Tony Stewart purposefully ran someone over?

[caulfield12]

the general rule is you stay in your car until a safety team arrives. It wasnt on fire, or in immanent danger.

 

 

There was no imminent danger, it was simply an inexperienced 20 year old kid losing his temper...making the wrong decision.

 

Many are also arguing Stewart NEVER should be racing in these types of events, he already broke his tibia/fibula a year ago and cost his team dearly in the final Cup standings AND it's putting the NASCAR brand at risk when independent teams/non-unionized contractors are involved in accidents/incidents like this.

 

I wonder how many of his fellow NASCAR drivers were going to refuse to run today if Stewart was determined to race? Did Stewart decide, his sponsors/team or Bill France/NASCAR?

 

Reminds me of that scene in RUSH where a lot of the drivers pushed Nikki Lauda to race in Germany when the track conditions were bad and he ended up getting into a horrific accident.

[kev211]

There was no imminent danger, it was simply an inexperienced 20 year old kid losing his temper...making the wrong decision.

 

Many are also arguing Stewart NEVER should be racing in these types of events, he already broke his tibia/fibula a year ago and cost his team dearly in the final Cup standings AND it's putting the NASCAR brand at risk when independent teams/non-unionized contractors are involved in accidents/incidents like this.

 

I wonder how many of his fellow NASCAR drivers were going to refuse to run today if Stewart was determined to race? Did Stewart decide, his sponsors/team or Bill France/NASCAR?

 

Reminds me of that scene in RUSH where a lot of the drivers pushed Nikki Lauda to race in Germany when the track conditions were bad and he ended up getting into a horrific accident.

Absolutely none of the others drivers would have refused to drive. I'm sure most are offering their support.

 

There is no way Tony did it on purpose, yeah he might have tried to f*** with the kid but it was an accident either way. Kid shouldn't have gotten out of his car and ran down the track. You're asking for something like that to happen if you do.

[kev211]

Also the argument that Stewart shouldn't be driving in those types of races is asinine. He loves doing it, and it brings him back to his roots. Any other athlete in other sports does that and it's considered awesome. For instance Pat Kane playing in a men's league was huge news and people thought it was awesome.

[ptatc]

I'm telling you that the situations aren't even close to comparable. And I am also telling you that Tony Stewart has a bad reputation anyways

Tony Stewart makes Barry Bonds look cuddly and fun. I have no doubt that Stewart was trying to go at the guy because he walked out on the track to yell at him. Tony is so arrogant he though he could fish tail at him to throw dirt at him without hitting him. His arrogance will finally cost him big time.

[ptatc]

the general rule is you stay in your car until a safety team arrives. It wasnt on fire, or in immanent danger.

True but it happens. I was working an Indy 500 race in the 90's when Nigel Mansell a career F1 racer though he was unfairly pushed into the wall. He got out of his car and walked to the middle of the track and waited until the driver he though was at fault to come by and he gave him the double bird before walking the rest of the way of the track.

[kev211]

Reading the comments here it's pretty clear that people who consistently watch racing don't think Stewart did it on purpose. It's also clear that the people who understand sprint car racing don't think Stewart did anything wrong either .

 

http://www.reddit.com/r/NASCAR/comments/2d...ne_at_a_sprint/

[daa84]

I can't believe anyone thinks tony truly didn't see him and has zero culpability here. I'm certainly now a lawyer, and I'm even less of a nascar/racing fan, but assuming he miraculously avoids legal trouble, who will continue to sponsor this fool? The days of Ray Lewis getting away with things are over, and it's a new era with social media/ news coverage

[ptatc]

I can't believe anyone thinks tony truly didn't see him and has zero culpability here. I'm certainly now a lawyer, and I'm even less of a nascar/racing fan, but assuming he miraculously avoids legal trouble, who will continue to sponsor this fool? The days of Ray Lewis getting away with things are over, and it's a new era with social media/ news coverage

Fans and owners are still the same, however. As long as he wins, he will remain. Fans have always put up with criminals and a$$holes as long as they help the team win. Many people are fans of guys like Stewart because "he does what he wants, speaks the truth and does what he wants."

[ChiliIrishHammock24]

ITT: You get out of your car, you deserve to have someone recklessly threaten your life, and if you happen to get killed, so be it.

[caulfield12]

I can't believe anyone thinks tony truly didn't see him and has zero culpability here. I'm certainly now a lawyer, and I'm even less of a nascar/racing fan, but assuming he miraculously avoids legal trouble, who will continue to sponsor this fool? The days of Ray Lewis getting away with things are over, and it's a new era with social media/ news coverage

 

He actually has an upcoming reality t.v. show called "Coaching Bad" where he works with I would presume high school/Pop Warner and maybe lower level university coaches on "anger management" issues.

 

Isn't that rich?

 

[caulfield12]

ITT: You get out of your car, you deserve to have someone recklessly threaten your life, and if you happen to get killed, so be it.

 

 

Would you still feel the same way if it was a 16-18 year old racer? 19? No matter how inexperienced? No matter the fact that no circuit has a policy or system in place to deal with these issues...in other words, that "machisimo" element of settling things through fighting and arguing has been part of the culture of racing for decades. It seems like that will have to be addressed, because they won't be able to ignore it or shove it under the rug when the eventual fallout (any charges against Stewart...loss of sponsorships, civil court case, etc.) settles.

 

It is also what helps to sell tickets and drive interest, just like the vicious hits in hockey or football.

[Kyyle23]

Caulfield, what happened doesn't affect ticket sales. People don't go watch races to see a driver yell at another driver after a wreck. Rules and suspensions/penalties/fines wouldn't have changed anything either. Stewart has been suspended multiple times for bad behavior, and guess what? He doesn't give a f***. Just like all of them, they say their peace and rage on and accept their fines and move on.

[southsider2k5]

Rules change suggested for NASCAR (and theoretically lower-tier circuits).

 

Get out of your car on the track, throw a helmet/wrench/hammer in the pits or at another car, etc.

 

1) 3-5 race suspension

2) $250,000 fine

 

That would seemingly end 95% of it.

 

FWIW, hockey has a first on the ice rule for fights. If you leave the bench for a fight, you get an automatic 10 game suspension. That's why no one leaves the bench.

[Soxfest]

Let the investigation take it's course. Lighting very bad and guy had a dark race suit and on right side of those type cars you cannot really see out very well. Guy had no business leaving his car. The title of this thread needs to be changed it is per speculation.

[southsider2k5]

Let the investigation take it's course. Lighting very bad and guy had a dark race suit and on right side of those type cars you cannot really see out very well. Guy had no business leaving his car. The title of this thread needs to be changed it is per speculation.

 

That is why it has this at the end -> ?

[Balta1701]

Well this is one of those threads you see and say "WTF"?

[ChiliIrishHammock24]

Would you still feel the same way if it was a 16-18 year old racer? 19? No matter how inexperienced? No matter the fact that no circuit has a policy or system in place to deal with these issues...in other words, that "machisimo" element of settling things through fighting and arguing has been part of the culture of racing for decades. It seems like that will have to be addressed, because they won't be able to ignore it or shove it under the rug when the eventual fallout (any charges against Stewart...loss of sponsorships, civil court case, etc.) settles.

 

It is also what helps to sell tickets and drive interest, just like the vicious hits in hockey or football.

 

What?

[caulfield12]

What?

 

 

Just seems to be a bit insensitive when Stewart has a reputation as being such an arrogant driver. He's not exactly someone who has built up the goodwill of a Jimmie Johnson or Jeff Gordon.

 

 

ITT: You get out of your car, you deserve to have someone recklessly threaten your life, and if you happen to get killed, so be it.

Edited August 11, 2014 by KyYlE23

[ChiliIrishHammock24]

Just seems to be a bit insensitive when Stewart has a reputation as being such an arrogant driver. He's not exactly someone who has built up the goodwill of a Jimmie Johnson or Jeff Gordon.

 

 

QUOTE (Chilihead90 @ Aug 10, 2014 -> 10:29 AM) *

ITT: You get out of your car, you deserve to have someone recklessly threaten your life, and if you happen to get killed, so be it.

 

When you say "ITT", it means "In This Thread". You say it right before you sum up the stupid theme of the comments in that thread. I was mocking those insensitive people for their extremely callous comments on what should happen to a driver who leaves his vehicle.

[T R U]

When you say "ITT", it means "In This Thread". You say it right before you sum up the stupid theme of the comments in that thread. I was mocking those insensitive people for their extremely callous comments on what should happen to a driver who leaves his vehicle.

 

Gimme a break, bottom line is if the guy doesn't get out of his car and walk almost to the middle of an ACTIVE RACE no one is dead right now.

[greg775]

the general rule is you stay in your car until a safety team arrives. It wasnt on fire, or in immanent danger.

 

What the hell was the fallen driver thinking??? It cost him his life. Horrible tragedy. He could have yelled at, or punched Stewart, after the race. I seriously doubt Stewart ran him over on purpose. One of the saddest stories in racing history I'd think.

Edited August 11, 2014 by greg775

[Texsox]

I've watched the video a couple times and from the limited amount of information available, including his history, I'm in the "I wanted to teach him a lesson to mind his elders, but I didn't intend to kill him" camp.

 

What is key would be the accident that preceded this one.

[caulfield12]

Well, there's yet another theory.

 

He saw Ward continuing to walk downwards at an angle towards him so he tried to gun his car go get past him because he judged that he (Ward) wasn't going to stop and that Stewart definitely wasn't going to stop HIS car in the middle of the track...so, in order to prevent an engagement he gunned the engine and sped up at the last second to get past or around him but clipped him with the back end because in sprint cars the back end of the car sticks out a significant amount (maybe 6-8 feet) more than the front ends.

[ChiliIrishHammock24]

Gimme a break, bottom line is if the guy doesn't get out of his car and walk almost to the middle of an ACTIVE RACE no one is dead right now.

 

And if Tony Stewart didn't have a temper and was pissed off, no one is dead either.

[zenryan]

And if Tony Stewart didn't have a temper and was pissed off, no one is dead either.

 

 

 

Pure speculation on your part rightnow that Stewart was pissed off here.

 

 

Maybe Stewart did it on purpose, maybe Stewart was just trying to scare him or maybe it was just a freak accident but the other driver is a f***ing moron for putting himself and Stewart in this situation.