was in imminent danger. IMO a driver should be banned for a full season for getting out of his car and confronting another driver on the track. There should be a penalty for exiting your car as well unless there is imminent danger to staying in the car such as fire.
When I was racing karts I hit a guy that tried to run across the track during a race one night. These karts were capable of speeds up to 120mph and the guy I hit tried to jump over me at the last second when I was doing about 80mph. We were lucky all around that night. It was the very first time I wore a full face helmet which probably saved me from serious head trauma. When he jumped over me he kicked me in the head and damn near broke my neck. I think I lost consciousness for a few seconds because I do not remember impacting the concrete curb head on but my chest and abdomen sure as hell did as they caught the full force of the steering wheel. When I regained my senses I looked back and they were doing CPR on they guy I hit. Turns out he flipped a couple of times in the air before landing on his shoulder and the right side of his head. He broke his collar bone and for some reason he had stopped breathing. They got him back and we both recovered.