Tony Stewart...

[240Hallett]

I agree it could have been avoided.
I watched the video a few times yesterday and kept replaying the moment of the accident and it looked like he swerved right after he clipped him....the whole situation is just sad

More speculation...maybe the car swerved BECAUSE he clipped him??

[riverrunner1984]

More speculation...maybe the car swerved BECAUSE he clipped him??

Very good point! Never thought of that....I don't really follow racing so I can even pretend to know how those operate. I would just hate to think the hit was intentional.

[The Doctor]

How ever you view it, this is a tragedy - a real tragedy.
Tony is emotional. He has been aggressive throughout his career and he's gone as far as to intentionally wreck a lot of others on track.
Fact is, he's even wrecked others in the pits to make a point (see Jeff Gordon.) Anger management is nothing new to him.

I find it ironic (yet tragic) that this happened to the very guy who has often left his NASCAR vehicle on the track to confront passing drivers like Ward did. He's gone as far as throwing his helmet at them (see Matt Kenseth) yet this is the very behavior that got Ward killed.

I don't believe for a single minute that Tony would intentionally hit another on track with his car. Not for a minute. I watched one video about a dozen times last night with some others and it is crystal clear that Tony accelerated just as he believed he was passing Ward. I'd bet a dollar to a doughnut that it was Tony's intention to cover this kid in mud but his car reacted to the acceleration by sliding further right in the rear, catching, and ultimately killing, Ward.

Prayers go out to the entire Ward family and to Tony as he copes with the result of his actions. It's only one man's opinion but only his celebrity can save him from some responsibility in this deal. Good news for Tony, he's got a lot of celebrity points saved up.

[Wendi]

How ever you view it, this is a tragedy - a real tragedy.
Tony is emotional. He has been aggressive throughout his career and he's gone as far as to intentionally wreck a lot of others on track.
Fact is, he's even wrecked others in the pits to make a point (see Jeff Gordon.) Anger management is nothing new to him.

I find it ironic (yet tragic) that this happened to the very guy who has often left his NASCAR vehicle on the track to confront passing drivers like Ward did. He's gone as far as throwing his helmet at them (see Matt Kenseth) yet this is the very behavior that got Ward killed.

I don't believe for a single minute that Tony would intentionally hit another on track with his car. Not for a minute. I watched one video about a dozen times last night with some others and it is crystal clear that Tony accelerated just as he believed he was passing Ward. I'd bet a dollar to a doughnut that it was Tony's intention to cover this kid in mud but his car reacted to the acceleration by sliding further right in the rear, catching, and ultimately killing, Ward.

Prayers go out to the entire Ward family and to Tony as he copes with the result of his actions. It's only one man's opinion but only his celebrity can save him from some responsibility in this deal. Good news for Tony, he's got a lot of celebrity points saved up.

I couldn't agree more. Very tragic indeed.

[Stainless]

How ever you view it, this is a tragedy - a real tragedy.
Tony is emotional. He has been aggressive throughout his career and he's gone as far as to intentionally wreck a lot of others on track.
Fact is, he's even wrecked others in the pits to make a point (see Jeff Gordon.) Anger management is nothing new to him.

I find it ironic (yet tragic) that this happened to the very guy who has often left his NASCAR vehicle on the track to confront passing drivers like Ward did. He's gone as far as throwing his helmet at them (see Matt Kenseth) yet this is the very behavior that got Ward killed.

I don't believe for a single minute that Tony would intentionally hit another on track with his car. Not for a minute. I watched one video about a dozen times last night with some others and it is crystal clear that Tony accelerated just as he believed he was passing Ward. I'd bet a dollar to a doughnut that it was Tony's intention to cover this kid in mud but his car reacted to the acceleration by sliding further right in the rear, catching, and ultimately killing, Ward.

Prayers go out to the entire Ward family and to Tony as he copes with the result of his actions. It's only one man's opinion but only his celebrity can save him from some responsibility in this deal. Good news for Tony, he's got a lot of celebrity points saved up.

100% agree Doc, and I'd like to add that Stewart admitted he was the fault of a 15 car pileup that left a girl with a broken back on this same track. I think this happened one year ago.

I want to clarify my point, Stewart didn't do it on purpose but he had malicious intentions and things turned tragic. Kevin Ward should never have exited his car to confront Stewart either!
Bottom line, Stewart has made many more laps in his career and should have avoided this tragic outcome.

[Ziggy]

Tragic.:(
The real truth is, we will never know what intentions Tony really had, if any.....only he will. Something he will either loose sleep over.... or not if his conscience is clear.
Everything else is speculation.

[jordy]

Everything else is speculation.

Nah, all the internet experts have it all figured out.

[gn7]

I don't believe for a single minute that Tony would intentionally hit another on track with his car. Not for a minute. I watched one video about a dozen times last night with some others and it is crystal clear that Tony accelerated just as he believed he was passing Ward. I'd bet a dollar to a doughnut that it was Tony's intention to cover this kid in mud but his car reacted to the acceleration by sliding further right in the rear, catching, and ultimately killing, Ward.
.[/COLOR]

Few people understand how a sprint car turns, let alone ever driven one. They think they just turn them and the car starts to slide the rear around.

Truth is, they don't get on the wheel until the car is already going sideway. They get them sideways by letting off the gas getting to the turn, and then gas it. The cars have a HUGE tire stagger and the rear automatically swings right just from the gas. Then they start counter steering it.

All that had to happen is for the rear to swing left when Tony gave it a little squirt, and Ward a little too close, disaster.

If you watch the video you can see that Ward was so enraged, he damn near gets clipped by 3 other cars be Tony gets to him, and Ward makes a definited move to the car at about the same time Tony gives a squirt.

The uniformed see it as Tony swerving toward Ward. The ass end simply swung out a little when Tony gave it a shot of throttle.

Watch almost any similar situation like Tony throwing his helmet at Kennseth and you will notice they almost always give the car a squeeze on the throttle. This time, in a that car, on that track, it didn't turn out well.

[gn7]

Look at these pictures of a sprint car. Tell me how easy it is to see someone in a black fire suit, at night, on a dimly lit track. You have window that is the size between the main wing, and the front spoiler to see anything on the side.
3 cars passed Ward before Tony got to him, and the first says he never saw Ward. I no trouble believing that.



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[2manymustangs]

The actions of some drivers have been getting increasingly more aggressive/violent as I see it...

It's a bad deal all the way around...

Taking the high road and walking away from a fight isn't an easy thing to do... It's always the right time to do the right thing... Some of the drivers I hold in high regard would have walked away from an altercation, I think the drivers need to keep the notion of "role model" in mind...