DAMN!! Tony Stewart kills fellow driver, striking them on track with his race car.

[~Barn~]

http://motorsportstalk.nbcsports.com/2014/08/10/sheriff-driver-hit-by-tony-stewart-in-sprint-car-race-has-died/

[~Barn~]

Since this is the world we live in...
Click me (http://deadspin.com/reports-tony-stewart-ran-over-opposing-driver-during-1618893708) for the video.

Needless to say it's disturbing. I wish the racer wouldn't have let his emotions influence him toward the confrontation; it cost him his life.

[buddahson]

RIP to the young racer. This is an unfortunate situation and in my opinion both racers made major mistakes. Ward should not have exited his car and especially should not have proceeded through the hot track as he did. It then appears to me that Stewart tried to scare him by getting close and spinning the tires. He didn't need to do that and could have been more cautious. If it were up to me, I'd charge him with involuntary manslaughter and permanently expel him from all forms of motorsport.

[~Barn~]

I expect him to get charged also.

[kawasakirob]

I dont understand why Stewart would get charged. When someone crashes at HPR do they run out on the track and try to fight someone....as bikes start to come around? Dude was an idiot. The only reason its getting so much hype is because its Tony Stewart. Guarantee if it was some yocal from nowhere nobody would give a crap.

[~Barn~]

I don't think that people are trying to suggest that the young (now dead) racer didn't do anything stupid and idiotic, but T. Stewart did appear to "whip" at him with his car. You - in your words - "don't understand why" he would get charged, and I can't understand how he's going to avoid it. :dunno:
buddahson hit the nail head perfectly.

[kawasakirob]

The dude looked like he was trying to jump on the car. Tony acted and slid the rear -the opposite- way of the guy but he got clipped anyway. He was also wearing full black at a night race and the visibility was low. And I'm sure Tony was not expecting to see some guy pissed off in the middle of the track trying to confront him, when he did, he tried to act accordingly and the guy got clipped. Its like trying to blame a driver for hitting a deer in the middle of the night

[buddahson]

Another driver can be seen slowing and sticking to the bottom of the track to avoid Ward. It would appear that Stewart was also moving at a speed that would allow him to avoid Ward, but I don't see him make any obvious adjustments until just before the moment of impact. I don't think he intentionally hit Ward, but it also doesn't appear he tried to give him any extra room. He's a professional driver and I have a tough time believing he wasn't aware Ward was coming into the middle of the track. Also, the track appears well lit to me. There is plenty enough light to see what happens in the video, and camera lenses reduce light significantly.

[#1Townie]

Meh.. Could care less.

[Gramps]

I don't follow NASCAR at all but it has a huge following and some pretty powerful fans. I would say that before they throw a major player out of the game forever, that more than one phone call will take place to discuss the financial ramifications.

It's easy to figure out the powers in charge at NASCAR are very aware of the financial side of how things work. It will be interesting to see what happens in this situation and if the money outweighs the various other issues involved.

[bulldog]

I am stuck on this one. The guy was a idiot to run on the track, but it did seem like Stewart could have been more cautious and I do wonder if he tried to scared this guy and then hit him by mistake. Hard for me to tell from that video. Overall I do think you should never run onto a track and are taking a risk by doing this......

[Colorado S14]

Always sad to see someone die but these Nascar and Sprint Car guys are a bunch of hot headed yokels and this was bound to happen. I am a die-hard Formula 1 and Moto GP fan and when those guys crash they usually just get out of the car and off the track as fast as possible, here and there you get two guys that end up in a sand trap and they exchange a shove or two but it is off the track nonetheless. I can't tell you how many highlights I have seen from Nascar and Sprint where there is a driver out of his car running back on to the track to confront the guy in the 3600lb steel battering ram driving past at 85mph under yellow or throwing his helmet at the other guys car. Add to that the fact that Nascar is the Real Housewives of racing and the announcers and sport love that shit because it sells tickets and as such have not done much to curb these actions and this was bound to happen. If they had done the right thing years ago and started giving guys half season bans for this crap this incident could have been avoided.

[~Barn~]

<Snip...>. If they had done the right thing years ago and started giving guys half season bans for this crap this incident could have been avoided.

Fantastic take! I was just telling Damir this exact same thing yesterday, that if they [the race sanctioning bodies] had a tradition of dropping the hammer on guys for going onto the track for "confrontations" like this, that this young man would still probably be alive. And even still, T. Stewart and others of his ilk, would/could certainly still have plenty of outlets for their hotheadedness too. Do your WWE shit in the pits, if that's what "the sport" expects of you. Maybe this was just a freak accident that's all part of the theatrics of it all, but somebody is in fact still dead and if racing itself won't do anything to keep it from happening again, the law certainly should; what a mess. Great post though.

[Ezzzzy1]

If you think about the bigger picture... Stewart is actually more responsible for all of this. Think about when this kid was 10 and he was watching Tony chase guys down to give them his .02 cents. All the kid was doing was acting like one of his idols :dunno:



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwc8obMmv7o

[Ezzzzy1]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REnIe8q3E4I

[konichd]

You'll see Tony Stewart get charged with 2nd degree manslaughter according to the news reports out today.

Stewart has a long history of "run ins' with fellow racers. Sad to see its went this far with no ramification, had it, Ward maybe alive today.

Lots of witnesses say Tony "blipped" the throttle making his car go right, intentionally into Ward's path. I think Tony intended to "scar" the guy but now his mistake took the life of a young and promising racer.

RIP Ward jr

[Captain Obvious]

From the video I saw, you could hear an engine rev. Assuming that was his car making the noise (you can see his car get sideways when the motor spins up) it would be a reasonable assumption that he meant to scare the kid. And his action, even if not intentional, caused the other racer to die.

I bet he gets charged. And I'm 100% confident he ends up in civil court with a very large suit against him. His track record of acting out violently is about to haunt him. While the kid was clearly wrong in running across the track, so isn't without fault, but this will end poorly for TS.

Pretty sure if I did that in WERA/MRA etc I would get tossed for the season at least. But I make them no money beyond registration fees (or used to) so it is easy to say that. Try biting the hand that feeds you.....

[Captain Obvious]

Meh.. Could care less.

Funny, you care enough to come in and post you don't care.....

[Generic]

Funny, you care enough to come in and post you don't care.....

Well he did say "Could care less" meaning he has a potential to care even less than his current level. Now if he had said "Couldn't care less" we'd know he was at the absolutely minimum of caring and probably wouldn't have posted.

[~Barn~]

It's part of Townie's charm.

[koop]

I don't know that you can make much of Stewart blipping the gas. I don't know much about these cars but I believe (as with most dirt racing) a lot of steering is done by throttle.

[konichd]

^^Its actually a key point of the ongoing investigation.

On a sprint car with staggered tires, blipping the throttle pitches the car right (hence how they turn with the front wheels at opposite lock).

[Captain Obvious]

^^Its actually a key point of the ongoing investigation.

On a sprint car with staggered tires, blipping the throttle pitches the car right (hence how they turn with the front wheels at opposite lock).

Yep, exactly. And pitching the car to the right puts it closer to the kid running along the track. Did just see the update on SC, the local sheriff is stating no charges, still under forensic investigation, etc, etc. Lighting, visibility from cockpit.

[konichd]

I'm guessing if you can race at 100+ MPH and see just fine you shouldn't have a problem on a yellow flag going 45 MPH. Goodbye Tony

[Captain Obvious]

I would agree. They commented on the lighting in the SC piece "hs baseball and football venues are better lit"... but if it was sufficient, then the argument is a distraction. But lets be clear, with Tony's money, they have to review all angles. Now and again during the trial.

[#1Townie]

Oh you want me in on this?? Fine. Fuck ward. Dumb shit charged a race car and got hit. Got himself killed. If anything Stuart just taught the best lesson to everyone else out there. Go running into traffic and you will probably get killed.

Bottom line he wanted to play billy bad ass and didn't think. Got himself hit by a car and died. Fuck em. Hope every kid in america watches this and learns a lesson. Sometimes its better to just sit things out and think for a moment.

[bulldog]

Oh you want me in on this?? Fine. Fuck ward. Dumb shit charged a race car and got hit. Got himself killed. If anything Stuart just taught the best lesson to everyone else out there. Go running into traffic and you will probably get killed.

Bottom line he wanted to play billy bad ass and didn't think. Got himself hit by a car and died. Fuck em. Hope every kid in america watches this and learns a lesson. Sometimes its better to just sit things out and think for a moment.
The more I think about this and the more I watch the video I do have to say Townie has a point! So many on this site talk about how we all can’t go around letting our emotions get the best of us and it is best to walk away (how many people have told me this when I bring up fighting). Yet this guy that got killed did choose to do what he did and paid for it but he clearly could have stayed in his seat and calmed down. I watched the video numerous times and one thing that I catch is how far down this guy went into the track; literally went all the way down and even went further down as that first car went by; with freaking open tire racers (way easier to be pulled in). What was he going to accomplish…big bad ass throwing his helmet…sounds like something a elementary kid would do during a hissy fit (no disrespect to the guy, just saying that is how it appeared to me; coming from a guy who has had to learn to chill his temper every day because I learned it only makes things worse). Sheesh at least if he was that angry wait for him to come into the pits and fight him man to man….at least both would still be alive….running onto a race track just seems common sense to me that you may get hit.

I am not saying the guy was totally at fault, but he definitely deserves some of the blame too.

Just saying there is a point to this! I think Townie just ain’t afraid to post what he feels or what others are thinking and afraid to post :dunno:

[Kim-n-Dean]

...Just saying there is a point to this! I think Townie just ain’t afraid to post what he feels or what others are thinking and afraid to post :dunno:I don't know, Nate. What Tony did is very similar to pointing a gun in someones direction, to scare them, and pulling the trigger. Oops! I hit the guy and now he's dead!

Tony gassed it and got too close. They both fucked up, big time!! Tony should be charged. Too many witnesses are saying he gassed it. Tony should have never "pulled the trigger" trying to scare the guy.

I tell this to people all the time. Be careful who you are fucking with. That person might do something stupid, and be sorry, but it's too late for you. Tony reacted, now he's sorry, but too late for Ward!

Why do so many drivers get out of their cars? Isn't it a rule to not leave the car? People need to be suspended, at least, when they exit the car. Maybe people will stop doing it!!

[bulldog]

I don't know, Nate. What Tony did is very similar to pointing a gun in someones direction, to scare them, and pulling the trigger. Oops! I hit the guy and now he's dead!

Tony gassed it and got too close. They both fucked up, big time!! Tony should be charged. Too many witnesses are saying he gassed it. Tony should have never "pulled the trigger" trying to scare the guy.

I tell this to people all the time. Be careful who you are fucking with. That person might do something stupid, and be sorry, but it's too late for you. Tony reacted, now he's sorry, but too late for Ward!

Why do so many drivers get out of their cars? Isn't it a rule to not leave the car? People need to be suspended, at least, when they exit the car. Maybe people will stop doing it!! I agree, Tony is to blame too, but then I do see how this guy would be alive if he would not have got so upset and.learned to just let it go.....which I took was Townie's point.

Plus was it really that bad what Stewart did in the race to cause him to crash? Is that not part of racing? Maybe I I am not seeing it, but seems like the both had a line and Stewart's was just more narrow and caused the guy to crash, so is that really a reason to go all crazy and chase the guy down on the track? Imagine if in basketball every foul was treated the same way!

But yeah I always tell people the same thing; careful who you mess with because you never know; lots of crazy people out there and not worth it. That just goes back though to learning to keep a temper in check. Believe me I'd love to go around fighting people when they piss me off; did it for a lot of my life, but it never solved much for me that more drama....actually got me stabbed!

All I know is I would never run across a live track

I am not clear on the "gassing" and what really happened though....was purely saying from what I saw in video.

[Ezzzzy1]

No one knows why anyone did what they did or even what they were trying to do. The first car to pass the kid clearly didnt see him walking down track and there is a possibility that Tony was just racing around the track as normal (hell, he might not have even known that he ran the kid into the wall), came around the corner and then BAM!

If thats the case, Tony didnt do anything wrong.

[Rabbie303]

I've watched the video several times, and he didn't even gas it until he was next to guy. To me it appears that he was almost past him, or at least mid car when he hit the gas. Maybe to get away? Not that it mattered, but it didn't look like he gassed it before him causing any kind of slide.

Can't really say that hasn't been already stated. The guy was an idiot for getting out of his car when there was no need. Now if his car was on fire I can totally understand it. But he was just pissed and a moron that picked the wrong way of dealing with it.

[Captain Obvious]

Oh you want me in on this??

No :) was just commenting on you going out of your way to make a statement of saying nothing. Just seemed silly.

I don't disagree with you. He decided to screw with the bull and got the horns. Doesn't mean the bull isn't going to get his, but the kid certainly made steps 1 and 2 which ended up leading to his own death.

[Kim-n-Dean]

I've watched the video several times, and he didn't even gas it until he was next to guy. To me it appears that he was almost past him, or at least mid car when he hit the gas.You have to take into consideration the time it takes the sound to get across the track and to the video camera. It doesn't take much of a distance to have an audio to video delay. The camera/mic is pretty far away, being on the other side of the track. If that is Tony's car you hear gas it, it's right when he hits the guy, therefore, because of sound delay, Tony hit the gas before he got to the guy.

I think the eye-witnesses are correct. Tony punched it to scare the guy and things got way too close, way too quick. The first car almost hit Ward as well, but Tony did it on purpose. You can even see Ward jump back to avoid Tony. It's too bad the video doesn't stay framed as Tony enters the scene.

[Rabbie303]

You have to take into consideration the time delay it takes the sound to get across the track and to the video camera. It doesn't take much of a distance to have an audio to video gap. The camera/mic is pretty far away, being on the other side of the track. If that is Tony's car you hear gas it, it's right when he hits the guy, therefore, because of sound delay, Tony hit the gas before he got to the guy.

I think the eye-witnesses are correct. Tony punched it to scare the guy and things got way too close, way too quick. The first car almost hit Ward as well, but Tony did it on purpose. You can even see Ward jump back to avoid Tony. It's too bad the video doesn't stay framed as Tony enters the scene.

Very good point. I didn't take into account of the delay. That would put him gassing it right before the guy. Sad and stupid all around from both sides.

[The Black Knight]

See I think the fact that the guy jumped back tells a lot. He obviously got out of the car to bump his gums at Tony. Then realized Tony was coming right at him is what made him react backwards. Maybe something told him Tony wasn't going to hit him or he would have jumped back further. Maybe Tony expected the kid to move more. Either way it's a bad look for both Tony and the deceased.

Both are at fault. However, the kid should have never left his car. He should have taken whatever static he had with Tony and settled it in the pits.

[#1Townie]

No :) was just commenting on you going out of your way to make a statement of saying nothing. Just seemed silly.

I don't disagree with you. He decided to screw with the bull and got the horns. Doesn't mean the bull isn't going to get his, but the kid certainly made steps 1 and 2 which ended up leading to his own death.

You mean out of my way by clicking a few buttons? Only took a few seconds. Hardly out of the way.

[#1Townie]

And yes Mr bulldog I'm saying if ward had stayed in his car and thought about his actions he would still be alive.


In this world we are never held accountable for our actions. Ever. A shooter shoots up a shopping mall. Its the gun. A kid hurts himself.. Its bullying.

Hell its okay for a kid to get wasted and kill a couple of people and he gets to go to Aome fancy resort for rich people as a punishment. Why? Too rich to know better.

Also I'm sure a level of self-defense could be used in Stuarts defense. Let's face it ward wasn't walking down that berm to talk about what a great race they had. He wanted a fight. Stuart was strapped in with a racing harness and unable to properly defend himself.

We can look at this a million and one ways. End of the day ward jumped out of his car and was running around on a rave track not thinking and got hit by a car. He died. His bad.