Tony Stewart purposefully ran someone over?

[ptatc]

uh oh what? another guy talking who has no idea and just speculating all over the place?

I've spent many hours on those types of tracks and worked with the drivers. Come over to the dirt track in joliet where it is only a 1/4 mile track (1/2 the size of the one in question) and you get a good idea of what happens on them. also, have a discussion with Stewart a few times and you might have a little insight as well.

[bmags]

I'm not doubting that Stewart knew there was a crashed car there, but that wasn't exactly the hazard. It was the driver who ran down half the track right as he was getting out of the turn.

[ChiliIrishHammock24]

Sprint car racer Jeremy Campbell: "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.”

 

Interesting.

[caulfield12]

There's obvious going to be a recreation of the even trying to simulate:

 

1) the same lighting

2) the same amount of time to try to determine how "reasonably avoidable" Ward might have been

3) the conditions of the windshield in terms of visibility

4) the same suit or colored suit on the driver on the track...which was blue, but certainly not dark blue...plus he was gesticulating pretty visibly

5) the other driver passing by in front of him, which might have cut down his ability to see Ward

6) the positions on the track of all the cars at the time of the accident to the time he came around to him again

7) the amount of experience someone like Stewart has behind the wheel of a racing car will be harder to determine...if the situation was reversed, Stewart gets run down by a young driver in Ward, it would be a bit more understandable from a human psyche standpoint..."young punk" kid trying to make a name for himself "tries to put Stewart in his place"

[StrangeSox]

Sprint car racer Jeremy Campbell: "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.”

 

Interesting.

yeah but you get out and hop over the wall or get to the infield and behind some crash barriers. You don't stand in the middle of the track gesturing at people.

[iamshack]

Sprint car racer Jeremy Campbell: "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.”

 

Interesting.

Is it your belief that he got out because he was concerned about those issues?

[zenryan]

Really. The track is 1/2 mile long. Stewart knows he put the guy in the wall. He knows where the car is in turn 2. After Stewart comes out of turn 4 he has roughly 1/4 of a mile to see what is happening. You can believe the CYA stuff or look at what happened.

 

 

and where was this guy standing at in relation to the car that Stewart knows is in the wall at turn 2?

 

 

[ChiliIrishHammock24]

Is it your belief that he got out because he was concerned about those issues?

 

Nope, just found it interesting that getting out is the right move.

[southsider2k5]

yeah but you get out and hop over the wall or get to the infield and behind some crash barriers. You don't stand in the middle of the track gesturing at people.

 

#strawmanning

[EvilMonkey]

Wonder why some are assuming Tony was 'filled with rage' at that other driver. Perhaps he was laughing at the fool jumping out of his car in the middle of a race. Or perhaps he didn't think anything because the accident that preceded it was really a nothing event, not like he 'took him out' on purpose (meaning the initial crash here).

[Kyyle23]

Wonder why some are assuming Tony was 'filled with rage' at that other driver. Perhaps he was laughing at the fool jumping out of his car in the middle of a race. Or perhaps he didn't think anything because the accident that preceded it was really a nothing event, not like he 'took him out' on purpose (meaning the initial crash here).

 

I am not assuming that he was filled with rage, but he has a long history that make it very easy to look at this situation and think that was the case.

[The Wiz]

What if the tables were turned? And the driver who died actually caused Tony Stewart to swerve to avoid him and then he flips his car or some accident like that and Tony Stewart winds up as the one who is dead? Would people be calling for the 20 year old to be arrested and rot in jail?

 

Personally, I think most likely Stewart was trying to scare him. However, him doing something stupid and reckless doesn't make the person who tragically died absolved of all guilt for doing something even more stupid and reckless as running in the middle of a dirt road at a racing car. I'm sorry the kid died, but I believe there is one fact here, you run out in the middle of a dirt track at a racing car and wind up dead or seriously injured, you have no one to blame but yourself.

[caulfield12]

What if the tables were turned? And the driver who died actually caused Tony Stewart to swerve to avoid him and then he flips his car or some accident like that and Tony Stewart winds up as the one who is dead? Would people be calling for the 20 year old to be arrested and rot in jail?

 

Personally, I think most likely Stewart was trying to scare him. However, him doing something stupid and reckless doesn't make the person who tragically died absolved of all guilt for doing something even more stupid and reckless as running in the middle of a dirt road at a racing car. I'm sorry the kid died, but I believe there is one fact here, you run out in the middle of a dirt track at a racing car and wind up dead or seriously injured, you have no one to blame but yourself.

 

 

That's reasonable enough.

 

The problem from the legal perspective will be determining how much, and if, Stewart also will be deemed responsible for his actions or part in the death.

[The Wiz]

That's reasonable enough.

 

The problem from the legal perspective will be determining how much, and if, Stewart also will be deemed responsible for his actions or part in the death.

 

From the evidence we've see, I don't think there is anyway you can prove without a doubt that he is guilty. Then again, who knows, there might be evidence we don't know about.

[caulfield12]

From the evidence we've see, I don't think there is anyway you can prove without a doubt that he is guilty. Then again, who knows, there might be evidence we don't know about.

 

 

One huge piece of evidence would be any cockpit recordings with the crew...not unlike a flight data recorder.

 

I doubt that exists...or if there's any damning evidence, they probably would have wiped it already, even though tampering with evidence would be considered a felony, Stewart saying something that demonstrates malice and forethought like "I'm going to teach this punk kid a lesson" that would be the end of his career.

[ChiliIrishHammock24]

One huge piece of evidence would be any cockpit recordings with the crew...not unlike a flight data recorder.

 

I doubt that exists...or if there's any damning evidence, they probably would have wiped it already, even though tampering with evidence would be considered a felony, Stewart saying something that demonstrates malice and forethought like "I'm going to teach this punk kid a lesson" that would be the end of his career.

 

There was apparently a Go Pro attached. Whether that was inside the car our outside, I'm not sure, but it would be great footage to see.

[zenryan]

Nope, just found it interesting that getting out is the right move.

 

 

 

well according to a sprint car racing exec, its not the right move.

 

link

 

As millions of people have, Steve Sinclair watched the video from Saturday night in upstate New York, just from a slightly different perspective.

 

In addition to being a lifelong fan of racing, Sinclair operates a racing series for winged sprint cars, and his day job is as an agent for the largest insurer to the motorsports industry.

 

So in a 45-minute conversation Monday about the incident at Canandaigua Motorsports Park that left Kevin Ward Jr. dead, one phrase came up repeatedly.

 

"You can't leave your car," Sinclair said.

 

And said it again. And again.

 

Those are likely to be among the first and most important words to come out of his mouth Friday night at Wilmot Raceway when the Interstate Racing Association competes for the first time since Ward's death.

 

Ward was walking on the track when he was struck by the right rear tire of a car driven by NASCAR champion Tony Stewart. The two had fought for space on the racetrack, Ward spun and stopped with a flat tire and then got out of his car, apparently to confront Stewart, as the field lapped under caution.

 

"We're definitely going to address it at the drivers' meeting," said Sinclair, the president of the IRA since 1994. The organization sanctions about two dozen events annually, mostly around Wisconsin.

 

"Probably two to three times a year a guy will get out. He doesn't usually come down the track. It's a little different. He might just stand there, try to get the guy's attention, flip him off or something."

 

Three years ago, the series suspended a driver who had tried to slam his hand into the wing of a car that was still moving.

 

"We're going to tell them (Friday), you get out of the car and it's not on fire, you start walking on the racetrack to another competitor, you're going to get a night off," Sinclair said.

 

"If anybody wants to have discussion about what more we can do, let us know, but we're starting with this."

 

The same rule will be in place for lower divisions that run at Wilmot, Sinclair said.

 

The cars that raced with the Empire Super Sprints series Saturday night at Canandaigua are essentially the same as IRA's, except with 360-cubic-inch engines rather than 410s. Most regional sprint-car sanctioning bodies and tracks use a framework of specifications and rules from the World of Outlaws, the premier national series, Sinclair said.

 

Sprint cars drivers have limited visibility, particularly to the right, because of the cars' construction with a containment seat designed as a protective cocoon and because of the end plate of a large wing that sits attached to the frame above the cockpit.

 

Opinions vary on exactly what happened Saturday, such as whether Stewart saw Ward — in a black uniform and black helmet — or whether Stewart hit the gas either to try to intimidate Ward or to try to avoid him.

 

"I learned something, too," Sinclair said. "After seeing what getting caught up in a right rear can do to you, I will no longer be giving signals... on the racetrack. I'm doing it all by radio now. I'm not touching the racetrack.

 

"My officials will be instructed not to go onto the racetrack unless it's a safety issue, and those guys are in orange fire suits. It's a different story."

 

Stewart has driven in races promoted by Sinclair. Although Canandaigua is a client of K&K Insurance, for which Sinclair works, the track is not his account. K&K caters to the sports and entertainment industries and started more than 60 years ago with motorsports.

 

Ontario County (N.Y.) Sheriff Philip C. Povero said Monday that investigation into the incident continues, but no facts at this point support filing criminal charges against Stewart.

 

Stewart has withdrawn from a sprint-car race Saturday in Plymouth, Ind., and has not said whether he'll return to NASCAR action this weekend in Brooklyn, Mich.

 

While Stewart was competing in New York on Saturday night, sprint car racing's biggest event was being contested in Knoxville, Iowa, and was won by Donny Schatz, who drives for Stewart.

 

Sinclair worked as an official at Knoxville, and among his duties was to communicate instructions to drivers via one-way radio.

 

Drivers don't have team-employed spotters the way NASCAR and Indy-car drivers to do, but most sanctioning bodies require radios over which information such as positions in the lineup and the location of trouble or safety workers is relayed.

 

Nearly every organization uses the same radio frequency, Sinclair said. Some drivers tuck their radios into their uniforms, while others have them mounted in their cars.

 

Sinclair said he had no idea of the specifics at Canandaigua, what officials saw, what instructions were given, where Ward's radio was or even if he had one. But ideally, Sinclair said, communication between officials and a driver in a similar situation would go something like this:

 

"The guy crashes in (Turn) 2, I would have said, 'There's a yellow in 2,' and if the guy got out of his car in a rage, hopefully you'd be telling him not to do it."

 

That also will be Sinclair's message Friday.

[witesoxfan]

There is not a lot of visibility in these cars to begin with, and when it's dark, it's even harder to see. It's not like they have headlights.

 

It's unfortunate what happened, but having spoken with all the guys I know who are involved with dirt track racing, they pin the blame 100% on Ward. You never, ever, ever get out of your vehicle on the track. Never.

[caulfield12]

Except all of these explanations don't matter one bit in the court of public opinion, which formed pretty instantly in the 24 hours after they heard about the incident or saw the footage...it's going to be quite difficult to change anyone's opinion...either way.

[witesoxfan]

Except all of these explanations don't matter one bit in the court of public opinion, which formed pretty instantly in the 24 hours after they heard about the incident or saw the footage...it's going to be quite difficult to change anyone's opinion...either way.

 

Right, and they also don't mention how difficult it is for these things to stop. They're cruising and they're built to move very, very fast around corners. They aren't meant for leisurely drives around the park on a Sunday.

[caulfield12]

Right, and they also don't mention how difficult it is for these things to stop. They're cruising and they're built to move very, very fast around corners. They aren't meant for leisurely drives around the park on a Sunday.

 

You have the average Joe the Taxi Driver calling in to sports radio shows claiming Stewart's a murderer because he wouldn't hit someone in his taxi (in supposedly the same situation), having no idea the difference between a dirt and asphalt track, windshield visibility, inferior lighting conditions, difficult seeing someone wearing a dark-colored racesuit, etc.

 

I've been listening on and off for the last three nights (body clock is still on China time) and it's almost exactly evenly split 50/50 down the middle for and against Stewart.

 

It will pick up again this weekend if he races (or grow and grown until the first time he does race)...he's definitely not racing in the sprint cars this weekend, that's already out there.

 

Someone compared it to Days of Thunder/Tom Cruise movie and said he was going to be a danger to all of the other drivers...because, Rowdy Gaines/Michael Rooker. Or Tom Cruise after Goose dies in Top Gun.

[ptatc]

Except all of these explanations don't matter one bit in the court of public opinion, which formed pretty instantly in the 24 hours after they heard about the incident or saw the footage...it's going to be quite difficult to change anyone's opinion...either way.

Exactly, there will never be enough evidence to make a case in a criminal court. Stewart is not going to admit if he did it. The interesting part will be if there is a civil case. However, I think that Ward walking down toward car will cast enough blame on him that it may not go anywhere.

[Jenksismyhero]

Exactly, there will never be enough evidence to make a case in a criminal court. Stewart is not going to admit if he did it. The interesting part will be if there is a civil case. However, I think that Ward walking down toward car will cast enough blame on him that it may not go anywhere.

 

Agreed. There will be a lawsuit and a quick settlement probably. Ward was clearly more at fault here. He put himself in a position to be hit.

[LittleHurt05]

Agreed. There will be a lawsuit and a quick settlement probably. Ward was clearly more at fault here. He put himself in a position to be hit.

 

Yup. Even if he thinks he's 100% innocent, no reason for Stewart to let a civil case ensue. Give the family a couple million, sign an agreement to shut the books on the case (whatever it's legally called), and move on.

[southsider2k5]

Yup. Even if he thinks he's 100% innocent, no reason for Stewart to let a civil case ensue. Give the family a couple million, sign an agreement to shut the books on the case (whatever it's legally called), and move on.

 

Yeah, with the difference is burden of proof, there might actually be some merit to a civil suit if they can prove any kind of issue with Stewart, though again, there will have to some better camera work or eyewitness testimony to prove something.