260 replies to this topic

[SBTarheel]

There was no reason for Stewart to be angry in this situation. 

 

It was a tragic accident, and no criminal charges will be filed, it just sucks. Plain and simple. 

[mweb08]

The vast majority of people don't have the ability to kill people while driving angry?

 

To kill the person that they are angry with that is standing approximately in their path? No. 

[mweb08]

There was no reason for Stewart to be angry in this situation. 

 

It was a tragic accident, and no criminal charges will be filed, it just sucks. Plain and simple. 

 

I just don't see how that conclusion can be reached. I can see thinking that's what's likely, even very likely, but I can't rule out that Tony had some intent to scare him/send a message. 

 

And the reason to be angry is because the guy is confronting him in that manner. 

[SBTarheel]

I just don't see how that conclusion can be reached. I can see thinking that's what's likely, even very likely, but I can't rule out that Tony had some intent to scare him/send a message. 

But why? Tony wrecked Ward into the wall when his tire went down, which was why Ward was pissed...

 

It was a racing accident, it happens every race, every week, at every track. Normally, Tony would go over to him after the race, apologize, and Ward would have seen the replay and understood...

 

It literally happens every race. 

 

Yes, I used to watch a lot of NASCAR. 

[SportsGuy]

Even if he did do it intentionally, it's basically impossible to prove unless he admits to it.

[BSLMikeLowe]

Even if he is not charged (which it seems he likely won't be) and maintains that it was an unintentional accident, he'll still need to handle this situation very delicately to keep his sponsors on board.

[SBTarheel]

Even if he is not charged (which it seems he likely won't be) and maintains that it was an unintentional accident, he'll still need to handle this situation very delicately to keep his sponsors on board.

"racing people" know it was an accident. I don't think there's any danger of him losing any sponsors. 

 

Zippadelli's "business as usual" statement yesterday morning came across as very insensitive, that's for sure. It was odd that there was even a chance he would race at the Glen yesterday..i think he may take off next week too.

[Pedro Cerrano]

It's just insane to me.  Some people think that Tony Stewart, while driving his car, intentionally ran this guy over due to anger in front of a bunch of people, for no real reason.

 

Think about that for a second.

[SBTarheel]

It's just insane to me.  Some people think that Tony Stewart, while driving his car, intentionally ran this guy over due to anger in front of a bunch of people, for no real reason.

 

Think about that for a second.

I hear ya..

[mweb08]

I'm not accusing him of anything. None of is have any idea of what was going through his head at that time. None of us.

[mweb08]

It's just insane to me.  Some people think that Tony Stewart, while driving his car, intentionally ran this guy over due to anger in front of a bunch of people, for no real reason.
 
Think about that for a second.

Yeah, because crazy stuff never happens. Anyone thinks that this guy put Stewart into a situation that was very difficult to avoid hitting him is describing a similarly crazy option. Yeah, let's walk in front of a car driving really fast where he may not be able to avoid hitting me. Think about that for a second. Something really crazy happened either way. There's a chance that both sides acted in a crazy manner. There is also a significant grey area between completely trying to avoid him and purposefully trying to run him over.

[BSLMikeLowe]

"racing people" know it was an accident. I don't think there's any danger of him losing any sponsors. 

 

Zippadelli's "business as usual" statement yesterday morning came across as very insensitive, that's for sure. It was odd that there was even a chance he would race at the Glen yesterday..i think he may take off next week too.

 

I don't think anyone is going to bail on him right now, but this isn't over for him by a long shot. Even is he's completely cleared of any criminal wrongdoing, he is still going to be asked questions about the incident.....a lot. How he handles that could be very important to his sponsors. And no matter what happens with the investigation, I would think a civil suit is eventually in the cards. Obviously he won't have to publicly discuss that unless it actually goes to trial (unlikely) and he takes the stand. But Stewart is not out of the woods, professionally speaking, by any means.

[SBTarheel]

I don't think anyone is going to bail on him right now, but this isn't over for him by a long shot. Even is he's completely cleared of any criminal wrongdoing, he is still going to be asked questions about the incident.....a lot. How he handles that could be very important to his sponsors. And no matter what happens with the investigation, I would think a civil suit is eventually in the cards. Obviously he won't have to publicly discuss that unless it actually goes to trial (unlikely) and he takes the stand. But Stewart is not out of the woods, professionally speaking, by any means.

Yea, how he handles it PR wise will be important, I do agree with that. 

 

I just don't see any grounds for any type of lawsuit from the Ward family. Knowing what I know of Tony Stewart, I'm guessing he'll set up some sort of foundation/scholarship in Kevin Ward's name or something like that. 

 

I've always heard how generous he's been charity wise. He's given millions to Kyle Petty's camp for sick children over the years. 

[BSLMikeLowe]

Yea, how he handles it PR wise will be important, I do agree with that. 

 

I just don't see any grounds for any type of lawsuit from the Ward family. Knowing what I know of Tony Stewart, I'm guessing he'll set up some sort of foundation/scholarship in Kevin Ward's name or something like that. 

 

I've always heard how generous he's been charity wise. He's given millions to Kyle Petty's camp for sick children over the years. 

 

I think it would be a very tough case to win, given how Ward clearly put himself in the situation to get run over, but that doesn't mean they won't bring a suit. I don't think the defense would be able to have it dismissed. They might think Stewart will settle just to avoid the attention and the possibility of having to testify about it. And yes, Stewart and the family could certainly come to an agreement before a suit is even filed as well.

[SBTarheel]

I think it would be a very tough case to win, given how Ward clearly put himself in the situation to get run over, but that doesn't mean they won't bring a suit. I don't think the defense would be able to have it dismissed. They might think Stewart will settle just to avoid the attention and the possibility of having to testify about it. And yes, Stewart and the family could certainly come to an agreement before a suit is even filed as well.

I'm not a lawyer, but I don't see a case at all. 

[Mackus]

I'm not a lawyer, but I don't see a case at all. 

 

I don't think it's a case they'll win, but there is obviously a case to be made that Stewart's actions caused or helped to cause his death.  I don't think there will be any criminal charges here, but the threshold for a civil conviction is much lower.  If Stewart didn't try to avoid him, he could be at fault.  If Stewart tried to avoid him and in doing so inadvertently hit him, he could be at fault.

 

Maybe NY has one of those laws like Maryland where if you are at all responsible for the accident, then you can't collect damages.  That would limit the liability Stewart is potentially facing, because Ward obviously has some culpability as well for the situation.  I don't know if that type of statute applies to things like wrongful death or if that's solely for determining damages in an auto accident.

[SBTarheel]

I don't think it's a case they'll win, but there is obviously a case to be made that Stewart's actions caused or helped to cause his death.  I don't think there will be any criminal charges here, but the threshold for a civil conviction is much lower.  If Stewart didn't try to avoid him, he could be at fault.  If Stewart tried to avoid him and in doing so inadvertently hit him, he could be at fault.

 

Maybe NY has one of those laws like Maryland where if you are at all responsible for the accident, then you can't collect damages.  That would limit the liability Stewart is potentially facing, because Ward obviously has some culpability as well for the situation.  I don't know if that type of statute applies to things like wrongful death or if that's solely for determining damages in an auto accident.

We'll see. It sucks all around, but I really think Ward is more to "blame" per se than Tony is. I don't think for one second that there was any intent, and that the #45 car could have just have easily hit Ward, but managed to swerve fast enough. 

 

Just a terrible, terrible, accident. 

 

We'll see though, civilly I guess there is grounds like you said that Tony's actions caused or helped to cause his death. 

[BSLMikeLowe]

I don't think it's a case they'll win, but there is obviously a case to be made that Stewart's actions caused or helped to cause his death.  I don't think there will be any criminal charges here, but the threshold for a civil conviction is much lower.  If Stewart didn't try to avoid him, he could be at fault.  If Stewart tried to avoid him and in doing so inadvertently hit him, he could be at fault.

 

Maybe NY has one of those laws like Maryland where if you are at all responsible for the accident, then you can't collect damages.  That would limit the liability Stewart is potentially facing, because Ward obviously has some culpability as well for the situation.  I don't know if that type of statute applies to things like wrongful death or if that's solely for determining damages in an auto accident.

 

True that the laws pertaining to liability specifically in NY would be very important. Also I'm not sure if/how this would differ being on a racetrack, as opposed to if it happened on the street. Heck, the family could always try to bring a suit against the track owner as well for poor lighting, claiming Stewart would have been able to see Ward soon enough to avoid him.

[SammyBirdland]

It's odd that this thread has become about Tony Stewart, and Tony Stewart is the most common example I use for NASCAR drivers not being athletes.

 

[SammyBirdland]

Motorsport.com:  Sprint Car racers give their take on tragedy and defend Tony Stewart

 

 

i have driven these cars,the right side board on the top wing will block out an entire car let alone a person standing there,i now work on the 45 car in the video and the driver said he just saw him at the last second and just missed him,Tony had even less time to react to the situation.people in the stands or watching this video have no idea how fast these thing happen and how limited our view is inside the car.it was a very bad turn of events that happened but we all know the dangers involved in the sport we love.

 

Sparks noted that in Sprint Cars, in order to steer those machines, you need the rear wheels as much as you need the steering wheel. He believes that Tony got on the throttle to turn down away from Ward, which would explain the reports suggesting that the front of the car missed the 20-year-old racer, but not the right rear.