Tony Stewart purposefully ran someone over?

[iamshack]

But the key is barely. Everyone else except the guy involved in the confrontation was able to miss him. Granted this is why nothing can be proven and why there will be no criminal charges however, in the racing world everyone knows what happened.

How many is "everyone else"? One?

[ptatc]

How many is "everyone else"? One?

How ever many were on the track during the caution. I didn't see the beginning of the race so i don't know how many were in the race. They all had to go by him.

[EvilMonkey]

How ever many were on the track during the caution. I didn't see the beginning of the race so i don't know how many were in the race. They all had to go by him.

You are aware that he wasn't in the middle of the track when 'all the rest' went by him, right?

[iamshack]

How ever many were on the track during the caution. I didn't see the beginning of the race so i don't know how many were in the race. They all had to go by him.

? How do you figure?

[kev211]

Or at least people who don't follow racing. While he should not have been out there, it happens all the time. Stewart is only culpable from the fact that he should have missed him. Out of all the times racers have gone on the track to yell at another driver, this is the only time a driver has been hit.

Ehh the general consensus from people who know stuff about racing seems to be that tony isn't at fault.

[kev211]

How ever many were on the track during the caution. I didn't see the beginning of the race so i don't know how many were in the race. They all had to go by him.

2 cars went passed him when he wandered down to the middle of the track. The first almost hit him the second did.

[ptatc]

2 cars went passed him when he wandered down to the middle of the track. The first almost hit him the second did.

There were no other cars on the track at the time. That's odd.

Edited August 13, 2014 by ptatc

[ptatc]

Ehh the general consensus from people who know stuff about racing seems to be that tony isn't at fault.

Publically. What are they going to say, "yeah, Tony tried to go at him." There's another liable law suit. They can't have this type of black eye in the sport.It wouldn't have happened if Ward hadn't walked on the track. It also wouldn't have happened if Stewart didn't happen to be in such a high line.

 

As I've said it's pretty odd that out of all the times in the past that racers have done this, not a single one has ever been hit. Stewart must be an awful driver.

[caulfield12]

Publically. What are they going to say, "yeah, Tony tried to go at him." There's another liable law suit. They can't have this type of black eye in the sport.It wouldn't have happened if Ward hadn't walked on the track. It also wouldn't have happened if Stewart didn't happen to be in such a high line.

 

As I've said it's pretty odd that out of all the times in the past that racers have done this, not a single one has ever been hit. Stewart must be an awful driver.

 

 

Or "unlucky" and the victim of the worst coincidence possible.

 

So Occam's Razor would tell you what?...as usually the simplest explanation is the correct one.

Edited August 13, 2014 by caulfield12

[StrangeSox]

There were no other cars on the track at the time. That's odd.

No, that's not what he said. And the video that I saw showed everything from Ward hitting the wall and spinning out through the end. There were only a handful of cars that had to drive by him after he started walking to the middle of the track. One of them damn near hit the guy standing in the middle of the track, and the next car did hit him.

 

I don't know why the only options you can imagine are malice or incompetence ("he must be a horrible driver then!"). Ward was advancing more and more onto the track the whole time, gesturing and walking towards Stewart's car as it came around the track.

[iamshack]

There were several cars that passed him (perhaps 5) after he exited his car. As he tried to track down Stewart's car, he started crossing from the outside of the track to the inside of the track. He started out walking and then increased his pace, at one point making sort of a juke move as he attempted to get as close to Tony Stewart's path while avoiding a blue car. At that point, it's hard to tell which way to go to avoid him. At first a driver could go low and avoid him. But now he's in the middle and literally trying to aim a path towards Stewart.

 

It's really difficult without seeing a wider frame to determine what Stewart was doing. My guess is he was trying to scare the guy. But you can only guess - you can't know with any level of certainty from this video- what his true intentions were.

[ptatc]

No, that's not what he said. And the video that I saw showed everything from Ward hitting the wall and spinning out through the end. There were only a handful of cars that had to drive by him after he started walking to the middle of the track. One of them damn near hit the guy standing in the middle of the track, and the next car did hit him.

 

I don't know why the only options you can imagine are malice or incompetence ("he must be a horrible driver then!"). Ward was advancing more and more onto the track the whole time, gesturing and walking towards Stewart's car as it came around the track.

It is pretty much either or. Either he is a bad enough driver that he is the only driver ever to hit another driver or he tried to buzz the guy made a mistake and hit him. I really don't see another option.

 

Other drivers have gone after others in all different scenarios and no one has ever hit one. So he is either and bad driver accidentally hit him or he tried to buzz the guy and realized to late that he was too close and accidentally hit the guy.

 

I don't believe he tried to hit him if that is the malice to which you are referring.

 

Again this is all just my opinion from my experience in racing and with Stewart.

Edited August 13, 2014 by ptatc

[kev211]

There were no other cars on the track at the time. That's odd.

No I'm saying the other cars went by when he was higher on the track. After he ran down only 2 maybe 3 cars passed him that had a shot of hitting him. If he had stayed up high where he was when everyone else did Stewart wouldn't have hit him.

[kev211]

It is pretty much either or. Either he is a bad enough driver that he is the only driver ever to hit another driver or he tried to buzz the guy made a mistake and hit him. I really don't see another option.

 

Other drivers have gone after others in all different scenarios and no one has ever hit one. So he is either and bad driver accidentally hit him or he tried to buzz the guy and realized to late that he was too close and accidentally hit the guy.

 

I don't believe he tried to hit him if that is the malice to which you are referring.

 

Again this is all just my opinion from my experience in racing and with Stewart.

This isn't as common as you think, and if it happens in nascar there'll be a voice in your ear warning you that they're out of their car so you know to look out for them. Also any time this has happened in nascar they moved down to the lower end of the the track and stopped moving. They also wait until things have calmed down and the cars have went by a few times, and use the safety vehicles as shields. Ward was actively moving and pointing like an idiot before the safety vehicles arrived. He looked like a football player juking. It was weird.

 

 

Edited August 13, 2014 by kev211

[ChiliIrishHammock24]

It's obvious you have a pretty clear agenda here...we get it...you think Stewart is at fault.

 

Yeah, I've got an agenda. Caught me.

[caulfield12]

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/a...s-fatal-accide/

 

Criminal charges still possible for Stewart, experts say

[ptatc]

This isn't as common as you think, and if it happens in nascar there'll be a voice in your ear warning you that they're out of their car so you know to look out for them. Also any time this has happened in nascar they moved down to the lower end of the the track and stopped moving. They also wait until things have calmed down and the cars have went by a few times, and use the safety vehicles as shields. Ward was actively moving and pointing like an idiot before the safety vehicles arrived. He looked like a football player juking. It was weird.

I've seen it twice this year and probably a dozen times in the races if been to over the years and that's a small fraction of all the races around the country. I've seen it at the Indy 500 and those cars do not turn like these sprint cars.

[caulfield12]

I've seen it twice this year and probably a dozen times in the races if been to over the years and that's a small fraction of all the races around the country. I've seen it at the Indy 500 and those cars do not turn like these sprint cars.

 

 

He couldn't turn, it's impossible to turn on a dirt track without skidding out of control and injuring or killing more bystanders than a Final Destination movie.

 

Or so they say.

[bmags]

He couldn't turn, it's impossible to turn on a dirt track without skidding out of control and injuring or killing more bystanders than a Final Destination movie.

 

Or so they say.

 

Yes that's what's being said Caulfield.

[harfman77]

Publically. What are they going to say, "yeah, Tony tried to go at him." There's another liable law suit. They can't have this type of black eye in the sport.It wouldn't have happened if Ward hadn't walked on the track. It also wouldn't have happened if Stewart didn't happen to be in such a high line.

 

As I've said it's pretty odd that out of all the times in the past that racers have done this, not a single one has ever been hit. Stewart must be an awful driver.

 

Stewart was on a high line because he was directly behind the car that swerved to miss Ward, once that car swerved out of the way Tony started heading toward the bottom of the track and Ward ran to try to catch him.

 

Confrontations ON the track do not happen very often in any level of racing. Confrontations in the pits and by the trailers after races are not that uncommon. Most times when someone has been on the track it has been to yell at the driver or flip him off (or throw a helmet at them), you NEVER see a guy run right up to a moving car in the middle of a race. The kid made a bad decision in the heat of the moment and paid the ultimate price for it.

[zenryan]

I've seen it twice this year and probably a dozen times in the races if been to over the years and that's a small fraction of all the races around the country. I've seen it at the Indy 500 and those cars do not turn like these sprint cars.

 

 

How many times were those Indy drivers doing that in the dead middle of the track as cars flew by?

[ptatc]

How many times were those Indy drivers doing that in the dead middle of the track as cars flew by?

Personally, I've sen it once in about 15 years. He walked down to the middle of the track and waited until he saw the driver he wanted and gave him the double bird. He then waited for an opening and walked to the inside of the track. I've seen it twice this year at a dirt track.

[ptatc]

He couldn't turn, it's impossible to turn on a dirt track without skidding out of control and injuring or killing more bystanders than a Final Destination movie.

 

Or so they say.

True. That is why he hit him. If he would have taken a lower line then he wouldn't have been near him and wouldn't have been in the situation.

[ptatc]

Stewart was on a high line because he was directly behind the car that swerved to miss Ward, once that car swerved out of the way Tony started heading toward the bottom of the track and Ward ran to try to catch him.

 

Confrontations ON the track do not happen very often in any level of racing. Confrontations in the pits and by the trailers after races are not that uncommon. Most times when someone has been on the track it has been to yell at the driver or flip him off (or throw a helmet at them), you NEVER see a guy run right up to a moving car in the middle of a race. The kid made a bad decision in the heat of the moment and paid the ultimate price for it.

It is true that Ward is as responsible for the situation as Stewart. That is why I don't think there will be any criminal problems for Stewart. However, Stewart could have taken a lower line knowing what was going on. If Stewart really was only on a high line because he was following the car ahead of him, he was negligent for not knowing what was going on. He knew where the wreck was as he caused it and he should have been lower on the track with a wreck at the top of the track.

 

edit: I guess my overall point is that some people are making it look like Stewart had no choice but to hit the kid. The kid put himself in the situation and Stewart made it worse with his actions. This is why the accident happened. No one has ever hit another driver before and they both did things that contributed to it.

Edited August 13, 2014 by ptatc

[Jake]

The other thing about accelerating even when knowing it would cause the car to fishtail - was this a lesser of evils deal? It's hard to say whether Stewart's maneuver made him almost miss Ward instead of definitely hitting him (that is, did the move improve his chances of avoiding the accident even though it still occurred?) because we can't see Stewart's line. If Ward was basically smack dab in front of the car, maybe accelerating and swerving was the best he could do - maybe not.