Tony Stewart involved in fatal sprint car incident

[Nelson1]

Just throwing this in as a commenter, but are we really suspecting Stewart of deliberately hit or scare Ward?

Yes of course he's a hothead and had that reputation. However, he came out of a corner behind someone else at reduced pace, probably still pissed off. A driver's focus is bound to drop at that point. On top of that it was a night race and Ward has a black overall, so barely visible unless right in your lights.

Given all of that, I think Stewart didn't notice him until Ward was right in the middle of the corner. At such moments you can only react anymore on reflexes. Deliberately trying to scare or even hit an other driver isn't a reflex; it needs thought processing. The time frame just isn't there for that.
...
If any other driver would have hit Ward, then this discussion would have never taken place.

Deliberately hit? No, absolutely not. He's a top professional racing driver that risks his life on a regular basis, I just expect him to have a higher regard for life that to hit somebody like that on purpose.

Scare? I honestly don't know. That's the unfortunate part of all this, he's made a brand out of his temper. And the sport has supported that. He's done things which very easily could have injured others in the past, intentionally. That's the key to all of this. And maybe 'scare' isn't quite the right word, maybe it was more like 'teach a lesson' or 'send a message.'

I'm a lurker here for the most part, I don't want to fan the flames the wrong way but I find the suggestion of lower focus curious. Personally, I sort of lump all the top racing drivers together in the same general bucket. They all risk their lives, have passions and strong emotions on the track, have acute reflexes. The top ones all take their craft pretty seriously, they train, they use simulators and tools, they look at mistakes, they do stuff to help them win. They drive different vehicles on different tracks but I personally think there is a lot more similarity than many fans would like to admit. Tony Stewart is a multi-time 'world champion' in top flight stock car racing and he's won substantial championships in open wheel racing, he's competed in top level endurance racing events. He is as accomplished, if not more so than some F1 world champions, albeit in different sports; maybe that's not a completely fair comparison but I'm making it anyways. Do those guys let their focus drop on the track? Do they not know what's going on on the track? Do they not see or not know where competitors are? Did he not feel the contact that caused the accident in the first place? It took two people for this accident to happen and I honestly believe it was an accident in that Tony didn't intend to injure or kill anyone but he's a very elite world class racing driver, isn't he? I just can't fathom him being unaware of what's going on on the track, especially when he caused the accident that lead to it. He's not some young upstart that just got promoted up, he's been racing a long long time with lot of success.

[Hobbs04]

For criminal law you have to prove without reasonable doubt.... So yeah not guilty sorry folks.
Civil law is usually decided by public opinion; either way Tony Stewart as a brand have been hit hard by this. I doubt few people have dissected the incidents like F1technical and most will remember the initial headlines of tony sideswipes and kills other driver...

[NoDivergence]

Deliberately hit? No, absolutely not. He's a top professional racing driver that risks his life on a regular basis, I just expect him to have a higher regard for life that to hit somebody like that on purpose.

Scare? I honestly don't know. That's the unfortunate part of all this, he's made a brand out of his temper. And the sport has supported that. He's done things which very easily could have injured others in the past, intentionally. That's the key to all of this. And maybe 'scare' isn't quite the right word, maybe it was more like 'teach a lesson' or 'send a message.'

I'm a lurker here for the most part, I don't want to fan the flames the wrong way but I find the suggestion of lower focus curious. Personally, I sort of lump all the top racing drivers together in the same general bucket. They all risk their lives, have passions and strong emotions on the track, have acute reflexes. The top ones all take their craft pretty seriously, they train, they use simulators and tools, they look at mistakes, they do stuff to help them win. They drive different vehicles on different tracks but I personally think there is a lot more similarity than many fans would like to admit. Tony Stewart is a multi-time 'world champion' in top flight stock car racing and he's won substantial championships in open wheel racing, he's competed in top level endurance racing events. He is as accomplished, if not more so than some F1 world champions, albeit in different sports; maybe that's not a completely fair comparison but I'm making it anyways. Do those guys let their focus drop on the track? Do they not know what's going on on the track? Do they not see or not know where competitors are? Did he not feel the contact that caused the accident in the first place? It took two people for this accident to happen and I honestly believe it was an accident in that Tony didn't intend to injure or kill anyone but he's a very elite world class racing driver, isn't he? I just can't fathom him being unaware of what's going on on the track, especially when he caused the accident that lead to it. He's not some young upstart that just got promoted up, he's been racing a long long time with lot of success.

What is this supposed to mean? He didn't deliberately hit him but he hit him on purpose? Wait wut?

Another driver has spoken up that Tony did everything he could to avoid that kid.

[turbof1]

It's like I said: if anybody else tangled with Ward and then afterwards hit him, doing the exact same maneuvres Steward did, we wouldn't be having this discussion.

Of course, Tony is partially to blame himself for all the (unjustified) blaming he is getting now. his reputation and not his actions are at the base of the fingerpointing.

One could even try to make a leap of faith and reason that because it was Stewart, Stewart "the bad guy", who tangled with Ward, apperently familiar himself with taking knife-edge walks on an active race track, Ward felt that he needed to give the man a taste of his own medicin. Darwinism still plays the biggest role here, but Ward might never did this with any other driver. Far fetched of course.

[Moxie]

Deliberately hit? No, absolutely not. He's a top professional racing driver that risks his life on a regular basis, I just expect him to have a higher regard for life that to hit somebody like that on purpose.

Scare? I honestly don't know. That's the unfortunate part of all this, he's made a brand out of his temper. And the sport has supported that. He's done things which very easily could have injured others in the past, intentionally. That's the key to all of this. And maybe 'scare' isn't quite the right word, maybe it was more like 'teach a lesson' or 'send a message.'

I'm a lurker here for the most part, I don't want to fan the flames the wrong way but I find the suggestion of lower focus curious. Personally, I sort of lump all the top racing drivers together in the same general bucket. They all risk their lives, have passions and strong emotions on the track, have acute reflexes. The top ones all take their craft pretty seriously, they train, they use simulators and tools, they look at mistakes, they do stuff to help them win. They drive different vehicles on different tracks but I personally think there is a lot more similarity than many fans would like to admit. Tony Stewart is a multi-time 'world champion' in top flight stock car racing and he's won substantial championships in open wheel racing, he's competed in top level endurance racing events. He is as accomplished, if not more so than some F1 world champions, albeit in different sports; maybe that's not a completely fair comparison but I'm making it anyways. Do those guys let their focus drop on the track? Do they not know what's going on on the track? Do they not see or not know where competitors are? Did he not feel the contact that caused the accident in the first place? It took two people for this accident to happen and I honestly believe it was an accident in that Tony didn't intend to injure or kill anyone but he's a very elite world class racing driver, isn't he? I just can't fathom him being unaware of what's going on on the track, especially when he caused the accident that lead to it. He's not some young upstart that just got promoted up, he's been racing a long long time with lot of success.

What is this supposed to mean? He didn't deliberately hit him but he hit him on purpose? Wait wut?

Another driver has spoken up that Tony did everything he could to avoid that kid.

I preface my remarks by saying that I believe Stewarts actions were intended to avoid Ward.

I am certainly not a legal expert, but roughly speaking this is the difference between murder and manslaughter. Assuming there was an intent to scare Ward, the actions were deliberate, but the outcome was not. He did mean to scare him, and took actions which risked Wards life and limb, but the intent was not to kill him.

Again intent is everything in this case.

[Scorpaguy]

Well, Im a "Yank" thats seen hundreds of sprint/dirt events. After viewing the videos....I'd say Tony is 100% NOT AT FAULT. The Kid acted foolishly in a dangerous environment.

Its a shame, one life wasted and another likely ruined. Good Grief.

[MOWOG]

Thank God for this unfortunate event. Otherwise, we would have virtually nothing to talk about during the 3 week summer "holiday".

[siskue2005]

Wow great work espn and nascar twitter
And what's up with the smiling Tony Stewarts picture ??

[Moxie]

I alluded to this a couple of times already but because the thoughts have not fully formed I have hesitated on expressing them.

While I do not believe that Tony Stewart intended to hit Mr. Ward, nor do I believe that he bears criminal responsibility for this tragedy. I do, however, believe that Mr. Stewart bears some responsibility for this young man's death in a more profound way.

Tony Stewart was a poor role model. His behavior over the years helped to teach young impressionable racers that such behavior was acceptable. Of course that there is a lot more that goes into an individuals behavior than merely the actions of a sports hero, but the influence of these public figures should not be ignored. If Tony Stewart has any class he will publicly address his own behavior than over the years.

[MOWOG]

You make excellent points, Moxie. Karma is a bitch.

[Moxie]

The evidence gathered after Tony Stewart's race car struck and killed another driver who was walking on the track will be given soon to a grand jury, a district attorney in upstate New York announced Tuesday.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/16/us/tony-s ... ?hpt=hp_t2

[Phil]

I don't know much about Tony Stewart or what he has done in the past to a bad role model. Maybe he is. But what Ward did was utterly utterly utterly stupid and no matter how bad of a role model Stewart might have been, walking on to a race track and dodging cars he himself drove just moments before and therefore must have been aware of the profound difficulty in controlling one of these race cars at any speeds... it's pure stupidity. Sad to say, he just wasn't thinking and it cost him his life.

When you go to the track here, first rule you learn is to stay off the track. If you're in accident - you do not walk the track. Ever. You stay out of danger. And a hard surface track is a lot more predictable than the dirt track where this horrible event took place.

Perhaps this incident could have been avoided - but the question for me doesn't start with what any of the drivers could have done more to avoid hitting an out-of-control person walking the track - it starts with what was he [Ward] doing there in the first place, surely fully aware of the risks involved?

[MOWOG]

The American grand jury is a curious beast. It hears only what the prosecutor wants it to hear. No input or rebuttal from the potential accused is permitted. The time-worn expression is that a competent prosecutor could "indict a ham sandwich" if that is his wish.

I know nothing of this prosecutor. Perhaps he is the epitome of professionalism and rectitude. But American jurisprudence is rife with instances of prosecutors using a high profile case to raise their own profile. It is an elected office, after all, and voters need to be impressed. Having one's name featured in screaming, lurid headlines has proven to be an excellent way for many young prosecutors to make their mark and rise in the world of politics. Quite a few former prosecutors have gone on to be governors and members of Congress.

Not saying any of that pertains in this case. As Phil correctly says, the facts do not seem to support a criminal charge. But if an indictment IS handed down by the grand jury, I will be disappointed but not entirely surprised.

[FW17]

[Phil]

Those are pretty damning pictures (although it's impossible to relate to the speed those cars must be traveling). Even so - walking the track amongst cars on a race circuit IMO is a grave offense. That's not far off actively causing a collision and being a danger/threat to yourself or others. Imagine someone having to take evading messure and then ending in a big accident or a crash, potentially fatal. Stuff like this should be immediately punished - a few race bans, championship disqualification, a hefty fine - what it takes.

I guess it's different in America - as I guess a lot of people grow up with racing and motorsports and it's all a bit different overthere.

Perhaps this Tony Steward / Ward incident is a big wake-up call that something needs to be done about track safety - at the very least where it concerns drivers getting out of cars to confront their nemesis on the track. It's I guess one thing to feel sorry about the victim here - but I don't think Stewart is or wanted to cause this accident and he's as much a victim for having to live with the knowlege that he/his car took a life. Even if he used to be no better at confronting others on the track and getting away with it. Sometimes the hard way to learn something is the only way it sticks.