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I just don't get how anyone can say he intentionally sideswiped him. He is pretty much going straight at that point. His car does a little fishtail when he RUNS DUDE OVER... not before.
I'm guessing TS spun ward out on the prior lap because Ward was in his way. They do get worked up over that. Tony was the aggressor in spinning Ward out. Ward was confronting him about it. I'm sure the adrenaline was pumping on both sides.
I didn't see how Ward was in his way or Stewart moved to spin him out. It appears Stewarts car did not have a great pull off the turn and he slid up the track into a car that was already pretty wide and he probably did not see him. Wards car was also moving wider at t the time, either due to his own poor traction or him trying to avoid Stewarts car and he contacted the wall about the same time as there was slight contact between Stewarts right rear and Wards front left.
I'm guessing TS spun ward out on the prior lap because Ward was in his way. They do get worked up over that. Tony was the aggressor in spinning Ward out. Ward was confronting him about it. I'm sure the adrenaline was pumping on both sides.
No, he was not. Tony had the line and was 80% by him when the kid spun. Ward had the choice at that point to lay off the throttle and didn't do it. I'm on another forum of racers and all say that Tony didn't spin him out.
Really I'm surprised this hasn't happened sooner on these local short tracks. Every week there's new video of guys acting like idiots The kid shouldn't have ran out there that soon. Most of the field had less than a half lap under yellow. That and the move Stewart made on him wasn't something to get that pissed off about. He cleared him by about 80%. Ward should have lifted and let him go. It's not so much the idiots, it's that nothing gets done to punish these guys when they do do crap like this. They're racing for $1200 and act like its the friggin' Indy 500.
I just don't get how anyone can say he intentionally sideswiped him. He is pretty much going straight at that point. His car does a little fishtail when he RUNS DUDE OVER... not before.
Yup. The car in front of Tony swerves and suddenly Ward is darting down into Tony's car. Tony's car doesn't have time to do anything and then goes a little sideways as he hits Ward.
Dark suit, dark track, and darting in from the wing side of the car all adds up to tragedy, not malicious intent on TS's part.
Yup. The car in front of Tony swerves and suddenly Ward is darting down into Tony's car. Tony's car doesn't have time to do anything and then goes a little sideways as he hits Ward.
Dark suit, dark track, and darting in from the wing side of the car all adds up to tragedy, not malicious intent on TS's part.
^^^ This. And Ward was a complete idiot for one, getting out of his car (it would have been safer had he stayed inside of it) wil the course was hot, and two walking on the track in the path of the remaining cars. And it's a DIRT track, and the surface is loose, not at all like being on a pavement.
My boyfriend and I watched the video several times (with the sound off to be completely objective). My boyfriend has raced in amateur events and knows all about the right of way rules. It was not Tony's fault that Ward went off the course, Tony was just a better driver. Ward was a hothead who was a complete idiot for walking on the course while the race was in progress and the other cars were still moving, yellow flag or not.
Plus in a race car, the driver's field of vision is very limited between wearing a full-faced helmet, being strapped into a racecar seat (limited neck movement), and the rollcage. Then factor in those massive wings on the car blocking the side view.
Again, not at all Tony's fault. 100% Ward's fault. Darwin-1, Ward-0.
I'm guessing TS spun ward out on the prior lap because Ward was in his way. They do get worked up over that. Tony was the aggressor in spinning Ward out. Ward was confronting him about it. I'm sure the adrenaline was pumping on both sides.
You claim not to be biased but your "guess" just happens to coincide with the clear and obvious bias you've been displaying throughout this thread. Tony was the "aggressor?" Stewart was IN FRONT OF, not behind, Ward when they made contact. Ward was not in Stewart's way; it was the other way around. Stewart was completing a pass, Ward tried to reassert his position to prevent him from doing so, they made contact, and that's what we call RACING.
Do you know anything about sprint racing, how little grip there is, how short and narrow the tracks are, and because of those factors how much contact and spinouts and even cars wiping out end-over-end there are all the time? That's the very nature of the sport, it's the core of the challenge. That's the risk you take every time you line up to race an 800hp open-wheel car sideways on a short-oval dirt track -- s*#t happens, a lot of it. If you can't handle being spun out -- intentionally or not -- you're in the wrong sport.
I can't imagine how sick and twisted and/or how much hatred for Stewart some of you people must have for this guy to even consider the possibility that he ran over the man on purpose. SMGDH.
Last edited by Drover; 08-11-2014 at 10:11 AM..
Reason: removed redundant redundancies
Other sites people are commenting who watched it at 1/4 speed and Stewart hit gas and his backend slide out and hit the man, I'm not saying he tried to hit the man, but he seems to have caused his car to hit the man if that's true. Others and maybe even some lawyers were commenting on how this could and should be looked at in at least a manslaughter light...just thoughts. I can't believe he's racing today?!?!?
i've watched a few videos numerous times. the engine revs. could that be an acceleration? or a downshift? i don't know enough about those dirt track cars to say. personally, i think it looks like he could have avoided hitting him. he was wearing a go pro, so that footage would at least show if his head was even looking towards the guy.
How can it have nothing to do with the kid being on the track?? If he stayed in his car where he belonged, he wouldn't have been run over.
Tragic and sad, certainly--a waste of a young life. But it doesn't look to me as if Stewart "just ran over him". Bottom line, the stupid kid had no business being in the middle of the track, IMO.
i think the point is, it being intentional or not has nothing to do with the kid getting out of the car and being on the track.
it was absolutely idiotic for the kid to get out and walk into the racing lanes. i doubt anyone would argue that. but with that being accepted...did Tony S. not see him? did he see him and try to scare him? did he see him and purposely try to hit him? for how big of an a$$ he is, it's hard to believe anyone would intentionally try to hit a human being at that speed with a car. but watching the video, it also doesn't look like he tried to avoid hitting him. we'll never really know all the details though.
This is why I hate NASCAR (and pretty much all sports, as far as that goes); the irrational fanboy mentality. "I don't like Tony Stewart, so obviously he did this on purpose."
Answer me this, if Stewart didn't slow down, why was there space between him and the car ahead? It actually looked to me like he was losing ground to the car ahead of him, but I only watched one video and really couldn't be sure from that angle.
i dont think people think he obviously did it on purpose because they don't like Stewart. But, watching the video, it's difficult to discount what we know about Stewart's history with irrational behavior on the track. So if there's any hint of him doing it purposely (i don't think anyone would think he intended to kill the guy though), then knowing his history doesn't help calm that hint down.
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Tony was the "aggressor?" Stewart was IN FRONT OF, not behind, Ward when they made contact. Ward was not in Stewart's way; it was the other way around. Stewart was completing a pass, Ward tried to reassert his position to prevent him from doing so, they made contact, and that's what we call RACING.