should Stewart be held accountable?

[Bob Denman]

...Painfully obvious...

[SNOOPY]

love the internet, people believe anything. Lol

[Bob Denman]

Bill,
There's nothing to be rolling around on the floor laughing about...
A young man has died.
I've actually reported your post to the Boss...
I suggest that you re-think some of what you've said.

[Trickie Dick]

Bill,
There's nothing to be rolling around on the floor laughing about...
A young man has died.
I've actually reported your post to the Boss...
I suggest that you re-think some of what you've said.

I agree bob, what a classless thing to say.

[ARtraveler]

Well, have had a few hours to think about things here.

My opinion: to add to those that have posted previously.

Tony Stewart has a reputation for being a hot head and willing to do payback either early on or later--depending on the situation.

I do believe that Tony was into immediate payback here with trying to spray dirt on the young man. I do not believe that killing the man was a part of it. It was a bad situation going very wrong.

I do believe that there should be consequences to the action. I am not calling for Tony Stewarts head, not calling for years in jail--but some time may be in order--if they can prove intent. That is going to be the hard part.

Suggest that Stewart be suspended from driving until this gets sorted out. Also am guessing that he has lawyered up big time.

[SNOOPY]

Bill,
There's nothing to be rolling around on the floor laughing about...
A young man has died.
I've actually reported your post to the Boss...
I suggest that you re-think some of what you've said.

I dont even know what you're talking about?

Im talking about some kid that knew better than to walk out on a live track and throw himself in front of a car ?

Even been on a race track Bob? I guess not. No sense in what this "punk" did.

Live or dead, he did wrong. Sorry that his family has to live through this bad decision he made.

Everyone here has given their thoughts and I didn't report them, why can't I give my thoughts?

unbelievable

[bill pitman]

the only person who knows what was on Tony Stewart's mind at the time ,
is Tony Stewart!
If there was no intent, then he can live with,
otherwise, well, we might see some changes in the person..

Bill

[flaggerphil]

I'm the starter for three professional open wheel racing series and have been a starter since 1993...a professional starter since 1996. Before that I worked in flagging and communications with SCCA for ten years, and before that I drove in both road racing and dirt tracks (though not particularly well...). Drivers are ALWAYS told to stay in the car after an accident when they are on a hot track or until someone can get to them, barring fire. In the car they are still belted in and have the cars roll cage around them. The driver who was killed broke a cardinal rule of safety by getting out on a hot track...a dirt track, no less, where cars are steered mostly by throttle (for those who claim they heard Stewarts engine rev just before the contact). This incident was the kids fault, period. Not only do I not believe Stewart did this on purpose or tried to "scare" the kid, but the latest reports say the police do not believe Stewart did anything wrong. I wasn't there so I don't know, but in my experience I tend to go along with the police. Racing is inherently dangerous, both for drivers, crew, and officials. Making it more dangerous than it needs to be often comes back at the person doing it.

[SpyderAnn01]

I have typed and erased about 10 replies to this thread. I don't always agree with Snoopy but I don't see where there is anything that needs to be "reported to the boss" here. Bob, you obviously think that Tony Stewart was wrong and should be banned from racing forever and since Snoopy does not agree then he should be banned forever too? I'm sorry that the kid got killed but he made a really stupid move by getting out of his car during a night race on a dirt track.

[Bob Denman]

Ann,
You're right; my initial feeling was that Tony may have been just a bit too "full of himself" at this event...
Since the video has hit the 'net; I admit that my first impression was WRONG! Mr. Ward; in a dark suit on a poorly lit-track, simply was looking for a confrontatuion with Tony.
If he had a headset in his helmet (Most likely...), he was probably told something like, "Dude; you just got wrecked by Tony Stewart." Deciding to "take a chunk" out of this Big-Wig NASCAR racer; who was "cherry picking" at a hometown track... he made a horrible mistake.
I take umbrage over the classless categorization of the young man as a "punk"...

[Trickie Dick]

Again, I have to agree with Bob. I don't think anyone is saying the kid that died did the right thing. I just think he has not earned the title of "punk" from what I have read. I certainly don't think he deserves to be called this by someone who by his own admission, has been on the race track many times. Does being a young racer make you a punk? Does making a mistake in a fit of ire, make you a punk? Does dying because of that mistake make you a punk?
Don't worry snoopy, no one will accuse you of being polite. Insensitive yes, but polite no, you've got nothing to worry about.

[cuznjohn]

i should not talk about this because i never watch racing, but from hearing what a hot head Stewart is and watching the vid of the guy getting hit by the car i really feel that it was done on purpose. i feel that he didn't want to kill the other driver but i do feel that he wanted to put him out of commission and it just turned out worse that he expected. when watching the vid it seems to me that he turned to hit the guy but i can be wrong. there has been no charges place on Stewart but that is not to say there might also be charges after the investigation. RIP to the driver that loss his life, he should of never walked into the track but we all get mad enough to do something stupid at times

[flaggerphil]

I will just add I do not consider the kid a "punk," just a young racer who was full of himself and made a mistake that cost him his life. In the series' I work with (F2000, F1600 and Formula Atlantic...road racing series' that are steps up to Indy Car and European formula racing) if a driver pulled a stunt like that he would be penalized, fined and possibly suspended for at least a race. It is simply not allowed. And we have a LOT of young racers.

This young driver made a bad decision that ended up becoming a tragedy. But I would not call him a "punk."

FWIW.

[SPECTACUALR SPIDERMAN]

who the heck is stupid enough to run on an open track with cars running?!?
to me it sounds like suicide or road rage, it is a terrible tragedy but who can he or his family blame for him being stupid or
hot headed? A bigger tragedy is putting the blame on someone else for his mistake.

[Bob Denman]

Hi John,
I was under the original impression that the swerve of his car was setting himself up to roost Mr. Ward.
After watching it several more times, and trying to put everything into the proper context; I think that was him trying to swerve to avoid the sudden appearance of a person on the track in front of him...
Most of us would react in a very "un-smooth" manner, if confronted by a stiuation like that...
My opinion, is that's what it seems that Tony was doing: reacting as best he could to a surprise situation on the track.

[wyliec]

Isn't it strange some can watch the video and say Tony tried to hit him, and others say no? I can't tell one way or the other. I can say there are some on here that I surely wouldn't want on my jury, if I was the defendant on trial for some incident.

[SpyderAnn01]

Wylie, you are absolutely correct! And that could be the topic of another thread. I wasn't at the track or in Tony's head so I can't say for sure but I'd like to think that he did not intentionally hit the kid. I've sat on 2 juries and both times we came to the wrong verdict based on information that we were given by the judge after the trial was over. But you won't have to worry about me being on your jury as I will use those experiences to be excused from a jury if called again.

[Woody]

Let's let the police investigation unfold. The video still leaves questions, IMHO. I am certain that Tony Stewart did not kill Ward on purpose.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[Bob Denman]

Isn't it strange some can watch the video and say Tony tried to hit him, and others say no? I can't tell one way or the other. I can say there are some on here that I surely wouldn't want on my jury, if I was the defendant on trial for some incident.

That's what makes being an "Armchair Quarterback" so much fun; nothing is invested in it!

[shelbydave]

The driver never should have come down onto the race line.

It's a freakin 900 HP direct drive winged sprint car.

The other driver was fool and paid the price in my opinion. Spraying him with dirt or not, I doubt any driver would expect someone to approach so closely on a live track.

If rules need to be amended, stop the driver theatrics and foolishness. They did that to UM years ago and changed some of college football.

PK

One thing people fail to realize is that these cars have no clutch / transmission. There is a T-Handle on a pull cord that disconnects the rear gears if need be.
Now, put yourself in the drivers seat... Even under caution, you are travelling a minimum of 40 MPH, probably more in reality. Someone pops up in front of you, and it's instantly "Oh Crap!" Who knows exactly how anybody would react in a situation like that?
I know if I was put in a car with no clutch, only "go or no go", and was posed with a split second decision, I couldn't guarantee the outcome....

One thing about racing... Doesn't matter if it's NASCAR, INDY, or local.... Road rage abides there from time to time. Maybe if they allowed the old fashioned fisticuffs in the pits again, they could keep it off the track...

[Bob Denman]

[Jeffsm69]

Stewart should not be held accountable, it was an accident and the kid getting out of his car was a dumb move on a dimly lit track in a black race suit not to mention that if you have ever seen a sprint car, you are completely blind out the right side of the car, I feel bad for the Ward family but accidents happen, I hope the Ward family can find peace knowing he is in a better place and Tony, I don't know how long it will take him to recover from this tragedy, he certainly didn't kill this young driver on purpose

[Joe T.]

If this has posted previously, I apologize. I have not read all of the posts. But, I found this an interesting perspctive on the issue:

http://blog.caranddriver.com/yes-ton...e-whole-story/

Joe T.

[flaggerphil]

If this has posted previously, I apologize. I have not read all of the posts. But, I found this an interesting perspctive on the issue:

http://blog.caranddriver.com/yes-ton...e-whole-story/

Joe T.

Very well written and right on track.

[flaggerphil]

BTW, I've read the term "roost" here and in other places, I guess meaning trying to scare someone or move them out of the way, and, quite frankly, I've never heard that term before in racing. Of course I've been involved in road racing for the most part for the last 30 years but I do go to dirt track races as a spectator several times a year and I briefly raced on dirt in the past.

Maybe it's just a term I've missed but I've never heard it before this incident.

FWIW.