Why the Stewart/Ward incident doesn't make sense

"The-Ever-Socially-Apathetic TBAL" (tokyobayaqualine)
08/10/2014 at 22:59 • Filed to: accidents, nascar, tony stewart, kevin ward, crash, law, legal, opinion, tokyobayaqualine

Today I got called out by the commentariat for making some 'brash' comments regarding the accident that occurred between Stewart and Ward. I was even accused of being an "armchair commenter". Which, if I'm not mistaken, is exactly what a jury, a judge and a lawyer are as well, once all facts are presented to them. Call me out, fine. But that doesn't explain why there are still more questions than there are answers.

Having only driven on the dirt a couple times at a high rate of speed, with machines utilizing a limited slip differential, I based Stewart's driving actions off of what I'd do had I been in the same seat. Confronted with a situation of this magnitude, I (personally) would have snap throttle over steered towards the wreck. This is my choice. But then again, had I have been in Stewart's shoes (which I wouldn't have allowed myself to be in), there would still be a lot of unanswered questions:

1. Why would I have been so high up in angle through the corner in the first place?

2. Why would I have been speeding through the corner during a regulated yellow flag? And at 40-50mph (Tony's estimated speed), would it really have been that difficult to notice a man with a bright red and white horizontal pinstripe on his suit and car in a (claimed to be, more on that later) poorly lit area?

3. Why would I have not taken the yellow flag opportunity to slow down and tear off my visor strip, instead of gunning the car around like a hot shot?

4. People claim he could not have seen Ward until the last minute due to tunnel vision or lighting. How is this possible when the lighting is good enough to take video in and the track is well lit enough through that corner to allow for continuous racing? Surely they wouldn't allow for racing in pitch darkness...? And why would I have "tunnel vision" on a yellow flag when I should be slowing down?

5. Experienced Sprint drivers claim that there is only one person in contact with Tony at all times. So you're telling me this person didn't inform Tony of the yellow flag (which is his job), the very idea of which is to take caution while driving? If not, then the fault of the accident could partially be put onto this individual as well.

6. It was argued that Tony couldn't see in front of him because of a multitude of reasons. Had he slowed down (which a yellow flag is brought out to impose) perhaps he would have, don't you think? Isn't the act of following the rules of a race, especially under caution, extremely important safety-wise?

The very fact that these questions exist without answers that are purely speculative is in and of itself damning of the situation at hand. Stewart could have chosen to follow the rules of the yellow and maintain a deep turn towards the apex at a lower speed like all the other drivers. Instead, he chose not to, which in turn killed Ward, who was most definitely an idiot himself for getting out of his car on an open track in the first place. Why he didn't follow the proper steps of precaution we will never know. But it is obvious that he didn't do it.

When all the precautions aren't made to avoid such an accident and crime from occurring, this is known as being "Criminally negligent". When all the lack of precautions lead up to the death of an individual, it's called "Criminally negligent manslaughter".

Now, I may be an "armchair commenter" from time to time (especially, I will admit, in this situation) but at least I have the where-with-all to ask serious questions that will be asked later on in court, which I would expect Stewart will be standing in front of, unless he buys his way out of it.

Either way, when the math doesn't quite add up, you know something is amiss.

DISCUSSION (53)

Flavien Vidal > The-Ever-Socially-Apathetic TBAL
08/10/2014 at 23:11

Few things, don't forget that Sprint Cars have no spotters. Between the time of the spin and the end of the lap itself (at the impact), it took Stewart 25s... A fairly fast lap.

Also, no contact occured between Stewart and Ward. As far as we know, Stewart might not even have known that someone was in his blind angle (remember, no spotter), and therefore notice the yellow flags, very late.

Also, Sprint cars DO NOT steer at all when off throttle. They just understeer in a plowing way... They have to be on throttle to steer.

"He could have use his brakes" you say? Nope, not necessarily. Ward was on the outside of the car and Sprint cars are often designed with (insane I know), brakes only on the left side of the car, in order to make the car go into a slide easily on corner entrance... Braking would have most likely thrown the car more toward Ward.

So when all this taken into the equation, could Stewart have tried to "scare him"... yeah, maybe. Do we know for sure and "beyond a reasonable doubt"? Hell no!

Like you, I'm mostly an armchair commenter, but I can really say that I honestly don't know what happened last night... Really, no idea.

Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis > The-Ever-Socially-Apathetic TBAL
08/10/2014 at 23:12

Whether he is or not a lawyer could blow any case brought against Stewart to pieces.

Big Bubba Ray > The-Ever-Socially-Apathetic TBAL
08/10/2014 at 23:15

At this point, everybody is an armchair commenter. We don't know the specifics of how this all happened.

I think it's too hard to put yourself in Tony's shoes (not that I'm devaluing anything you're saying).

It's definitely going to be interesting to see how this all plays out. An extremely unfortunate incident and mistakes were made on both sides.

The-Ever-Socially-Apathetic TBAL > Flavien Vidal
08/10/2014 at 23:17

It still doesn't explain the lack of care involved on Stewart's side to pay attention to the racing officials and to the other drivers in front of him who did slow down and take a deeper line.

Dusty Ventures > The-Ever-Socially-Apathetic TBAL
08/10/2014 at 23:17

I can answer #2. The cars only have one gear, as a result if they go below 20-30ish they stall out (no, they can't just feather the clutch or anything like that), and when cruising they try to cruise at around 40-50 so they still have a buffer above that stall point if they need to get on the brakes. They can't even take off from a standstill, to get going they need to be pushed up to about 35-ish by a truck, release the clutch and essentially bump start the car.

The-Ever-Socially-Apathetic TBAL > Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis
08/10/2014 at 23:18

For the right amount of money, yes, I guess so.

The-Ever-Socially-Apathetic TBAL > Dusty Ventures
08/10/2014 at 23:19

Then why are the cars ahead of Tony going drastically slower than he is and taking precautions during the yellow, while he isn't?

Flavien Vidal > The-Ever-Socially-Apathetic TBAL
08/10/2014 at 23:19

As someone who has some experience with racing, I promiss you that you don't always notice the yellow flags until very late... You are focused on the next corner, not on the side of the road. This is why a spotter could have saved this kid's life.

Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis > The-Ever-Socially-Apathetic TBAL
08/10/2014 at 23:24

Not even for a lot of money. There are a lot of questions around this case, and even a mid level defense lawyer would be able to exploit that. Civil court, which I'm sure a case will go to, would be a totally different beast though.

The-Ever-Socially-Apathetic TBAL > Flavien Vidal
08/10/2014 at 23:27

Even still, you notice the racers in front of you slowing down, but you don't? There are too many "Why's" and not enough answers. Don't get me wrong, I respect where you're coming from, but there are a lot of things that just do not tangibly add up here.

The-Ever-Socially-Apathetic TBAL > Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis
08/10/2014 at 23:30

I do not believe this will end well for Stewart, as much as his "fans" would like to see otherwise.

jariten1781 > The-Ever-Socially-Apathetic TBAL
08/10/2014 at 23:30

2nd degree manslaughter in NY requires consciously choosing to perform a reckless act that a reasonable person would be aware would result in the serious injury or death of the victim.

Unless Tony stated in one of his interviews with the police "I was just trying to scare him and it got away" the whole consciously choosing part would be impossible to prove.

The reckless act part would be impossible as well, all the defense would need to do is show other cars running a similar line by stricken cars on a dirt track. That happens every weekend all over the country.

I'd be shocked if they prosecute based on the current information publicly available. The case is just a loser. That could change if other info comes to light during the investigation.

jvirgs drives a Subaru > The-Ever-Socially-Apathetic TBAL
08/10/2014 at 23:31

From what I have read, the officials were not throwing cautions with the same speed as we are accustomed to with NASCAR and from the video, it appears that the track doesn't have all the caution lights the larger tracks have, also note, there are no in-car communications for the sprint cars. For all we know, they might not have thrown the caution until he got out of the car which is only a few seconds before Tony gets back around the track. It also appears that the 45 had to swerve down the track to miss Kevin and could have possibly obstructed Tony's view of him. And as they say in racing and driving in general, you never look directly in front of you, you always look to where you want to go, so his focus might not have been in that general direction until it was too late.

Dusty Ventures > The-Ever-Socially-Apathetic TBAL
08/10/2014 at 23:31

No idea. I'm not going to even try to speculate about the situation and who did what for what reason. I just wanted to point out that these cars have a rather high minimum speed.

Also, having taken another look, I'd say all the other cars were doing about the same speed as Tony, save the blue 45 car that was right ahead of him. And, to do just a little bit of speculation, said 45 car likely initially obstructed Tony's view of Ward. Not to say when the 45 slowed he shouldn't have assumed there was reason and slowed himself, even if he couldn't see Ward yet at that point.

The-Ever-Socially-Apathetic TBAL > jariten1781
08/10/2014 at 23:34

Showing other cars driving that line at a different venue would be unsubstantiated in court, simply because it was obvious that the drivers ahead of Tony were slowing down and assessing the situation where as he wasn't, and because any video of any other venue is unrelated to this one and the events that occurred at it. The very fact that he didn't pay attention to the fellow racers in front of him shows reckless abandon, which would mean he consciously chose to drive the car recklessly even though he could clearly see that the other drivers ahead of him were not doing so.

PatBateman > The-Ever-Socially-Apathetic TBAL
08/10/2014 at 23:35

Today, I posted that he shouldn't be allowed to race until the investigation into the matter is complete. It was interesting to see the responses.

Some declared that I had already judged him guilty of murder and that I was "ignorant", even though I said no such thing. I have no earthly idea what happened, but suspending him until the professional investigators submit their findings is a prudent thing to do. What do you think will happen if Tony gets into another incident on OR off the track? How much of a black eye will that give NASCAR, and how much more fuel will that give to the DA to press charges?

Kate's Dirty Sister > The-Ever-Socially-Apathetic TBAL
08/10/2014 at 23:35

fuck, have you ever race in a random go kart event ? Probably not because you don't know dick about dick.

You keep saying you know how to avoid a crash in similar circumstances, but you keep proving you have no idea on how these things work.

Just stop, you are fucking clueless, you don't even know how a normal race car work, and you think you can apply your fallacious knowledge to proper racing events ?

Get out, go away, we don't need you.

Kate's Dirty Sister > The-Ever-Socially-Apathetic TBAL
08/10/2014 at 23:37

you sir, are an idiot.

The-Ever-Socially-Apathetic TBAL > Kate's Dirty Sister
08/10/2014 at 23:38

Classy.

I'm very aware of how a "normal" race car works. Am I fully aware of how a Sprint Cup car works? No, and I'll readily admit that. I am aware, however, of how to be safe and respectful of situations, IE situational awareness.

I'm amazed that you even got a star being a keyboard warrior like you are. Directly insulting someone because you feel wronged is not a good way to rebuke an argument, no matter how right you think you are.

Go back to debate class. I know it's great when you post publicly on Jalopnik and get all the American (Murica!) Stewart and Sprint Cup ass kissers to back you up, but this is the real world, where there is cause and effect. And unless you're capable of fully understanding the effects of actions, and what caused them, and can answer my questions with resounding certainty, then I take no interest in your childish spouts of angst.

The-Ever-Socially-Apathetic TBAL > Kate's Dirty Sister
08/10/2014 at 23:42

Excellent rebuttal. Again, 10 points.

The-Ever-Socially-Apathetic TBAL > Dusty Ventures
08/10/2014 at 23:49

Well if someone in front of me slowed down, I'd slow down too, wouldn't you? It's only natural.

Kate's Dirty Sister > The-Ever-Socially-Apathetic TBAL
08/10/2014 at 23:49

I'm one of the best commenter out there because I refuse to play the "jalop" line.

Dusty Ventures > The-Ever-Socially-Apathetic TBAL
08/10/2014 at 23:50

That's pretty much exactly what I just said

blacktruck18 > The-Ever-Socially-Apathetic TBAL
08/10/2014 at 23:53

I agreed with your post earlier, and I don't think you are wrong., because the only person who knows exactly Tony was doing at that time was him. IMO anyone, who isn't Tony or the police who have seen more evidence than anyone has, have very little knowledge as to what actually happened. I just want to play Devil's Advocate or, maybe defense attorney depending on what you believe about the incident. Also I have no racing experience beyond some drag raging and a couple of auto-x's.

1. He quite possibly didn't even know there was an accident there and someone running around on the track. If he didn't know anyone was there he had no reason to not be there.

2. He could have been speeding through there to get caught up to the field. From what I have seen on TV (again I have no real experience) as soon as a caution comes out everyone does slow down but you also don't immediately slow down to the advised caution speed because everyone has to get grouped back together. Once the whole field is back together everyone slows down to the pace car speed. He could have not seen him because he wasn't looking for him or, expecting him to be there. He probably could have seen the car from across the track. So as soon as the caution light comes on and he hears on the radio that there is a caution he looks for the car sees it, takes and mental note of the location of the car, and starts doing his normal caution routine (adjusting his seatbelts, scratching his nuts whatever Tony does under caution) He comes around the corner knows the car should be there re-focuses on what is happening because he knows where the car is and all of a sudden there is a person in his line of travel ( away from the wrecked car) that he isn't expecting to be there. The pinstripe on his suit could have helped at this point but it could have been to late for Tony to do anything about it. As far as the lighting even the Sheriff said it was a dimly lit area.

3. See #2

4. See #2 also have you ever taken a phone video when it is dark. I have, I use my cell phone as a dash cam and many times whatever I recorded is much brighter on video then it was in real life. Camera's almost always look brighter than it really is.

5. The person he has contact with is a track official. From what I have read written by people who actually have raced in these types of series all the say is caution in this corner or something similar. It is not two-way communication just someone putting out info to all the drivers and safety crews.

6. See #2, damn I covered a lot in that point.

Again, I agree with a lot of what I seen you post today. Just putting out possibilities. I also think this never should have happened, Kevin Ward Jr. should have stayed in or near his car. I also think every racing series that has allowed racers to run at, or throw things at other competitors in these situations is wrong and has been wrong for years. It was only a matter of time until something like this happened.

jariten1781 > The-Ever-Socially-Apathetic TBAL
08/10/2014 at 23:54

It is evidence that it is a common action and does not generally give rise to a substantial unjustifiable risk. To prove otherwise you'd need evidence that Tony was aware that this situation was different than the standard (ie where the driver remains with the vehicle) and that he consciously choose to run the higher line anyway. There's no way that the prosecution could prove that with what we've seen today.

The-Ever-Socially-Apathetic TBAL > Kate's Dirty Sister
08/10/2014 at 23:56

And I'm one of the most controversial commenters (who is both equally liked and hated) because I don't take sides and I don't play games. I still wouldn't ever turn to another respected commenter and say the things you just said, because if I truly felt that way about them, doing so would only bring me down to their level.

You walk the walk, but you don't talk the REAL talk.

Wanna actually counter my questions in this post without calling me names or insulting me? Go ahead. I encourage it. I would love to learn more about Sprint Cup cars and about how they act, and if it means befriending you in the interim, even better.

But by burning a bridge just to stroke your ego, you only inhibit your own personal growth.

The-Ever-Socially-Apathetic TBAL > blacktruck18
08/11/2014 at 00:02

The outcome of events were definitely all precipitated by Kevin's idiocy. There is no disputing that, whatsoever.

But just as you say by being Devil's advocate, there is far too much heresy to make a reliable judgement. And heresy is never good in a court case.

The-Ever-Socially-Apathetic TBAL > jariten1781
08/11/2014 at 00:04

But there's also no reason for Tony to be riding a higher, faster line in the first place, which would be the rebuttal to your claims.

Flavien Vidal > The-Ever-Socially-Apathetic TBAL
08/11/2014 at 00:06

Only things I can find are things that could disprove your questions, which are not necessarily wrong either... Stewart could very well be responsible for it... Or he could very well be totally innocent. I honestly don't know. All I see is that his reaction could actually be the proper reaction to such a situation. Was he going too fast? Sort of ignoring the yellow flag? Yeah maybe, but it's definitly not up to me to decide that. Those questions might never be answered. All I know is that Stewart's career is gonna be very different now than what it was before, whether he is responsible or not.

PS: Don't forget I need to talk to you about Japan ;)

The-Ever-Socially-Apathetic TBAL > Flavien Vidal
08/11/2014 at 00:10

Email me at shutoexpress@gmail.com and ask me what you'd like to know or add me at Facebook.com/stevejdm and I'll be happy to share my insights with you. I'm friends with a lot of Wangan racers though. Not many of my friends are circuit or drift oriented, if that's your thing.

Flavien Vidal > The-Ever-Socially-Apathetic TBAL
08/11/2014 at 00:11

Will do :)

will add you on my wife's facebook account though as I hate that thing and don't want to create an account hahaha

Flavien Vidal > The-Ever-Socially-Apathetic TBAL
08/11/2014 at 00:14

Ok my wife's account is in Japanese which I can't read... Add her instead lol. Rie Kurahashi :)

The-Ever-Socially-Apathetic TBAL > Flavien Vidal
08/11/2014 at 00:18

Yep, I received the request just a few minutes ago. Ask away!

E92M3 > The-Ever-Socially-Apathetic TBAL
08/11/2014 at 00:23

A few points I would like to add.

1: You do not get out of your race car on track on the first lap of caution PERIOD unless your car is in flames. You should not even unbuckle. Everyone needs to see the yellow, come around once, and get slowed down.

2. Going 50 MPH during a caution is normal until the field gets bunched up behind the pace car. These cars go over 100 mph during green flag racing. It's normal for anyone behind the leader to exceed 50 mph to catch the leader and pace car.

3. I truly believe Stewart didn't see him until it was too late. The car in front of Stewart almost hit the kid too swerving at the last second which gave Tony no time to react fast enough. Now sure racing gets emotional, and competitors get pissed at each other. Walking into the racing line was a deadly mistake for this kid.

When the story first broke I myself thought oh crap Stewart lost his temper again, and just went into a maniac rage. If you told me this story, there's 2 drivers I could see doing such a horrible thing. That's Stewart and Kurt Busch. After reviewing the video I truly believe it was an unfortunate series of events combined that led to Wards death, and not intentional in anyway.

The-Ever-Socially-Apathetic TBAL > E92M3
08/11/2014 at 00:28

I agree that it was also unintentional. However, the actions that precipitated and set that series of unfortunate events into play could have been better thought out and planned out, especially on Mr. Stewart's part. He should have slowed the car as soon as he saw others slowing down. He should have taken note of the yellow. He should have driven with caution once he saw the yellow. He should have followed a tight racing line, even had the flag been green.

There's a lot of precautions he didn't take that culminated into the tragic turn of events that occurred. There are also a lot of precautions Ward didn't take (obviously).

E92M3 > The-Ever-Socially-Apathetic TBAL
08/11/2014 at 00:39

Had Ward not gotten out and walked down the track it never would of happened. That was the first event that triggered the disaster. It could of been anyone that hit him. Just look how many response personnel are hit every year around the country.

jariten1781 > The-Ever-Socially-Apathetic TBAL
08/11/2014 at 00:44

That's irrelevant. In conciously choosing to run the higher line did he make a decision that a reasonable person would believe would cause serious injury or death? Unless the prosecution can prove he was aware that choosing a line that generally does not create an unjustifiable risk did so in this situation (ie prove he was aware that Ward was in the high line THEN chose that line anyway, purposefully disregarding his presence) they don't have a case.

The burden of proof is really high and it's almost certainly not there solely based on that one video. Anyhow, the DA is aware of what cases he/she has a chance of winning and will have more info than any of us internet shmoes. What they decide to do will be telling. No real point in getting tied up in arguments about it until then.

Dusty Ventures > Kate's Dirty Sister
08/11/2014 at 00:56

That's enough, you two

Dusty Ventures > The-Ever-Socially-Apathetic TBAL
08/11/2014 at 00:56

That's enough, you two

The-Ever-Socially-Apathetic TBAL > jariten1781
08/11/2014 at 01:26

It's his job as a licensed, professional racer, to pay attention to his line, and to pay attention to all vehicles around him. If he couldn't do that, they would never give him his license to begin with.

But alright... Let's leave it be and see where it goes.

The-Ever-Socially-Apathetic TBAL > Dusty Ventures
08/11/2014 at 01:55

Exactly.

Tentacle, Dutchman, drives French > The-Ever-Socially-Apathetic TBAL
08/11/2014 at 04:57

Let's take this point by point. Based purely on the video of the accident:

1. Why would I have been so high up in angle through the corner in the first place?

Steward is perhaps half a car width higher up than the cars that pass before him. Take the wall as reference and watch at what height in the frame the cars pass. See the screen caps at the end. He is not that high up.

Again, watch the video. See how long the previous cars take to pass the field of view. Take into account that the camera zooms and, at later point, also pans. Steward's car appears to be doing about the same speed. Perhaps a bit faster, but definitely not a lot faster.

As far as visibility: See how Ward throws a shadow? That means he's back-lit, from the viewpoint of oncoming traffic. He's wearing black and he's back-lit. The white and red stripes will not make him higly visible.

If an area is being poorly lit, it doesn't have to mean low light. It can also mean blinding light, or too contrasty lighting.

3. Why would I have not taken the yellow flag opportunity to slow down and tear off my visor strip, instead of gunning the car around like a hot shot?

There is no way this video proves that Steward was "gunning the car around like a hot shot". He may have been, but the video doesn't prove or disprove it.

Again, good luck with being visible if you're back-lit against a darker background. The camera has a completely different angle to the drivers. Also, modern cameras are more light sensitive than the human eye, so how this all appears on camera isn't conclusive of how a driver would see things. The slight discoloring pattern you can see in the youtube start frame is chroma noise and it's indicative of a high ISO setting.

They don't have spotters and car radio communication like in NASCAR. So how you can claim this is beyond me.

Let's summarize: From the time it takes for the cars to pass the field of view, Steward was doing about the same speed as the others. From the relative position of the cars to the wall, Steward wasn't driving a really high line. So why did the others miss Ward?

Just start-stopping the video will tell you quite a bit of what happened. Ward gets out of his car, walks towards the racing line, walks back up the bank to let the white-blue car pass.

Kinja'd!!!

The camera tracks this car and then pans back to see Ward again closer to the inside of the track. Steward may have seen Ward out of the car earlier, but he may not have guessed that Ward would do the blindingly-idiot thing of stepping into his race line.

Kinja'd!!!

This armchair Jalopnik commenter rests his case. Watch the video a few times. Frame by frame. Then reconsider your questions and conclusions as you see fit.

Alledgedly, Steward's car had a GoPro camera attached to it. If that has recorded a driver's perspective, then that's probably the only bit of reliable evidence. Other than that... Well, speculation and guess-work like presented above.

topher3134 > The-Ever-Socially-Apathetic TBAL
08/11/2014 at 10:57

I guess you really don't know much about dirt track racing so almost all of your points are invalid. But I will give you some insight just like many others have. The kid lost his temper. He was almost run over by the blue car. The blue car didn't turn away at all really the kid stepped out of its way. He wasted a piece of Stewart so he tried to get in at the drivers area of the car. The right rear tires is tracking way (1 foot or more) to the outside of the path the right front tire takes. 800 hp small block motor with light switch throttles make for a knee jerk suprise reaction to some crazy kid trying to get into a moving car. The sound you hear is not the number 14. Not saying he didn't blip the throttle, just that the sound is not that car. It is way to close to the camera. This kid commited suicide via stupid actions. Stewart could have done things differently just like any other situation that happens in life. This should be shown as a lesson to people that rules are in place for a reason and stupidity/angry decision can get you killed.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > The-Ever-Socially-Apathetic TBAL
08/11/2014 at 11:21

I think you have to agree that Ward is more responsible for what happened than Stewart. He went out of his way to put himself in harm's way. Whatever mistakes Stewart might have made, Ward would be alive today if he hadn't walked out aggressively onto the race course.

Example: you're driving down the highway at night, and take your eyes off the road for a split second to look at your phone. When you look up, there's a person in your lane and you try to swerve, but are too late. Did you make a mistake by taking your eyes off the road? Yes. Are you more to blame than the person standing on the highway? No.

I'm not saying Stewart was being inattentive, just that he also made small mistake, perhaps in that his reaction to the situation wasn't as quick as it should have been.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Tentacle, Dutchman, drives French
08/11/2014 at 11:39

I've only watched the video once, and even seeing this last still makes me sick. So stupid, so reckless, so pointless... I just hope that this leads to change, with much more severe penalties for anyone putting themselves in these situations again.

The-Ever-Socially-Apathetic TBAL > topher3134
08/11/2014 at 13:06

For sure it's Ward's fault, I agree. I just believe more precautions could have been taken on Stewart's end as well.

The-Ever-Socially-Apathetic TBAL > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
08/11/2014 at 13:06

Agreed, 100%.

buffalo319 > The-Ever-Socially-Apathetic TBAL
08/12/2014 at 14:34

I think Stewart saw him and tried to fuck with him a little and accidentally broke it loose and hit the guy. But Ward was as much as fault for being another macho asshole standing in a highway full of blind men going fast. Both fucked up but only one paid.

whatever > The-Ever-Socially-Apathetic TBAL
09/13/2014 at 10:59

Nearly EVERYONE in NASCAR is aware of Stewart's temper and attitude. He made no effort to steer away. Tony Stewart belongs in prison, not a race car. He is a murderer, period. Call me what you want, I don't care, I've NEVER taken another's life.

Any "regular" citizen, not a "star", would have been arrested and still be in jail with no bail until all is said and done.

I'm ashamed of NASCAR, I'm not a NASCAR fan any longer, I'll not shop at Bass Pro Shops any more, and I'll sign a petition for the death penalty for Tony "piece of $h!t" Stewart.

whatever > The-Ever-Socially-Apathetic TBAL
09/13/2014 at 10:59

Any "regular" citizen, not a "star", would have been arrested and still be in jail with no bail until all is said and done.

I'm ashamed of NASCAR, I'm not a NASCAR fan any longer, I'll not shop at Bass Pro Shops any more, and I'll sign a petition for the death penalty for Tony "piece of $h!t" Stewart.

whatever > Flavien Vidal
09/13/2014 at 11:00

excuses, excuses

whatever > The-Ever-Socially-Apathetic TBAL
09/13/2014 at 11:01

exactly, and he's a PRO? A PRO MURDERER

MuttRacer > The-Ever-Socially-Apathetic TBAL
08/19/2015 at 00:08

Being a go-kart racer myself (both dirt oval and tarmac road course), I’ll try to explain from my knowledge-

As far as number one goes, with a solid rear axle used on the sprint cars, the only way too turn is to do one of two things, bring the inside rear wheel into the air, or slide through a turn. It’s much easier, especially on dirt where the grip is already low, to slide the car as opposed to try to make the chassis flex, which the car may or may not be able to do, I don’t know how Tony likes his car set up.

For number two, I know some drivers who don’t use a speedo in their car and just go off of senses and the other drivers. If Tony does that, I would think he might have just been trying to catch up with the others, not knowing how fast he was running. In racing under yellow before formation, the only real measurement of whether a driver is obeying the flags is whether they pass somebody unless they’re in the lead, where they need to slow down so that the others can catch up. There is no “set speed” for drivers to follow. Along with that, friends that have been to the track say it is very poorly lit, most cameras have settings to slow them too show dark areas better, which made the track seem significantly brighter than it actually was. Along with the striping, the stripes on the suit would not be enough to distinguish a black firesuit from a dark background, especially when Tony wouldn’t be looking for the kid or expecting him to be there while driving.

Part three was partially answered before, but to restate, he wasn’t traveling much faster than other drivers and was most likely trying to catch up, considering the drivers were still scattered around the track.

For the fourth question, the camera part I talked about, but in terms of lighting in more depth, the track would be lit on the track, but the dark background wouldn’t have any lighting because cars wouldn’t be in that area. Ward was standing in a spot where there was nothing white to make him stand out on the background, so Tony just saw mostly darkness until he was close enough. As far as tunnel vision goes, it’s not so much speed as much as it is just focus on things. Tony would’ve been focused on driving and the cars in front of him, there shouldn’t have been a need to look for a standing on the track, so he wasn’t trying to be aware of that.

For communication, especially at a smaller race like that, usually the only people talking would be race control, if even that. The race wasn’t big enough to necessitate a spotter for each driver, and race control would probably say there’s a yellow, but they don’t need to tell them there’s a kid on the track, especially when they might not have noticed it with other things going on at the track.

He was driving fairly slow in comparison to the speeds these cars each and he was not significantly faster than the cars ahead of or behind him.

As far as that last part goes, I’ve already explained speed but there are no set specific “rules” for driving under yellow. Drivers can take turns however they want as long as they don’t pass each other, and again, there were drivers at the same height of the track as Tony was, Kevin Ward just walked down to confront him, making it seem like Tony was higher up on the track than he truly was.

I don’t mean to offend you, I actually really like most of your posts, I’m just trying to shed light on a situation I feel most people don’t actually know a lot about. I’m not saying that you do or don’t know any amount of information on the subject.