Kevin Ward

[CAMAROBOY69]

The culture of NASCAR was a contributing factor in all of this and guys like Tony,Kurt,and many others who run into traffic to get their "revenge" for being disrespected has to stop.Fox,ESPN and all the other tv networks are partly to blame because they broadcast will always go to cover the big "boys have at it" moment.

In the end this NASCAR has a chance to step up and help fix this.If you leave the car and go anywhere near the racing line and wait for the cars to come back around you will be suspended for 1 week and lose points.Use your car as a weapon against another car in the pits and you are gone for a month and you lose your purse money.

I know this attitude is not just NASCAR,I saw a guy walk onto the track and show his disgust during the CTSCC race at Road America Saturday, but they are the biggest series in the US so they have the most influence/exposure.

Exactly. If anyone got out of their car at our road track events and walked into traffic like that, they would never be back at our events EVER again. The same needs to happen with the larger events. They need to set an example for the younger generation to prevent tragic events like this from happening again.

These cars are engineered to save lives. If you leave that vehicle and enter the track, there is a very high chance you will be injured or killed.

There needs to be VERY stiff penalties for members that enter a track in the middle of a race. I am sure after all of this publicity and because of the fatality, something will indeed change.

 

[Ganon83]

I have to say this.
I find the coverage of all of this incredibly disrespectful on mainstream American news. I shouldn't be that shocked, but when I turn on the TV to see a guy say that he thinks Stewart hit him on purpose but "What idiot goes out in the middle of the track?", I'm shocked.
It might of been Ward's fault that he went out there in the middle of the track. But you don't disrespect the dead and his family by just calling him an "idiot" on national television when they can't defend themselves.
Tony Stewart isn't a bad man. I don't think he would go "Beep beep time to die" and run anybody over. Robby Gordon wouldn't be walking this Earth if that were the case. Even if he did he would of hit him with his front tire rather than crack the throttle and slide trying to avoid him.
And the constant replaying of the incident is deplorable and being used for ratings. How many times do you see somebody get ran over like that outside of driving school video meant to scare you? It's awful and disrespectful to do that.

 

[MustangRyan]

DISCLAIMER: Some of this is supposition, based solely on a shaky cell phone video with a narrow scope, taken from across the track.

• Stewart probably did not even realize that Ward had pushed up into the wall behind him. (This was the opinion of Kasey Kahne, when interviewed by ESPN's Marty Smith on Sunday morning. Kahne has raced Sprint cars for several years.)
• Yes, the caution had come out. But, at such a small track, it would take two whole laps to get the field slowed down and formed into an orderly line at a safe caution speed.
• If Stewart didn't know that Ward had crashed behind him, he wouldn't know that this was the reason for the caution on track.
• If he didn't know the reason for the caution, he wouldn't know where the disabled car(s) was located on track.
• If the field had not yet slowed down, Stewart's primary focus would be on the car directly in front of him, to make sure he doesn't run into him when he begins to slow down.
• Stewart is wearing a full-face helmet, with a HANS device. His range of motion and scope of view are greatly restricted.
• It's a dirt track. It's possible that he has dirt stuck on his windscreen and/or helmet visor, further limiting his view.
• It's a night race. This isn't Charlotte Motor Speedway, where there is ample lighting on every square inch of track, from multiple directions. This is a local dirt track that has just enough lighting to see the cars all the way around the track. It's very possible that there are transitions from areas of high visibility to lower visibility.
• Kevin Ward Jr. got out of his disabled race car, and moved down the track into the path of oncoming cars, against all advisable common sense. He was moving erratically up and down the track.
• He was wearing a dark-colored firesuit and helmet, on a dimly-lit dirt track.
• The cell phone video does NOT show the path of the cars as they approach Ward. The video's view is trained on Ward, except when it briefly follows the car that passed by Ward immediately before Stewart.
• When the camera pops back to Ward, Stewart's car is already in the same frame as Ward. It is impossible to know whether or not Stewart was running low, middle, or high before he got to that point.
• The revving engine may or may not have been Stewart's car. There are still cars all over the track, and several could have been located between the phone recording the video (front stretch grandstands) and where Stewart was driving (turn 2). The phone would pick up ALL audio, since it doesn't have a directional microphone.
• Stewart's car breaking loose sideways could have been the result of running over part of Ward's body. (Think of what happens when you drive a powerful RWD car and one of the rear tires loses grip with the surface of the road, while turning)
• This sudden change in direction could also have been Stewart trying to make a quick-twitch correction to keep from hitting something that just popped into his field of vision.
• Stewart isn't expecting to see people walking on the track.
• There were no safety vehicles up on the track yet. They did not pull up on the track until after the fatal contact had already occurred.
• If the safety personnel, in vehicles with flashing lights, had not yet felt safe enough to cross, should anyone be jumping around in front of this line of cars on foot?

I honestly believe that if Kevin Ward Jr. had sat in his car until AFTER the safety personnel arrived, waited for the field to make ONE MORE LAP and completely slowed down, he probably could have stood beside his wrecked car (and in close proximity to the flashing lights of the safety vehicles), and yelled/waved/stomped/gestured in Tony Stewart's direction in perfect safety. Had he done this, he would probably be busy fixing his car right now, grumbling under his breath about that lousy, rich bastard that wrecked him two nights ago.

 

[CAMAROBOY69]

@MustangRyan

Correct. The car breaking sideways is 100% because of the rear tire impacting the body. Those cars are VERY light with massive, wide, back tires. Anything impacting that tire will send the car sideways especially on dirt.

This pic puts into perspective the size of the rear tires.

 

[MustangRyan]

@MustangRyan

Correct. The car breaking sideways is 100% because of the rear tire impacting the body. Those cars are VERY light with massive, wide, back tires. Anything impacting that tire will send the car sideways especially on dirt.

View attachment 202487
This pic puts into perspective the size of the rear tires.

It also illustrates how little one would see off to the right side of their car, with the sideboard of the wing obstructing so much of the view.

 

[MatskiMonk]

Helmet cam from outside of the muddy visor at Canadaigua under the lights: **NOT THE STEWART/WARD INCIDENT**

 

[SD180sx]

Very sad thing to happened, I saw the video and I think both person did something that added to the tragic outcome. I dont follow TS but my friends who does tells me that his a hot head and pulled other stunts before. Also I read on a few news outlet online that TS should be charge with Involuntary vehicular manslaughter even if he had zero intention to harm the kid. RIP Kevin Ward JR

 

[Bo]

The Stewart "hothead" image is old. And knocking a microphone out of someone's hands isn't like deliberately trying to kill someone.

 

[FormulaKimball]

Exactly. If anyone got out of their car at our road track events and walked into traffic like that, they would never be back at our events EVER again. The same needs to happen with the larger events. They need to set an example for the younger generation to prevent tragic events like this from happening again.

These cars are engineered to save lives. If you leave that vehicle and enter the track, there is a very high chance you will be injured or killed.

There needs to be VERY stiff penalties for members that enter a track in the middle of a race. I am sure after all of this publicity and because of the fatality, something will indeed change.

Let's hope something will change, because this is a tragedy regardless of whose fault it was. Nobody wants to find out what it feels like to kill someone, especially a fellow competitor... doesn't matter if they were heated rivals or not.

Can't stress your point enough - the cars are engineered to save your life in a wreck, but YOU VS. A CAR WILL NOT END WELL; NEVER, EVER, NOT EVER, GET OUT OF YOUR CAR AND APPROACH ANOTHER CAR IN ANGER. This goes for the road as well as the track - Don't Be That Guy. Let the authorities handle it if you truly think the other guy is wrong - nothing good will come of road raging and it undermines your credibility later even if you don't get yourself killed.

 

[GTPorsche]

Helmet cam from outside of the muddy visor at Canadaigua under the lights: **NOT THE STEWART/WARD INCIDENT**

And with the camera picking up more light than what the human eye can pick up, it's not as bright as it appears.

Plus the amateur video of the incident is extremely dark.

 

[TenEightyOne]

Also I read on a few news outlet online that TS should be charge with Involuntary vehicular manslaughter even if he had zero intention to harm the kid. RIP Kevin Ward JR

Some anti-fans may say that but imagine the future of motorsport in the US if that precedent was set. Maybe even the world. The hangover from the Senna crash was long, protracted and put the future of motorsports in Italy in doubt.

Good to see that overall most people are seeing reason and asking for a sea-change in the way US motorsport organisers handle "revenge" incidents from now on. It would be a shame if no good at all came out of this tragedy.

 

[Chrunch Houston]

@TenEightyOne

thanks

 

[CAMAROBOY69]

Helmet cam from outside of the muddy visor at Canadaigua under the lights: **NOT THE STEWART/WARD INCIDENT**

Wow I have never seen what sprint car racing looks like from that perspective.

 

[Earth]

Also, Tony Stewart has cancelled plans to race at Plymouth Speedway in indiana. Might be too early to say, but I get the feeling Stewart is gonna hang his helmet up. Its one thing to see another driver parish in an accident in their car and move on, but to try to do the same after someone died outside of there car after being struck by yours is something I'm not sure you can ever recover from.

I know the whole internet has declared Stewart 100% innocent and the victim 100% at fault (it makes what happened easier for them to digest) but Im not sure we can read alot into him missing another race. Remember it was Stewart's team who declared 'business as usual' and were attempting to have him race hours after the accident before some higher power (sponsor or NASCAR) stepped in and put a stop to it.

Stewart, like people on the internet, could be making a thousand excuses for himself right now. The fact remains, he was behind a 800hp vehicle. The track was already under caution for an unsafe area for a considerable amount of time. The kid was somewhat stationary for a very long period of time. And Stewart hit him.

And for everyone buying into what the police are saying? You have to look at this from their viewpoint. To them a racetrack is like a hockey rink. The rules there are different to them. If two hockey players got into a fight and one was seriously injured, they're not going to take it too seriously. If a driver runs over another and it wasnt completely intentional, they're not going to take it too seriously. Reminds me of a CSI episode where they said 'someone just died at the grand prix' and the investigator replies 'what else is new'?

So just because the police may not charge anybody doesnt mean there was not any wrongdoing. And theres the fact it appears a similar incident has happened before at the speedway, giving all the more reason for a coverup or looking the other way.

I need to hear from Tony Stewart's mouth what happened, like why he punched the throttle, and read the police report about what the go pro camera saw. If we're going to straight up blame the victim 100% because he went onto the track, then Im guessing we should blame Kurt Busch 100% if Jimmy Spencer ran him over at Indianapolis in 2002, or Stewart himself if Kenseth mowed him down at Bristol.

 

[LMSCorvetteGT2]

I know the whole internet has declared Stewart 100% innocent and the victim 100% at fault (it makes what happened easier for them to digest) but Im not sure we can read alot into him missing another race. Remember it was Stewart's team who declared 'business as usual' and were attempting to have him race hours after the accident before some higher power (sponsor or NASCAR) stepped in and put a stop to it.

Stewart, like people on the internet, could be making a thousand excuses for himself right now. The fact remains, he was behind a 800hp vehicle. The track was already under caution for an unsafe area for a considerable amount of time. The kid was somewhat stationary for a very long period of time. And Stewart hit him.

And for everyone buying into what the police are saying? You have to look at this from their viewpoint. To them a racetrack is like a hockey rink. The rules there are different to them. If two hockey players got into a fight and one was seriously injured, they're not going to take it too seriously. If a driver runs over another and it wasnt completely intentional, they're not going to take it too seriously. Reminds me of a CSI episode where they said 'someone just died at the grand prix' and the investigator replies 'what else is new'?

So just because the police may not charge anybody doesnt mean there was not any wrongdoing. And theres the fact it appears a similar incident has happened before at the speedway, giving all the more reason for a coverup or looking the other way.

I need to hear from Tony Stewart's mouth what happened, like why he punched the throttle, and read the police report about what the go pro camera saw. If we're going to straight up blame the victim 100% because he went onto the track, then Im guessing we should blame Kurt Busch 100% if Jimmy Spencer ran him over at Indianapolis in 2002, or Stewart himself if Kenseth mowed him down at Bristol.

Too bad I debunked your analogy already.

 

[Bo]

I need to hear from Tony Stewart's mouth what happened, like why he punched the throttle, and read the police report about what the go pro camera saw. If we're going to straight up blame the victim 100% because he went onto the track, then Im guessing we should blame Kurt Busch 100% if Jimmy Spencer ran him over at Indianapolis in 2002, or Stewart himself if Kenseth mowed him down at Bristol.

Are you just deliberately choosing what facts you'd like and what you wouldn't like to read now?

 

[LMSCorvetteGT2]

Are you just deliberately choosing what facts you'd like and what you wouldn't like to read now?

He's been doing that from the get go, I'm pretty sure he's trolling but if he isn't, it's quite scary that he has this irrational illusion going on that the world must dictate what he's decided is right.

 

[Tornado]

He's been doing that from the get go

For years.

 

[LMSCorvetteGT2]

For years.

Yeah I thought, I'd be nice and pretend I hadn't got into it with him over the past few years. I thought some oversight would be in his favor but I doubt he cares if people go at him for being this insane. IF he did care he wouldn't post like he does in the first place, which is the entire motor sports community is a conspiracy.

 

[Tornado]

At this point in the discussion we're lucky that he hasn't accused people of not caring about Kevin Ward losing his life just because we don't think Stewart should be tried for murder or something.

 

[TenEightyOne]

I know the whole internet has declared Stewart 100% innocent and the victim 100% at fault

Citation required. Hint, you said something silly that's going to take you a looooong time to download the source for.

The kid was somewhat stationary for a very long period of time. And Stewart hit him.

A difficult way to say the kid was moving and then hit but yes, everyone agrees with that I think.

And for everyone buying into what the police are saying?

Run for DA. Who else is going to decide if there's a charge in the public interest?

So just because the police may not charge anybody doesnt mean there was not any wrongdoing. And theres the fact it appears a similar incident has happened before at the speedway, giving all the more reason for a coverup or looking the other way.

A cover-up? Looking the other way? That's just ridiculous. You think that's what's happening?

I need to hear from Tony Stewart's mouth what happened,

Very big of you, let us know when you've closed the case. But of course you do, otherwise you'd be judging what happened.

like why he punched the throttle

Like you did there. Did he punch the throttle? I only saw the car slew as it hit Ward. But then I'm only going on what I can see and sources who were there. If I were making stuff up I'd have mentioned loads of other stuff too.

If we're going to straight up blame the victim 100% because he went onto the track, then Im guessing we should blame Kurt Busch 100% if Jimmy Spencer ran him over at Indianapolis in 2002, or Stewart himself if Kenseth mowed him down at Bristol.

Still waiting for the 100% source (you're really going to have to withdraw that or quietly move on) but your guesses seem as nonsensical as your calculation of percentages or fact. I haven't seen anyone blame Ward 100%, at least nobody outside the usual mad flamish keyboard warriors whose opinion on chemtrails, muslamics and the gubmint are just as entertaining and well-informed.

 

[RACECAR]

I know the whole internet has declared Stewart 100% innocent and the victim 100% at fault (it makes what happened easier for them to digest) but Im not sure we can read alot into him missing another race. Remember it was Stewart's team who declared 'business as usual' and were attempting to have him race hours after the accident before some higher power (sponsor or NASCAR) stepped in and put a stop to it.

Stewart, like people on the internet, could be making a thousand excuses for himself right now. The fact remains, he was behind a 800hp vehicle. The track was already under caution for an unsafe area for a considerable amount of time. The kid was somewhat stationary for a very long period of time. And Stewart hit him.

And for everyone buying into what the police are saying? You have to look at this from their viewpoint. To them a racetrack is like a hockey rink. The rules there are different to them. If two hockey players got into a fight and one was seriously injured, they're not going to take it too seriously. If a driver runs over another and it wasnt completely intentional, they're not going to take it too seriously. Reminds me of a CSI episode where they said 'someone just died at the grand prix' and the investigator replies 'what else is new'?

So just because the police may not charge anybody doesnt mean there was not any wrongdoing. And theres the fact it appears a similar incident has happened before at the speedway, giving all the more reason for a coverup or looking the other way.

I need to hear from Tony Stewart's mouth what happened, like why he punched the throttle, and read the police report about what the go pro camera saw. If we're going to straight up blame the victim 100% because he went onto the track, then Im guessing we should blame Kurt Busch 100% if Jimmy Spencer ran him over at Indianapolis in 2002, or Stewart himself if Kenseth mowed him down at Bristol.

Can you please take that elsewhere? Nowhere am I stating whether he's innocent or not so why do you even feel compelled to respond with all that? All I said is that he's likely hanging his helmet up after all this and that's it.

@RACECAR I said the same thing after the incident cause I didn't expect him to race at Glen, then he said he would, then he said he wouldn't and didn't. Now I believe it's either too soon for him to want to race or he'll just quit outright.

I'm thinking at the time it hadn't been fully published that he wasn't racing Sunday hence why it seemed like he was going back and forth between doing it and not doing it. If its really been bothering his conscious that much, I think he already had decided long before he wasn't going to race.

 

[LMSCorvetteGT2]

At this point in the discussion we're lucky that he hasn't accused people of not caring about Kevin Ward losing his life just because we don't think Stewart should be tried for murder or something.

He basically has though, and was already implying it early on. I then called him on the idea that even if Stewart is found innocent he'll still claim conspiracy which he is as well now.

 

[Pupik]

And with the camera picking up more light than what the human eye can pick up, it's not as bright as it appears.

Plus the amateur video of the incident is extremely dark.

Actually, motion picture cameras pick up about a quarter of the light an eye sees, unless it's pointed directly at the sun. Even less so for a cellphone camera.

Still, the lighting at that track is quite minimal, which typical for most dirt short tracks. I'd guess it's literally 1/100th of the light during a cloudy daytime race from the angles I've seen (averaging out my experience with still photography light meter examples).

 

[samurai8juice]

I'd like to here Stewart's story in all of this. Whether he's lying or not, I'd just like to see what he says and what he saw. But we probably will never know what he saw, and he probably won't say what he experienced.

 

[Rich S]

No one is giving "auto doubt benefit" as you put it, at least from what I can see, what they are giving is a counter to this act that those who saw the video can tell it was one way or another. They're the ones that are giving an alternative and instead of types who are now trying to prove their argument that it was deliberate in some way are instead saying "well let's just keep an open mind". We're not the ones that came in here with a closed mind in the first place only to slowly absolve it with each passing post.

Points 1, 3 and 4 are very similar not sure why they're separate since any of them would exonerate Stewart from criminal chargers.

Now after seeing you say keep an open mind, you then step in you own way to say that you are in line with number five, and thus pretty much condemning Stewart. Once again I ask how you people have the foresight that these drivers seemed to not have, that a man was out on the track trying to place himself in front of Stewart.

Also the low side of the track argument is a bit silly since many using this also agree that the 45 car nearly hit Ward but was somehow far lower on the track than Stewart. If this is the case and that car was so low on the track it either means Ward traveled far down the track to express himself (since Stewart was behind the 45 car), or Stewart was higher up and seemingly aiming at Ward who didn't travel all that far. You can't have it both ways.

Indeed there is a mountain of reasonable doubt but I think that in this case people are making the argument that Tony would not have done it out of fear for ruining his career or going to prison. According to those same people and according to the Sheriff's dept. neither looks likely. They say poor visibility, Tony would have known this too before he hit Ward. They say the car needs throttle to turn, Tony would have known this. Tony has been in numerous fights over the years, he races 100 times a year in multiple cars, he's one of if not the most experienced race car driver on this planet......

I feel it's certainly a possibility that Tony simply had a disagreement with someone, they lost their cool & Tony saw somebody vulnerable he was angry at, he could kill and get away with it, blaming the guy for playing with the traffic which is what pretty much everybody here is doing apart from a few people. That and the "star power" Tony has which is is no doubt well aware of.

I remember during the Lance Armstrong scandals (there was several over a 10 year period as the French investigated him) the "star power" was unbeatable. Lance had 90% of the public including amongst Europeans. People love to latch on to a personality and make them a god. Examples of this exist throughout human history.

Tony has a long history of fights and disagreements with drivers so to me its not a huge stretch to say he would run somebody over. A fight is one small step away from homicide in my opinion. Proving that is a different story and if it was deliberate maybe Tony has found the ultimate perfect crime.

 

[TheCracker]

I know no more about Tony Stewart than I do Jimmy Stewart. Other than knowing that he was a NASCAR driver, I couldn't tell you any more than that. I didn't even know what he looked like before I read the news about this incident. So reading about this with no prior perceptions on the guy other than the fact he's a professional of some standing, I can't believe that this was a purposeful act, even a spur of the moment red-mist one and certainly not premeditated.

 

[Rich S]

I know no more about Tony Stewart than I do Jimmy Stewart. Other than knowing that he was a NASCAR driver, I couldn't tell you any more than that. I didn't even know what he looked like before I read the news about this incident. So reading about this with no prior perceptions on the guy other than the fact he's a professional of some standing, I can't believe that this was a purposeful act, even a spur of the moment red-mist one and certainly not premeditated.

How is it in North Korea this time of year anyways? Is it quite warm in August?

Anyways it's going to be hard to convince me with 100% certainty that the Ward death was just a tragic accident.

 

[GTPorsche]

The Ontario County Sheriff has continued to state that there is no evidence or facts that show any criminal behavior in this accident.

 

[Earth]

Citation required. Hint, you said something silly that's going to take you a looooong time to download the source for.

How internet of you.

Run for DA. Who else is going to decide if there's a charge in the public interest?

A cover-up? Looking the other way? That's just ridiculous. You think that's what's happening?

Herein lies the problem. It appears you, and many others are completely ignoring the human element of all this, assuming every decision or action is the result of 100% pure motives and a complete lack of bias. Police can be corrupt, lazy, trying to cover the own skins, or any other manner of debased moral state. I can think of countless local police issues (many as serious as murder) where a grand jury had to be summoned to push a case to trial because the lousy police let the defendant off free.

Very big of you, let us know when you've closed the case. But of course you do, otherwise you'd be judging what happened.

Hilarious, I have a different opinion then what you agree with so your condemning me as a self proclaimed judge and executioner while saying nothing of the sort to the many others who have essentially exonerated Stewart. But go on, continue badgering me for wanting to hear more evidence.

Like you did there. Did he punch the throttle? I only saw the car slew as it hit Ward. But then I'm only going on what I can see and sources who were there. If I were making stuff up I'd have mentioned loads of other stuff too.

I bet 12 Angry Men is one of your favorite films. You know the movie where simple facts are drowned out by what ifs and could haves? I bet you, like so many others, thought that was brilliant. Oh wait. I used the word fact. To people on the internet thats a dirty word with no source.

Still waiting for the 100% source (you're really going to have to withdraw that or quietly move on) but your guesses seem as nonsensical as your calculation of percentages or fact. I haven't seen anyone blame Ward 100%, at least nobody outside the usual mad flamish keyboard warriors whose opinion on chemtrails, muslamics and the gubmint are just as entertaining and well-informed.

You want a 100% source? Sorry but thats impossible for someone such as you. Your entire life is predicated on the unknown, randomness, lawlessness, or in simple terms: there is no right or wrong, only opinion. Of course 100% offends you. Its complete, whole, something that your sense of justice is not.

The Ontario County Sheriff has continued to state that there is no evidence or facts that show any criminal behavior in this accident.

Which means almost nothing.