Tony Stewart Hits Walking Driver and Flings Him 150 Feet

[Senser81]

Why is this in the Locker Room?

I don't know...I started a thread in the "Other Sports" forum, but was immediately chastised.

[jeffx]

I keep hearing there might be rules changes to prevent drivers from getting out of their cars.

[Senser81]

I keep hearing there might be rules changes to prevent drivers from getting out of their cars.

If being driven over isn't enough of a deterrent, then I don't think a "rules change" will have any affect.

[KINGOFOOTBALL]

As a non fan..99pct of car race highlights I see involve a crash and/or a driver getting out to bitch about said crash.

[Argath]

It looks like Ward comes awfully close to getting hit a couple times...when he first gets out of his car at the 0:31 mark, and then at the 0:35 mark with the blue and white #45 car. The 'evidence' against Stewart IMO is that it looks like his car is going faster than the #45 car was going, and he was going way faster than the two cars that were following him.

The reasoning being the best way to get those cars to turn is to hit the gas.

Article below would be a good read for all of the people calling for Tony's head in this thread.

http://www.kwch.com/news/local-news/local-racers-explain-sprint-cars-and-dangers/27403220

WICHITA, Kan. -

Following the deadly crash in New York where Tony Stewart hit Kevin Ward, Eyewitness News spoke with some local racers who explain the workings and sometimes dangers of racing sprint cars.
MORE FROM KWCH.COM

• NASCAR's Stewart hits dirt track driver who was walking...

Sprint Car Racer Jeremy Campbell has been in hundreds of spring races over the past 14 years, including several at 81 Speedway in Park City. He said when a driver is inside the car, strapped in, a driver’s vision is reduced.

“You can see out in front of you, you can see the cars and everything but you have a rock screen too in front of your face,” Campbell said. “But on the right side of the car, the wing kind of hangs low and it's hard to see right in the front corner.”

Campbell said sprint cars are different than normal cars because they don’t turn with just the steering wheel. He said a driver has to give the car gas.
“Once you give it gas, the car kind of does pull to the left a little bit,” Campbell said.

Former racer Rodney White said, “Those cars turn on the throttle. You'll hear that a lot and basically what that means is to get the car to turn, you have to hit the gas. They don't necessarily turn with the steering wheel.”

Video captured by eyewitnesses in New York showed Ward get out of his car to confront Stewart on the track. That’s when the crash happened.
White and Campbell both said it’s not uncommon for drivers to get angry with each other, especially after a wreck.

Campbell said, “I've gotten mad at somebody before too that ran me over. I got out of the car and pointed at him, but these cars, they don't stop. You can't stop them. They idle at about 30 to 45 miles an hour.”

White said, “At that time, emotions are high and adrenaline is rushing and you kind of just put your arms out and point at somebody and say, ‘what are you doing?’”

Getting out of the car after a wreck isn’t uncommon either. Campbell said it’s actually smart.

“You want to try to get out of your car as soon as possible,” Campbell said. “Because in case the fuel line does break or in case there's some kind of fire. I always try to get out.”

In the case of Ward, the decision to get out of his car and walk onto the track proved fatal when Stewart’s car hit and killed him.

[MrBill]

Fox Sports is reporting that the toxicology results from Kevin Ward, Jr show that he was under the influence of marijuana at the time of the incident.

Kevin Ward Jr. Under the Influence at Time of Accident

SEP 24, 3:39 PMToxicology evidence in the Tony Stewart/Kevin Ward Jr. case states that Ward was under the influence of marijuana at the time of his fatal accident.

[krulmichael]

Fox Sports is reporting that the toxicology results from Kevin Ward, Jr show that he was under the influence of marijuana at the time of the incident.

Don't smoke the devil's lettuce; it'll make you run in front of 160 mph vehicles!

Sent from the awesome LG G2 in all its 5.2 inch glory via Tapatalk 4.

[Glenbino]

Shouldn't they be testing these guys before every race?

If there were ever a professional sport that required a recreational drug policy it would be motor sports.

Sent from my HTC6500LVW using Tapatalk

[MrBill]

I am pretty sure the NASCAR guys in all of the major classes get drug tested pretty regularly. I've read about suspensions before related to drug usage.

Let's get real here though. Is NASCAR smearing the dead kid for having THC in his system or did the kid actually have enough THC in his system to have been considered "high"? There is a big difference in somebody that smoked pot the week before at a party and somebody that was smoking in their hauler before the race.

[krulmichael]

I am pretty sure the NASCAR guys in all of the major classes get drug tested pretty regularly. I've read about suspensions before related to drug usage.

Let's get real here though. Is NASCAR smearing the dead kid for having THC in his system or did the kid actually have enough THC in his system to have been considered "high"? There is a big difference in somebody that smoked pot the week before at a party and somebody that was smoking in their hauler before the race.

Not to mention how late into the race did things go before this event happened?

[Glenbino]

It's definitely a smear job by NASCAR or whoever is in charge of this thing. But seriously, if I can get a DUI for running a stop sign at 10 mph at 2 AM with no one else on the road these guys should be completely clean before they're allowed to race.

They should all have those breathalyzer things to start their cars, although I'm sure this would cause the beer sponsors to pull out.