Ive been involved in racing for years. As a driver, as a crew member, and as a driving instructor. Between those, thousands of track miles, and thousands of hours of time at the track have been logged. In all of those cases, one thing was forced upon any individual who passes the paddock gate: a safety meeting, and a health and safety waiver. In both of these cases, one of the primary things that is talked about, is death. The fact that it can happen anywhere, at anytime, and in any situation. And because we are dealing with heavy things going at high speeds, more often than not, when something goes wrong, it will go horribly wrong. Safety procedures on how to deal with an accident are also heavily discussed. First thing that is said in virtually every meeting, is if you have an accident, stay in your car until the safety crew arrives. If you have a fire incident, and need to extricate yourself from the vehicle, it is your responsibility to get to a safe location, and contact a marshal as quickly as possible. This is usually followed by instructions about specific corners to watch out for, exit locations in the fence, and staying away from the racing line, never crossing a live track, even in yellow conditions, and always looking out for other cars. And finally how it is every drivers responsibility to avoid an accident as much as possible, but in the end, it is the your personal sole responsibility to be aware of your own safety, and protect yourself from danger. Bottom line, racing is dangerous, people die doing it. Accept that risk, or leave.
In this particular situation, the "accident" that started the whole thing was about as common an accident in sprint car as you are going to get. Tony undercut his line and made a pass, and moved up to block Kevin, and protect his line, Kevin didnt back out to let the pass happen, got up onto the outer apron, lost traction, and spun out into the wall. Wards car was hardly even damaged from the accident, receiving nothing more than a flat tire, and maybe a couple bent tie rods. Any sanctioning body would have categorized that as any other typical racing incident. Tony leaned on him, he didnt yield, and he ended up in the wall. It didnt ruin his car, it didnt endanger him in any way, He should have been grateful the car was as intact as it was, and let it go at that. It was certainly not worth the temper tantrum that followed it.
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Once Kevin got out of his car, and started to walk out into the middle of the track, he just took every rule that he agreed to in the drivers safety meeting, and threw it out the window. No matter how much people want to argue over vague semantics, and assumptions, the fact is, from a legal standpoint, Kevin Ward violated safety protocol of the circuit when he walked out into the racing groove of a live track. Caution flag or not, doesnt matter. He took his life into his own hands, and paid the ultimate price.
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At the end of the day though, the question that must be asked is "Could this have been completely avoided if Kevin Ward had stayed in his car, instead of trying to retaliate over a flat tire", and the answer is "absolutely, yes". When you break track safety protocol, and run into the middle of a hot track, you either have a death wish, or arent thinking straight. Either way, youve taken your life into your own hands, and you will pay the consequences of those actions, and Kevin Ward paid the ultimate price.
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There is no doubt that this is an absolute tragedy. Its terrible any time any racing driver dies at the track for any reason. But going back up to my first paragraph, you have to take responsibility for your own safety, and Kevin Ward did not, and that to me (speaking as someone who has done multiple incident investigations at tracks) puts him squarely at fault.