Tony Stewart kills 20 year old after running him over on the racetrack

If you read the reddit quote I posted, that sound of a car accelerating is not Tonys car, the video is across the track, they wouldn't have heard his car that soundly. It was a car closer to the camera man, off camera.

 

could be. Could also be tonys car. It's not physically impossible. Given tonys car appears to move faster at that moment, whats most likely to you?

 

Supposedly Tony had a GoPro attached to his car, and police have or are trying to confiscate it.

 

Hypotheticals. Can't make a call either way. I am just playing the other side here. Everyones too quick to blame Tony. All kinds of things that come into play here....This isnt over yet, investigation continues, and police have asked for any and all amateur video to be sent in to them.

 

sure. I wouldn't say the driver was smart for getting out of his car, but there is a history of drivers doing that. LIke I said, I think tony tried to **** with him and it went bad. Either way someone died and hopefully justice is done. What that should be isn't up to me, but eesh, tony ****ed up royally here IMO.

 

This guy has to be just as responsible for getting out, jumping quickly onto the track, and SEEKING out a moving race car. Dumb.

 

Someone mentioned the audio of Stewart's radio contact with his crew. I'm no racing expert so I'm curious, is this recorded? If so, that would seem like be best evidence either for or against Stewart here.

 

dumb. Not worthy of the death penalty dumb. More than the video, I'd really like to hear what he was telling his pit crew before this.

 

Me too, and I read (on the internet so take it with a grain of salt) that he pulled into his truck and they changed out the right rear tire and switched it with another. Could be tampering with evidence? Anyways, thats all from the deadspin article OP posted.

All up in the air at this point.

 

Actions on the field that have no connection to the sport are actionable. A boxer can't be charged with murder for killing his opponent (unless there was some artificial means used to kill like brass knuckles or something) because boxing is just two guys beating each other.

A football player can't be charged with a crime for paralyzing a guy with a football hit but could be charged if he took of his helmet during a stoppage and beat a guy to death

 

The problem with the reddit poster's account of things is that the eyewitnesses who claimed they saw and heard Stewart gun his engine were not the ones with the camera. They were the ones right there AT the turn. And that includes a guy who races these cars for a living and knows that when you gun your engine, your car sets sideways.

Tony Stewart tried to give the kid a scare. It went horribly wrong. The fact that he was going to race the next day is ****ing disturbing. The fact NASCAR was going to let him, even more so.

 

He should be banned from ever racing again.

Bottom line when you're a racer everything is going so incredibly fast that you're acting on instinct. These aren't things you have time to think about. Everything is practically down to your lizard brain. His instincts got a guy killed. It didn't matter if it was an unusual situation or if Ward put himself at risk. In that split second Tony Stewart's instincts told him to do a very unsafe thing in order to teach the kid a lesson, and it got the kid killed. He can't be trusted to race again, ever. His instincts are a danger to everyone on the track.

 

Everyone should be saying a prayer for ALL the parties involved, not making assumptions based on what you read on the internet or a grainy video that you obviously don't comprehend what happened in. None of us were there and we do not know all of the facts, and maybe never will. Also I doubt any of you have ever been in a Sprint car or even really know what differentiates them from an every day vehicle. It was a terrible and unfortunate event, but your uninformed opinions are nothing but fuel to a fire.. really disappointing.

 

Yeah, but who the hell is that guy and why should I care what he has to say?

Watch the video. You can clearly see his car accelerate and the audio matches that perfectly. You would absolutely be able hear it at that distance. He's not even across the track. Hell, you can hear a motorcycle punch it from 2-3 streets away from inside your house. That poster is full of ****.

I don't think he hit him on purpose, if only because I refuse to believe a human being would run down another human being like that. But he did hit him, and it resulted in his death.

 

That is one disgusting crew Tony is associated with IF they destroyed evidence.. they're trying to save their jobs and murderer or not, no life is bigger than their sponsors..

I've got a feeling Tony gets away with this and no one will remember Ward a few months from now..

 

Wouldn't be surprised if they tried to delete the video recorded by the GoPro.

 

Looks like murder, should fry for it.

 

Stewart did not "drive" up the track to be clear.. after making contact with Ward (when he was pulled under the right rear tire), then the car lost traction and pushed up the track and also after contact you can then see the front tires turn to the right not before. There is video, but you clearly are not paying attention or understanding the basic fundamentals of how a motor vehicle works. Also just from one angle and the quality of the video NO ONE can absolutely say they saw anything without a doubt. To clear some things up, the track was poorly lit, it was 10:30 at night, Ward was wearing an all black fire suit and black helmet, there was another vehicle in front of Stewart which I would say blocked his view (how much so I do not know), and also Stewart never made contact with Ward on the lap prior.. that happens a lot in dirt track racing, drivers don't realize all that happened until the next lap when they pass by and tracks usually throw a yellow for a minor incident and a red flag for something major. As for witness statements, when an event first happens the things people say are not always 100% accurate and one of these witnesses was Ward's friend so it becomes biased unintentionally. Also during caution laps drivers often will step on the gas hard then off then on again to heat tires up and keep them sticky. Then there is the lack of a clear view when sitting inside of a Sprint car, your right side is obstructed. Also Sprint cars clutches are not the same as a regular automobile, they are always pulling forward, it's not like a regular car when you push the clutch in you just roll to a stop. A driver should never get out of his vehicle and step onto the track surface, especially run to the middle of the track in front of a moving car. (Doesn't matter.. but if the white car would have hit him this story wouldn't be as big as it is, and that car almost did but was moving at a slow enough speed to avoid) These sprint cars have to be into the throttle hard to turn when above a certain speed.

My opinion is Stewart was not aware Ward was on the track especially down in the middle on foot, after the car in front avoided him and he saw him it was too late and his reaction to try to miss was split second and he hit the gas and tried to miss him but was unsuccessful. There is absolutely no proof of intent or motive on the video footage to prove otherwise, and you can clearly see he never went further up the track until Ward had already been struck and the car lost traction.

Calling someone a murderer or instantly assuming this and that with no facts, just because you say so is ignorant. I work for the state at a maximum security prison, I know murderers calling this man one is cruel. I also live within a 30 minute range of three top dirt tracks. I know how dangerous these cars are and how little visibility there is when driving them and also how these cars run, both my parents are mechanics and I also have friends who race in these series. I first heard about this story at 11pm last night and first saw the footage at midnight. This is all my opinions and I'm not saying I'm 100% right at all, it's all just based on what I do know related to the incident. We should all be praying for the Ward family, Stewart and his family, and motorsports in general.. not bashing and bad mouthing a man that you do not know anything about on an online forum, it's just disrespectful to everyone.

Not everything you've said is proven and it can't be.. You don't know he was off to the side or in front with that camera angle and video it all happens too fast. Stewart again did NOT drive up the track, after making contact with Ward and only after then did the car move up the track. Now on the other hand I will agree there was acceleration, contact, and Ward did pass away because of this. Then back to you wanting to profile him.. sure maybe he does have road rage, so do most people that doesn't mean they would try to intentionally kill someone. What qualifies this as road rage, he never made contact with Ward before this what would he be mad about? And if you want to say he wanted to scare him and things went wrong, what basis is that from either? Why would he want to scare him, for what reason? If I'm doing at least the speed limit and someone passes me on the road I'll flip them off.. road rage.. so that means if ever in the future I made contact with a person not knowing fault just knowing there was contact that'd make me a murderer too? It is incredibly sad and a horrific accident, but as of now that's all that it is.. not a murder. I'm not writing anymore on the subject after this, it's a waste of my time and demeaning, you can believe and preach you know what happened to someone else that is as uniformed, ignorant, and blind as you. There will be no charges brought against Stewart, and you'll say it's because he's a celebrity. You enjoy living in your own bubble of a world where accidents and bad things don't just happen at times, and where you're always right.

 

His instincts are a danger to any moron running at him in the middle of the track in the middle of a race.

 

I dont think I see that (Ward evading) if anything after the first car misses him it appears he puts himself in a better position to be hit....could be my eyes seeing wrong...but thats what I see....truthfully its happening way too fast and position of the car in thw video block any view of that. Definitely a "fish tail" or whatever you want to prescribe to the movement of stewarts car.

 

Not very bright of Ward for running down a racecar. A terrible tragedy. Hopefully drivers learn to stop doing this and approach somebody after the race instead. Leave the cars out of it. Although I'm a Stewart fan, it was a wise decision not to race today. Maybe he should lay off of the dirt track stuff for a while, nothing but bad luck for him lately and it is seriously affecting his Cup career.

 

Running onto the track wasn't smart, but that plays no part into whether Stewart did something reckless.

 

I would say killing someone is more then bad luck but I'm not a Stewart fan

 

The only thing that can save him is the prosecutor's discretion, or excuse, car malfunction, otherwise it's an intentional murder, clear as daylight. (no attempt to avoid victim when he does that every day on every track is prima facie evidence of intent.)

 

It was unfortunate, and I assume, unintentional on Tony's part.

 

I'm sure he feels real bad about all that.

 

And no one knows if he did.

We know for a fact ward was a moron. No one knows for fact if tony was deliberately trying to hit this guy or not. That's hyperbole.

 

His family does.

 

tony stewart though? Still good to go.

 

How so?

 

He was going to race this morning allegedly no?

 

Ive been a Tony Stewart for a long time. He's done stuff in the past that makes me scratch my head, but I fully respect the passion he has for racing, his peers give him the upmost respect throughout the world. He's still one of the best race car drivers in history.
After watching the video, In my gut, I really don't think he saw the kid.

 

I Can't defend or play devils advocate to that. Thats too soon, and ridiculous.

 

I don't believe so. There was an insensitive comment made by his crew chief about "business as usual", but I have no insight into how this is affecting Stewart. I know that he didn't race today, which is a critical time in the season for him before the Chase window closes. Speculating on what he was or wasn't going to do is nonsense. I don't know him personally, but I don't think he is taking this lightly.

 

Tony did stop on the backstretch after the turn two deal. If he did change the right rear tire, maybe he was getting ready for the restart?? We don't know.

 

Dale Jarrett talked to Tony this morning and said on tv that Tony was taking this very hard. Dale was one of only a handful of people that got to talk to Tony this morning. I would trust Dale's words.