Tony Stewart hits driver Kevin Ward in sprint car incident....

[aarons04cobra]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTyC467RKjs

another video link from in the crowd.

 

[steeltoe]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTyC467RKjs

another video link from in the crowd.

That's the same one that's been going around.

 

[Sonic605hp]

Good video. Until you've seen these things in person it's hard to understand how on the regged edge they are. They make big block dirt mods look slow as hell.

for further evidence that Stewart may not have even saw him on the track, this is what the visibility is like out of these cars. now picture this at night and you get a pretty good idea. you also get a sense of just how insane they are to race and that he may not have even realized the kid wrecked.

[youtube_browser]Aj9zBEqO4rI[/youtube_browser]

 

[Blackness03]

Seemed like he was ready to race this weekend, but I'm sure media backlash made him pull out.

THIS. When I first read about it they quoted Stewarts team saying "we are going to race Sunday, It's business as usual"

 

[Outlaw99]

watching it at a lower speed, definitely looks to me, tony seems to have pulled a bitch move. i slowed it down very slow and you can see him do a quick right turn of the wheel and then turn it back to the left. seems like tomy may have known this guy was very pissed at him and he tried to do a little intimidation this by turning into him just trying to make him flinch.

if you watch it it at a slower speed, its very clear there is a quick right on the wheel and a quick left.

we have all done this to friends, maybe playing or fooling around....as innocent as it should have been, stupid move on tonys part.

 

[PudgeTheMidget]

watching it at a lower speed, definitely looks to me, tony seems to have pulled a bitch move. i slowed it down very slow and you can see him do a quick right turn of the wheel and then turn it back to the left. seems like tomy may have known this guy was very pissed at him and he tried to do a little intimidation this by turning into him just trying to make him flinch.

if you watch it it at a slower speed, its very clear there is a quick right on the wheel and a quick left.

we have all done this to friends, maybe playing or fooling around....as innocent as it should have been, stupid move on tonys part.

I disagree. You turn these things right and blip the throttle to kick the rear end out to the left which is what I assume Tony did. Either that, or the car turned that way because the guy was already stuck in the wheel well.

I truly sincerely doubt that he even saw him until it was too late, much less purposely tried to scare him given the conditions of everything. It was a perfect storm that just happened to strike at the worst possible time.

 

[AFGuy0127]

I disagree. You turn these things right and blip the throttle to kick the rear end out to the left which is what I assume Tony did. Either that, or the car turned that way because the guy was already stuck in the wheel well.

I truly sincerely doubt that he even saw him until it was too late, much less purposely tried to scare him given the conditions of everything. It was a perfect storm that just happened to strike at the worst possible time.

I couldn't agree more with this.

 

[03Sssnake]

I disagree. You turn these things right and blip the throttle to kick the rear end out to the left which is what I assume Tony did. Either that, or the car turned that way because the guy was already stuck in the wheel well.

I truly sincerely doubt that he even saw him until it was too late, much less purposely tried to scare him given the conditions of everything. It was a perfect storm that just happened to strike at the worst possible time.

^^^This...poor visibility out of the car, dark corner of the track and the dude was in a black fire suit....

 

[thomas91169]

watching it at a lower speed, definitely looks to me, tony seems to have pulled a bitch move. i slowed it down very slow and you can see him do a quick right turn of the wheel and then turn it back to the left. seems like tomy may have known this guy was very pissed at him and he tried to do a little intimidation this by turning into him just trying to make him flinch.

if you watch it it at a slower speed, its very clear there is a quick right on the wheel and a quick left.

we have all done this to friends, maybe playing or fooling around....as innocent as it should have been, stupid move on tonys part.

Heres the thing though, tony DOESNT know the guy is pissed. Tony doesnt even know the guy is turned around on the embankment. Theres no communication to the driver that "hey Tony, you got that guy turned around and hes in turn #1 pissed at you!" Hes going into that turn almost blind barely knowing theres a caution, let alone theres a guy on track pissed at him.

You really think in that split second Tony realized A) its Kevin Ward that he just mustve got turned around a lap ago, B) he is pissed off at me (tony), C) I should goose it to intimidate him?

If theres a quick right and then a blip of the throttle with left input, its because he was trying to get the rear loosened up to drop the car down the track to avoid this kid. He turned right (pointing towards the outside corner) and gave throttle input to spin the rears, then immediately steers left to drop the car deeper into the inside of the turn. He did all that in the fraction of a second between slowing down to caution speeds (in cars with no brakes), noticing a stopped car on track, then noticing a dude running around (wearing black on a dimly lit course) and then taking evasive action in a vehicle that only handles at speed sideways.

 

[Rings]

lol nothing even close to any of this.

Its literally a glorified go-kart with a giant wing on top to aide in downforce. TRUE

Theres no pit to car radio/spotter to car radio. Theres no spotters. Theres no computer for the engine or anything, its carb'd motors. Theres no transmission, no clutch if I recall, so if you brake you lock up all 4 and the motor dies. They are/ can be fuel injected. Motor/drive shaft/locked rear end Front tires spin FREELY, rears are LOCKED. So they CAN lock up and spin out all depends on if they flip the release or not. 410ci motors pushing 850-900hp, the most sophisticated part on the car besides motor is the hydraulics to slide the top wing forward/backward or tilt up/down for more/less downforce while racing

These races/heats are pretty quick, and slowdowns happen, so its very safe to say that Tony Stewart had no idea that Ward was even turned around, let alone flailing about nimbly bimbly ON THE DRIVING LINE of a race track. again TRUE

If you watch when Tony does his hot headed things, he will do them in the pits. He will not stand in front of the car, he will be off to the side. He throws his helmet at the SIDE of the car, not stand in front of it and yell and point. YUP

watching it at a lower speed, definitely looks to me, tony seems to have pulled a bitch move. i slowed it down very slow and you can see him do a quick right turn of the wheel and then turn it back to the left. seems like tomy may have known this guy was very pissed at him and he tried to do a little intimidation this by turning into him just trying to make him flinch.

if you watch it it at a slower speed, its very clear there is a quick right on the wheel and a quick left.

we have all done this to friends, maybe playing or fooling around....as innocent as it should have been, stupid move on tonys part.

He blipped the throttle and turned right to try and avoid Kevin, if he was trying to spray him with mud or scare him, he would've just hit the gas and let the rear end kick out TOWARDS kevin.

I disagree. You turn these things right and blip the throttle to kick the rear end out to the left which is what I assume Tony did. Either that, or the car turned that way because the guy was already stuck in the wheel well.

I truly sincerely doubt that he even saw him until it was too late, much less purposely tried to scare him given the conditions of everything. It was a perfect storm that just happened to strike at the worst possible time. EXACTLY!!

Heres the thing though, tony DOESNT know the guy is pissed. Tony doesnt even know the guy is turned around on the embankment. Theres no communication to the driver that "hey Tony, you got that guy turned around and hes in turn #1 pissed at you!" Hes going into that turn almost blind barely knowing theres a caution, let alone theres a guy on track pissed at him.

You really think in that split second Tony realized A) its Kevin Ward that he just mustve got turned around a lap ago, B) he is pissed off at me (tony), C) I should goose it to intimidate him?

If theres a quick right and then a blip of the throttle with left input, its because he was trying to get the rear loosened up to drop the car down the track to avoid this kid. He turned right (pointing towards the outside corner) and gave throttle input to spin the rears, then immediately steers left to drop the car deeper into the inside of the turn. He did all that in the fraction of a second between slowing down to caution speeds (in cars with no brakes), noticing a stopped car on track, then noticing a dude running around (wearing black on a dimly lit course) and then taking evasive action in a vehicle that only handles at speed sideways. VERY WELL STATED

I read somewhere today that the police are NOT looking at filing charges against Tony. I need to find that article...

 

[zak88lx]

YES I do (uncle use to race them and some friends still do)
NO computer of ANY kind...
They aren't aloud to have radios in helmets, we tried once...cant hear shit over the engine and almost NON existent exhaust.
Ive heard reports stating he did...do not know for this incident tho.

These are literally a BIG hp engine on tubular chassis, direct drive, with hydraulics to adjust the top wing while engine is running. they don't even have starters, have to be push started.

Thanks!

 

[Rings]

Thanks!

anytime, my previous post has more detailed info about the cars in question...IF you care

 

[Fast Freddy]

apparently the police are in possesion of another video that shows a different angle. tony did not have a gopro in his car....

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sport...ward-jr-death-sheriff-investigation/13914187/

 

[Rings]

http://blog.caranddriver.com/yes-tony-stewart-hit-and-killed-a-fellow-sprint-car-racer-but-you-need-to-know-the-whole-story/

just found this...GREAT READ and by someone who has actually raced a sprint car

 

[Tx5811]

Danica must've cut his brake lines

 

[steeltoe]

Dave Moody really sums up how I feel about most media right

https://m.soundcloud.com/siriusxmna...ve-covered-the-tragic-events-over-the-weekend

 

[carrrnuttt]

http://blog.caranddriver.com/yes-to...r-racer-but-you-need-to-know-the-whole-story/

just found this...GREAT READ and by someone who has actually raced a sprint car

Here's a shorter article from a local radio talk show host I listen to who also races Sprint cars himself (video in link): http://ktar.com/104/1757698/Death-of-race-car-driver-a-tragic-but-possibly-avoidable-accident

In light of the tragedy Saturday night that took the life of Kevin Ward Jr., and changed the life of NASCAR star Tony Stewart, I wanted to share some pictures and video to better illustrate some of the specific challenges drivers face inside (and out) the car.

The wing (or airfoil) comes down low on Tony Stewart's cars, not only in the front but along the right side (this is the same on all wing sprint cars). Having driven these cars as well, I know there is a huge blind spot on the right front corner from the wing. It's hard enough to see what is directly in front of you through this narrow opening and nearly impossible to see what is ahead and to the drivers right.

From inside the cockpit there is anything but a full field of vision. This is not meant to make any excuses, merely point out that it is not obvious to me that Tony Stewart (or any of the other drivers) would have seen Ward as he walked down the track right into their blind spot.

The reality is that if Ward stays in his car, none of this happens. Heck, if he even waits a bit longer for the cars to slow down I think it could have been avoided. This is not the first time a driver, official, crew member or safety work has been struck at a race track, but it certainly is the highest profile accident and I hope we can learn from it.

I make a conscious effort to NOT get out of my car while others are still circling the track, mainly because I have always been concerned that another race car might hit my stalled car. I assure you I was very upset after being in a wreck in May but have seen enough tragedy to know I am safest inside the car and never get out until everyone is stopped or at a safe speed. I wish Ward had done the same.

 

[svtsmo]

Dave Moody really sums up how I feel about most media right

https://m.soundcloud.com/siriusxmna...ve-covered-the-tragic-events-over-the-weekend

yea pretty much. i saw one that was to the effect of 'NASCAR star runs over, kills driver after altercation'

so ridiculous with these misleading, inaccurate headlines.

 

[dynasty_v6]

yea pretty much. i saw one that was to the effect of 'NASCAR star runs over, kills driver after altercation'

so ridiculous with these misleading, inaccurate headlines.

Auto blog did this. ..

 

[KILRSVT]

Wow just saw the video. It was a huge mistake to get out of the car and storm toward Stewart. .... You never get out of the car . That said it is a tragedy that has made Stewart look bad and will follow him .