CNN: NASCAR's Tony Stewart allegedly hits, kills driver at dirt-track race in New York

[AsburySkinsFan]

Amazing that other drivers appeared to see him but not Stewart.

"At the last second" key words. It isn't quite amazing given the actual circumstances, I'm sure it does look amazing that he wouldn't see him since we all watched the video from a couple hundred feet away with a full view and perspective of the entire incident. Smoke's spotter surely must have told him that on his in car radio....oh what's that there are no spotters.

Seems like the "amazingness" factor is reduced quite considerably.

[JamesMadisonSkins]

From what I've heard/read about that track it's not well lit. Read something where someone who's raced there said the car behind the 45 probably had very little time to see/react to him being there.

 

Still not sure how that explains the revving engine, unless Stewart saw him and in a split second tried to avoid him. 

[AsburySkinsFan]

To be fair, I don't see many in this thread "lynching" Stewart.  Instead a lot of questions have arisen based on Stewart's tempermental history and the fact that a 20 y/o who appeared to have a rivalry with him in this form of racing is dead.  Questions do need to be asked and a thorough investigation taken place. You can't just clear the guy because he's your favorite driver.

Check post number 7 in this thread.

I would quote it but I don't want to anger a mod.

I'm not clearing Tony because he's my favorite driver.

I believe he is cleared of wrong doing because I know racing, know the difficulties and circumstances in racing and my conclusions match many of the conclusions reached by professionals in the sport as well.

On the other side we have armchair experts who profess lack of racing knowledge who then make proclamations of certainty and fact.

But I'm a condescending petty jerk, so just ignore me.

Still not sure how that explains the revving engine, unless Stewart saw him and in a split second tried to avoid him.

20 cars on the track, video shot with a cell phone. It is impossible to tell what engine revved.

[steve09ru]

From what I've heard/read about that track it's not well lit. Read something where someone who's raced there said the car behind the 45 probably had very little time to see/react to him being there.

 

Still not sure how that explains the revving engine, unless Stewart saw him and in a split second tried to avoid him. 

 

the revving of the engine, if came from Stewart's car, would have been at the point of contact (according to video audio) which would be where his right tires are off the ground from the contact causing RPM's to jump (same thing you get if you miss a gear driving a stick a car in neutral and are still laying on the gas - already similar to those who race dirt bikes/atv's where there is a split rev at the point their car leaves the ground on a jump.)

[JamesMadisonSkins]

the revving of the engine, if came from Stewart's car, would have been at the point of contact (according to video audio) which would be where his right tires are off the ground from the contact causing RPM's to jump (same thing you get if you miss a gear driving a stick a car in neutral and are still laying on the gas - already similar to those who race dirt bikes/atv's where there is a split rev at the point their car leaves the ground on a jump.)

 

The video on YT with over 3m views has the rev about 1 second before impact. Unless that's the "doctored" version folks have been talking about. And just from a gut-instinct perspective, at first glance, it appears as though Ward starts to jump out of the way at the same time you hear the acceleration, to indicate he's reacting to seeing something from Stewart's car, whether that be a loss of control ... a drift ... or an acceleration out of the turn.

 

FWIW, Stewart has an almost god status in these parts. He's a regular at the tracks around here when it comes time to race at the Glen. So a lot of the folks at the track are likely Stewart fans, so they'd be the last to, in my mind, turn on him. But witness accounts, though I agree they are usually the least accurate, have been hard on Stewart. 

[AsburySkinsFan]

The video on YT with over 3m views has the rev about 1 second before impact. Unless that's the "doctored" version folks have been talking about.

15-20 cars on the track, if you think that the other cars suddenly went silent then we have bigger problems here then the limited recording ability of a cell phone camera,

[Zazzaro703]

My question is for the people that think he did it to intimidate, how would stewart even know he was out of the car and on the track? Again, the car in front of him barely saw Ward on the track, Tony would of had to see him and decide to intimidate him in all of about a half second. Ward got spun out, do you think Stewart was rubber necking to see what was going on after Ward went into the wall or was waiting to see if he was on the track? No... he was probably business as usual until all of a sudden Ward was right in front of his car.

[Special K]

Check post number 7 in this thread.

I would quote it but I don't want to anger a mod.

I'm not clearing Tony because he's my favorite driver.

I believe he is cleared of wrong doing because I know racing, know the difficulties and circumstances in racing and my conclusions match many of the conclusions reached by professionals in the sport as well.

On the other side we have armchair experts who profess lack of racing knowledge who then make proclamations of certainty and fact.

But I'm a condescending petty jerk, so just ignore me.

20 cars on the track, video shot with a cell phone. It is impossible to tell what engine revved.

Well, someone's level of NASCAR knowledge is pretty irrelevant in definitively clearing or indicting Stewart in this thread.  I don't care how much anyone "knows" about racing, in fact, I don't care if someone in this thread has personally raced against Stewart.  The fact is, based solely on the video and the angles the shots were taken, none of us can know 1. if intent was involved  2.  what exactly happened that led to this kid getting hit, whether it was aimed, whether control was lost, whether he was just trying to scare the guy, whether he truly didn't see him on his right side.  No one can say one way or another with absolute certainty.  Unfortunately, due to Stewart's well-documented temper and jackass behavior, questions about this tragedy are being pursued more aggressively by fans and non-fans alike.

[JamesMadisonSkins]

15-20 cars on the track, if you think that the other cars suddenly went silent then we have bigger problems here then the limited recording ability of a cell phone camera,

I'm not saying it's 100% Stewart, but agree with others that under caution you're unlikely to see anyone accelerating like that, and it appears as though the sound and resulting image match-up pretty well. I'm the first to say it's not Stewart's fault and I'm not sure you can really fault him however you slice it ... certainly not with any degree of murder charges under the circumstances, I'm just trying to piece it together like the rest.

[steve09ru]

The video on YT with over 3m views has the rev about 1 second before impact. Unless that's the "doctored" version folks have been talking about. And just from a gut-instinct perspective, at first glance, it appears as though Ward starts to jump out of the way at the same time you hear the acceleration, to indicate he's reacting to seeing something from Stewart's car, whether that be a loss of control ... a drift ... or an acceleration out of the turn.

 

FWIW, Stewart has an almost god status in these parts. He's a regular at the tracks around here when it comes time to race at the Glen. So a lot of the folks at the track are likely Stewart fans, so they'd be the last to, in my mind, turn on him. But witness accounts, though I agree they are usually the least accurate, have been hard on Stewart. 

 

I've seen a couple - someone referenced a few pages back as to seeing the clip with the synced audio that I had initially seen until the on you referenced.  From that one, I can't tell who's car is revving because the 45 just passed him and looked to accelerate after the turn so it very well could have been him. 

Well, someone's level of NASCAR knowledge is pretty irrelevant in definitively clearing or indicting Stewart in this thread.  I don't care how much anyone "knows" about racing, in fact, I don't care if someone in this thread has personally raced against Stewart.  The fact is, based solely on the video and the angles the shots were taken, none of us can know 1. if intent was involved  2.  what exactly happened that led to this kid getting hit, whether it was aimed, whether control was lost, whether he was just trying to scare the guy, whether he truly didn't see him on his right side.  No one can say one way or another with absolute certainty.  Unfortunately, due to Stewart's well-documented temper and jackass behavior, questions about this tragedy are being pursued more aggressively by fans and non-fans alike.

 

It's not irrelevant if the knowledge is built together along with the video.  It needs to be understood how the cars handle, how they work, the type of visibility, etc.  Someone earlier mentioned that with these cars the steering is done more with the throttle and not the wheel so you have to look at that to.  A lot of variables outside of just video that need to be taken into consideration.  But, like you said, only Stewart can know with 100% certainty.

[EvilMonkeyBoy]

I've seen a lot of garbage reading into this like "Darwin award winner, What did ward expect playing in traffic etc etc", you have to be a rather emotional bankrupt individual to make jokes and see this as anything other than a sad tragedy. A lot of us make mistakes out of anger, just most of us get to reflect back and realize we lost control for a few moments and don't have that mistake cost us our life. This was a 20 year old kid that had a lapse in judgement in the heat of the moment.

This has probably been the thing bothering me most about this discussion. The poor kid was the first person to really pay the ultimate price for a poor decision that drivers of all ages at every level have done in heated moments since well before he was born, and all people want to do is pile insults on him while acting like the rest of the sport is filled with true professionals that are too smart to do ever do something like this.

[AsburySkinsFan]

I'm not saying it's 100% Stewart, but agree with others that under caution you're unlikely to see anyone accelerating like that, and it appears as though the sound and resulting image match-up pretty well.

Watch this video.

About at the 2 minute mark the pre-race caution laps start...watch them and pay attention to how they drive around those laps.

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

This has probably been the thing bothering me most about this discussion. The poor kid was the first person to really pay the ultimate price for a poor decision that drivers of all ages at every level have done in heated moments since well before he was born, and all people want to do is pile insults on him while acting like the rest of the sport is filled with true professionals that are too smart to do ever do something like this.

 

I actually thought that standing on the track and yelling was kind of SOP in NASCAR. Granted, I don't watch, well, any races. But I've seen a ton of video of Sportscenter. In fact, didn't Stewart throw his helmet at a car while standing on the track after a crash once?

[Predicto]

This is one of those cases where I'll sit back and read about the investigation(if there is one) before I have an opinion. Accident or intentional, I don't see how Stewart can race today.

Prayers sent for Ward's family.

 

this

[steve09ru]

I'm not saying it's 100% Stewart, but agree with others that under caution you're unlikely to see anyone accelerating like that, and it appears as though the sound and resulting image match-up pretty well. I'm the first to say it's not Stewart's fault and I'm not sure you can really fault him however you slice it ... certainly not with any degree of murder charges under the circumstances, I'm just trying to piece it together like the rest.

 

Just found the original I saw, someone linked it back on post 109

[Dont Taze Me Bro]

I actually thought that standing on the track and yelling was kind of SOP in NASCAR. Granted, I don't watch, well, any races. But I've seen a ton of video of Sportscenter. In fact, didn't Stewart throw his helmet at a car while standing on the track after a crash once?

Yeah, he tossed his helmet at another car before, but I think that was in the pit, not on the track.  But, he may have done so another time, can't remember.

[Special K]

It's not irrelevant if the knowledge is built together along with the video.  It needs to be understood how the cars handle, how they work, the type of visibility, etc.  Someone earlier mentioned that with these cars the steering is done more with the throttle and not the wheel so you have to look at that to.  A lot of variables outside of just video that need to be taken into consideration.  But, like you said, only Stewart can know with 100% certainty.

Well, in this thread it's pretty irrelevant as far as putting down other posters because they aren't as involved in the sport as you (generic you, not you personally) and then making a sweeping claim one way or another.  

[Btubes18]

I mean I don't see how you can blame a race car driver for hitting a pedestrian on a race track.

 

I was originally on the boat that T Stewart did something wrong then I always came back to this.  The man got out of his car and knowingly walked on to a track with speeding vehicles.  It will be very hard to prove T Stewart was at fault for this.

[Bubble Screen]

Well, someone's level of NASCAR knowledge is pretty irrelevant in definitively clearing or indicting Stewart in this thread. I don't care how much anyone "knows" about racing, in fact, I don't care if someone in this thread has personally raced against Stewart. The fact is, based solely on the video and the angles the shots were taken, none of us can know 1. if intent was involved 2. what exactly happened that led to this kid getting hit, whether it was aimed, whether control was lost, whether he was just trying to scare the guy, whether he truly didn't see him on his right side. No one can say one way or another with absolute certainty. Unfortunately, due to Stewart's well-documented temper and jackass behavior, questions about this tragedy are being pursued more aggressively by fans and non-fans alike.

I agree and disagree with the first part of your post. While true, that no one can look at that video and definitively say exactly what happened, it does help to have a vast knowledge of racing to fully understand the incident itself. For instance, there have been many here who have stated "everyone seemed to see Ward but Stewart", or "How could he have not seen Ward?"...EASY. And myself and Ash, and others, have repeatedly given examples of why. 1. Dimly lit track at night. 2. Ward was wearing a black fire suit and helmet. 3. Car #45, directly in front of Stewart, had to swerve to miss Ward. 4. Obstructed views that a driver of a sprint car has. 5. Drivers' visors are dirty. 6. Cars reportedly had no spotters, thus Stewart would have had no prior warning Ward was about to approach is car. etc

People choose to ignore all those things, and solely focus on Stewart's past transgressions with his temper. Ok, here's what I find funny (or odd) about that. Why is no one talking about the incident that LED to Ward's death? Having watched racing all my life, I can tell you that there was NOTHING Stewart did wrong to cause that kind of reaction from Ward. That was simply good hard side by side racing. So that leads me to believe this kid was a bit of a hothead himself. That ultimately led to him exiting his car and making the horrible decision to a approach a car on a track that was probably doing at least 40 mph.

The only real fact we know is that Ward put himself in danger, which ultimately led to his death. As a result, I don't see any scenario where a DA takes this to a grand jury, short of Stewart admitting any wrongdoing (which won't happen).

[HogNose]

I don't know racing protocol and I'm not a Nascar fan, but I do know if  I was to get out of my car on I95 and walk towards oncoming traffic that I might get hit.    

 

Testosterone got the best of him. He should have waiting until after the race to confront Stewart. Sad situation. 

[skinsmarydu]

My brother's living room is full of his dirt-track trophies. When I say full, I mean you can barely move around them.

What has been said about what we call the "around swing" is all true. Dirt is a movable surface, and there's very little "truth" about where it goes, where it wants to go, and where it ends up. Every instance is different, as my brother says. Gear, pedal, and wheel are extremely loose on dirt. You can get really close to doing what you want, and have it all go wrong at the last split-second.

[AlvinWaltonIsMyBoy]

Stewart might be a grade A jackhole, but I just have a hard time believing he intended to run over another driver with his car.  It will take a lot to convince me otherwise.  Maybe I have too much faith in humanity.

 

Either way, what a terrible incident.  Truly sad.

[DM72]

Stewart might be a grade A jackhole, but I just have a hard time believing he intended to run over another driver with his car.  It will take a lot to convince me otherwise.  Maybe I have too much faith in humanity.

 

Either way, what a terrible incident.  Truly sad.

 

Why do people keep implying that anyone thought Stewart intended to hit that Kid?

[Zazzaro703]

Also, where is the everyone else saw him but stewart coming from? The guy in front of him admitted to seeing him at the last second and had to take evasive actions to just barely miss him. After that car Ward was even further down the track in front of stewarts car a split second later.

[Special K]

I agree and disagree with the first part of your post. While true, that no one can look at that video and definitively say exactly what happened, it does help to have a vast knowledge of racing to fully understand the incident itself. For instance, there have been many here who have stated "everyone seemed to see Ward but Stewart", or "How could he have not seen Ward?"...EASY. And myself and Ash, and others, have repeatedly given examples of why. 1. Dimly lit track at night. 2. Ward was wearing a black fire suit and helmet. 3. Car #45, directly in front of Stewart, had to swerve to miss Ward. 4. Obstructed views that a driver of a sprint car has. 5. Drivers' visors are dirty. 6. Cars reportedly had no spotters, thus Stewart would have had no prior warning Ward was about to approach is car. etc

People choose to ignore all those things, and solely focus on Stewart's past transgressions with his temper. Ok, here's what I find funny (or odd) about that. Why is no one talking about the incident that LED to Ward's death? Having watched racing all my life, I can tell you that there was NOTHING Stewart did wrong to cause that kind of reaction from Ward. That was simply good hard side by side racing. So that leads me to believe this kid was a bit of a hothead himself. That ultimately led to him exiting his car and making the horrible decision to a approach a car on a track that was probably doing at least 40 mph.

The only real fact we know is that Ward put himself in danger, which ultimately led to his death. As a result, I don't see any scenario where a DA takes this to a grand jury, short of Stewart admitting any wrongdoing (which won't happen).

If you read my post I'm not saying having knowledge of racing isn't beneficial.  I'm saying it means jack crap when it comes to definitively clearing or indicting Stewart in this thread, which many people here seem to have no problem doing.  

 

As far as talking about the incident that LED to the death,  The reason no one is talking about it is:  what does it matter whether his emotions were "justified" or not?  You seem to be saying that this guy's emotions were unwarranted and responsible for his death and that should somehow play into this case.  His state of mind and emotions really have no relevance in the incident; the guy made a stupid decision to run out on the track, who cares why?