Tony Stewart Hits Walking Driver and Flings Him 150 Feet

[the Brain]

Don't those guys have radio communications w/their pit crews? They don't record them?

 

[SethMode]

Agreed that this is how it will likely play out. My personal opinion, Tony Stewart is known for having a bad temper. He saw that kid coming down the track at him and wanted to teach him a lesson by giving him the equivalent of a brush back pitch in baseball and it went bad when the kid was already too close to the car to avoid being hit. I'm not sure how anyone will ever prove intent and Stewart will race again but this is going to be something that follows him the rest of his career.

Totally agreed. Sorry for the groan.

 

[Tailback U]

I don't think he saw him until it was too late. How fast are those cars going by him? I can't believe that kid ran out onto the track like that.

 

[Steel Mamba]

What should the punishment be for accidentally hitting a guy who gets out of the car during a race on the track?

I think it's more about them showing some form of decency and respect for the situation. Regardless of who's at fault, someone died and nothing should ever be "business as usual" following someone's death. As if nothing happened. They could have handled the situation more gracefully imo.

 

[Garrett67]

When U are on that track, you are given permission to do things with a car you can't do anywhere else, because you are expected to be an expert in handling the car & yourself.

True, but generally there aren't pedestrians.

 

[the Brain]

True, but generally there aren't pedestrians.

I hardly ever watch car racing. But this has to be the 10th, 20th time I've seen video of an irate driver getting out on the track during a caution. i remember a deer running out onto a formula 1 track & not get hit. I think there was a toddler who got loose to & didn't get hit. This ain't normal, but it ain't uncommon either. The reason why this is getting noticed is because this is the first one where someone got hit. As stupid as it is for us, these guys trust that every driver has supreme control of his vehicle. It's like crowding the plate when you know someone throws in the high 90's. You know the guy on the mound has great control and is not going to hit you, certainly not in the head. That's why batters used to call Pedro Martinez a headhunter cause he hit too many guys high w/the supreme control he had. He claimed he lost the pitch. Hard to believe. As is the case w/Stewart.

 

[BigBucs]

other video post is down

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QJdBd0437U

​

First I have heard and seen of this. Getting out and walking on the track during a race is idiotic.

What would happen to a police officer who lost his cool & needlessly killed someone he was trying to arrest? I think the crimes are similar. When U are on that track, you are given permission to do things with a car you can't do anywhere else, because you are expected to be an expert in handling the car & yourself. Same for a cop w/a gun. He can't control himself, he can't participate in the sport. He isn't qualified.

I get what you are trying to say but that's a terrible point considering how much cops get off with killing innocent citizens.

 

[Golden Taters]

Tony has been on the other side of it before.

Approaching another car still driving happens in NASCAR, rarely, but this isn't the first time this has happened. The difference with a car racing on dirt is sprint cars fishtail to turn as they slide on the surface, a lot less control over a car on asphalt. Plus the rear tires are massive on these things, I assumed with how much of a hot head Stewart is, if he did indeed see him, he was just trying to stand his ground and brush him back. There is zero chance Tony meant to hit this guy. If his rage was going to get the best of him, it would have happened in his Indy Car or NASCAR career, not against some random kid at the local dirt track.

 

[Senser81]

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.

 

[Pitty]

Why is this in the Locker Room?

 

[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.

:runaway: 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?