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Tony Stewart and Kevin Ward, Jr.

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    Tony Stewart and Kevin Ward, Jr.

    Any thoughts on Tony Stewart running over a fellow racer and killing him? Any word of a police investigation?

    For those who didn't read about it:

    http://deadspin.com/reports-tony-stewart-ran-over-opposing-driver-during-1618893708

    JV, are these the races that you went to recently?

    #2
    Tony Stewart and Kevin Ward, Jr.

    I've just read the BBC report on this and that says the police are investigating. Stewart has been questioned, but the local Sheriff was stressing that no charges are pending are this point.

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      #3
      Tony Stewart and Kevin Ward, Jr.

      I think Ward Jr was very stupid here. Only Stewart knows if he hit him deliberately but running about on a racetrack is clearly fraught with danger.

      It looks like the car before the hit almost strikes Ward Jr too. This is a dirt track so even if you think your rival won't hit you, it cannot be guaranteed he won't lose control a bit especially if he gets spooked by you coming at him.

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        #4
        Tony Stewart and Kevin Ward, Jr.

        It also looks like the back wheel is where the impact happened. Could it be as simple as Stewart swerves to the left to avoid him but back end swings out too much in opposite direction and hits him?

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          #5
          Tony Stewart and Kevin Ward, Jr.

          Ward was dumb, but didn't deserve to die.

          I don't think that Stewart intended to hit him, but given how many times he has driven cars like that on tracks like that, he should have known that the risk of the car fishtailing when he stupidly gunned the engine on passing Ward were quite significant. Personally, I think that there is enough here to support a serious investigation for second degree manslaughter in New York, which requires that the person charged "recklessly causes the death of another person".

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            #6
            Tony Stewart and Kevin Ward, Jr.

            Did Stewart accelerate when he approached Ward Jr? The video doesn't capture that part of the incident.

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              #7
              Tony Stewart and Kevin Ward, Jr.

              Do you have the sound on the video? You can hear an engine revving as he passes Ward. Most observers believe that it is Stewart's engine.

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                #8
                Tony Stewart and Kevin Ward, Jr.

                Did everybody catch NASCAR's sensitive tweet the other day?: "With heavy hearts, we turn our attention to today's #CheezIt355"

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                  #9
                  Tony Stewart and Kevin Ward, Jr.

                  That's rough, but what can they do? Races don't get cancelled because somebody got killed. That's just the nature of motor sports, for better and worse.

                  I'm not sure anything can be conclude by him accelerating there. Perhaps he was doing that to stop drifting toward the guy and/or perhaps he panicked and made an error. I find it unlikely that he deliberately tried to hit a dude on a race track.

                  But even if he was a bit reckless, I imagine "the guy was standing in the middle of a dirt race track" will be a major mitigating circumstance. By the standards of normal people, driving those cars is inherently reckless.

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                    #10
                    Tony Stewart and Kevin Ward, Jr.

                    I was surprised that a big driver like Tony Stewart competes in a race like that. I always assumed that NASCAR drivers only raced in their big races and stuff like those dirt tracks were for the sticks.

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                      #11
                      Tony Stewart and Kevin Ward, Jr.

                      He likes to do it for fun. I guess a lot of race car drivers - especially Tony Stewart - are a bit obsessive and want to race in anything that goes fast all of the time, every day.

                      It helps attendance at those races and promotes the lower divisions whenever a famous driver is in the field, but I can't imagine those track promoters could really afford to pay them much.

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                        #12
                        Tony Stewart and Kevin Ward, Jr.

                        I'm (by choice) pretty ignorant about NASCAR. Is Tony Stewart a big name in the "sport"?

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                          #13
                          Tony Stewart and Kevin Ward, Jr.

                          I believe he is a three time champion. I am not sure if that is a champion at the highest level of NASCAR. All i really know about NASCAR is that they have a race in Daytona.

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                            #14
                            Tony Stewart and Kevin Ward, Jr.

                            I've heard of him, so that makes him a big name--he has endorsements with Home Depot, IIRC. I remember him getting into a fight with another driver before after a race or a qualifying run.

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                              #15
                              Tony Stewart and Kevin Ward, Jr.

                              Stewart has won the primary NASCAR drivers' championship three times, most recently in 2011. And yes, he's sponsored by Home Depot. He also co-owns a team, which is unusual for a current driver.

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                                #16
                                Tony Stewart and Kevin Ward, Jr.

                                Inca, yeah, that was the World of Outlaws race at New Egypt I posted last year.

                                Here's my two videos of Tony Stewart's #14...before the broken leg he got later that year in sprint cars and this year's broken life.

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

                                https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvF6iA6wvp8

                                Too bad I wasn't filming the death (as you see my wide angles would've helped,) but quite happy my daughter didn't have to see that.

                                The problem was the poor kid got out, then walked even further into the middle of the track. It's impossible to describe how fast those cars go in such a short distance (they have that wacky wing on top to keep the downforce pressing down to keep them from flying out of the stadium.)

                                My guess is Stewart gunned the tires a bit to throw dirt on the kid, which happened to me when I got close to get closer shots and they revved their engines...and quite possibly didn't even see the kid. Who knows what part of the track it was on. Who knows what Stewart saw or was looking at or thinking.

                                Tony Stewart is the working man's champion of NASCAR. Paid for his way, saved up for gas and tires, made his own cars, became champion in every form of racing, then owned his own team. I guess if the 70s Raiders and Steelers had a baby who raced in NASCAR, it would be Smoke.

                                It's actually kind of similar to the C-Murder case. C-Murder was the brother of Master P in New Orleans, but would still go to clubs to do rap battles with the locals. One killed him on stage, to which C-Murder was convicted of killing him outside later that night. Or similar to Marlo at the end of The Wire. Tony has to race everywhere, in every form of racing he's ever done. He was the first to do the Indy 500, then fly to Charlotte for the Coca Cola 600. Finished in the top 5 in both.

                                On a very side note, he hasn't been Home Depot for a few years. Bass Pro Shops these days.

                                Comment


                                  #17
                                  Tony Stewart and Kevin Ward, Jr.

                                  Jason

                                  Looking at the footage, the cars are very similar to what BriSCA use in the UK, with big aerofoils to maximise downforce. On a short track, they easily get up to 70mph and with the weight and power, they are big units. In the UK however, bumping and pushing is allowed so a contact like the one in the video would just be a normal racing type incident and nothing would be said. Therefore, is contact not allowed in the US, which meant that Ward was angry and ready to confront Stewart?

                                  I don't know about in the US, but the lighting at most of the UK tracks isn't fantastic (Singapore GP level it certainly isn't) and a dark night and a dark outfit would mean that Ward wouldn't be that easy to spot. In addition, any driver while racing wouldn't expect to see anyone else on the track at all, and with these factors, plus the speed, it makes for a tragic accident.

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                                    #18
                                    Tony Stewart and Kevin Ward, Jr.

                                    I think contact is allowed, but you're not supposed to put a guy into the wall. It happens. Usually, the driver waits to the post-race interview to accuse the other driver of unsporting behavior.

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                                      #19
                                      Tony Stewart and Kevin Ward, Jr.

                                      I don't know about speeds on this particular track, but US sprint cars race at speeds up to 140 mph, so it sounds as if they may significantly more powerful than their British counterparts.

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                                        #20
                                        Tony Stewart and Kevin Ward, Jr.

                                        nmrfox, it depends on how much bumping and pushing. Dale "The Intimidator" Earnhardt and Terry Labonte had two of the more famous endings at Bristol, both involving Earnhardt spinning Labonte out in the last lap. Both were allowed, but if you go too far with the crashes you'll be suspended. A grey area if there ever was one.

                                        Stewart just cut the kid off, much like F1 drivers do (squeezing someone out at a turn.) The kid probably wanted to get on the news, much as Tony Stewart himself did against Matt Kenseth. Or he spent every dime his family owned to buy his ride and was pissed a multimillionaire squeezed him.

                                        I also don't think Stewart sped up when he hit him. I think those wheels spinning fast are what happens when you hit wet leaves. Only those wet leaves were a 20-year-old under the tires.

                                        I don't buy the "he was the only one who missed him," as the first 3 sped by when he was next to the car, and one guy came very close to hitting him once he went to the middle of the track, and the kid was even bobbing and weaving in between the cars.

                                        We'll see what Smoke or the Sheriffs say.

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