Tony Stewart strikes and kills Driver who was walking on Dirt Track during Race

[GM Franchise]

On-foot driver hit by Stewart dies

http://espn.go.com/racing/nascar/cup/story/_/id/11333895/tony-stewart-hits-foot-competitor-sprint-car-race-new-york-state

CANANDAIGUA, N.Y. -- NASCAR driver Tony Stewart struck and killed a driver who was walking on a dirt track during a race in upstate New York, authorities said early Sunday.

A video of the crash Saturday night at Canandaigua Motorsports Park showed driver Kevin Ward Jr. stepping toward Stewart's car before being hit and thrown 50 feet.

The Ontario County Sheriff's Department would not identify the driver but said he was pronounced dead on arrival Saturday night at a hospital in Canandaigua.

Sheriff Philip Povero says the 42-year-old Stewart was "fully cooperative" as he was questioned and released. Povero says the investigation is not criminal.

Calls to Stewart's representatives were not immediately returned.

The three-time NASCAR champion is scheduled to race in NASCAR's event Sunday at Watkins Glen.

Michael Messerly, a fan who witnessed the crash, said it appeared Stewart -- racing there on the eve of a race at Watkins Glen -- hit a driver who was walking on the dimly lit track after they had collided on the previous lap.

He said Stewart struck the driver, who was wearing a dark racing suit, as he tried to "speed past" him.

"I didn't see (the other driver) anymore," he said. "It just seemed like he was suddenly gone."

Messerly said the crash appeared to be the result of "a number of bad decisions" and not "any intent on Tony Stewart's part."

"Auto racing is a dangerous sport," he said. "I think it was just an unfortunate set of circumstances that created a tragic situation."

The track, located about 30 miles southeast of Rochester, canceled the remainder of the race within five minutes and later posted a message on its Facebook page encouraging fans to "pray for the entire racing community of fans, drivers, and families."

It said a statement on the crash would come later Sunday.

Stewart was involved in a July 2013 accident at Canandaigua Motorsports Park that seriously injured a 19-year-old driver. He later took responsibility for his car making contact with another and triggering the 15-car accident that left Alysha Ruggles with a compression fracture in her back.

On Saturday, ambulances, fire trucks and police arrived within minutes of the crash, Messerly said. Fans filed out in stunned silence, he said.

The Ontario County Sheriff's Department says its officers were at the track investigating into the early morning Sunday.

Stewart only returned to sprint track racing last month, almost a year after breaking his leg in a crash at an Iowa track. The accident cost him the second-half of the NASCAR season, and he didn't return to racing in any form until February when preparation for NASCAR's season-opening Daytona 500 began.

He refused to stop his extracurricular racing despite the injury and was scheduled to race Sunday.

Stewart was a spectator at the Knoxville Nationals in Iowa on Tuesday, the one-year anniversary of the accident, and posted on his Twitter account: "Thank you to everyone that worked so hard to get me back to where I'm at today. It's your life, live it!"

Roughly three hours after the accident in New York, Donny Schatz, a sprint car driver for Tony Stewart Racing, won the prestigious Knoxville Nationals in Iowa for an eighth time. Stewart had spent much of the earlier part of the week trackside in Iowa watching his drivers compete.

"I was just told there was an incident involving Tony. I don't know to what extent or what's happening," Schatz said.

Stewart, a three-time NASCAR champion, is co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing. The four-team Sprint Cup organization that fields cars for Stewart, Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch and Danica Patrick. He's struggled a bit this year since returning from his injury, and heads into Sunday's race winless on the season and ranked 19th in the standings.

Stewart was scheduled to start 13th on Sunday at Watkins Glen International in south central New York state. He has just five races remaining to either score a win or move inside the top 16 in points to grab a valuable spot in NASCAR's championship race.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

[GM Franchise]

Video is in the link and it CLEARLY shows Stewart's vehicle strike the driver. This is insane...

Video: Tony Stewart Runs Over Driver During Confrontation, Killing Him

http://deadspin.com/reports-tony-stewart-ran-over-opposing-driver-during-1618893708?utm_campaign=socialflow_deadspin_facebook&utm_source=deadspin_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow

NASCAR driver Tony Stewart ran over a competitor, 20-year-old Kevin Ward Jr., during a confrontation at a sprint car race Saturday night at Canandaigua Motorsports Park in New York. Ward was killed.

In the video above, via YouTube, you can see Ward apparently confronting Stewart on foot after Ward's car is run into the wall. He is struck, dragged, then thrown a number of feet. According to Ontario County Sheriff Philip C. Povero, Ward was dead on arrival at the hospital.

Our original post, with several updates, is below.


CMP posted the following to its Facebook page:

Tonight's racing events were suspended due to an accident. Please hold off on any speculation until we have further information to share.
Accidents are, obviously, common in the motorsports world. To shut down a track entirely following one is extreme, and if you look at the above photo you'll notice a major law enforcement presence. That's not standard for an auto racing accident, either. (Fox Sports confirmed law enforcement is looking into the incident.)

Here's how alleged eyewitnesses are telling what happened. Keep the usual caveats about things you hear on the Internet in mind, but the number of people who saw it happen—and their previous track records for motorsports reporting—suggests the worst.






Charlotte Observer reporter Jim Utter says police are preparing a statement that will be released in the next few hours. Utter also says the driver allegedly struck by Tony Stewart's car was 17-year-old 20-year-old Kevin Ward Jr.


Stewart's currently scheduled to start 13th in Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup event at Watkins Glen.

Update (12:29 a.m.): The Sporting News's Bob Pockrass has some more details:

Rich Willis, who was at the track, said he didn't see exactly what happened but his sister down in Turn 1 did. He saw Stewart and Kevin Ward get into the wreck.

"People (who could see it better) said the guy got out of his car and was gesturing angrily at Tony Stewart when Tony Stewart came by during the next lap under yellow," Willis said in a phone interview. "He approached him and evidently when he was driving by the guy standing on the track gesturing at him, he gunned his engine.

"What happened was the back end kicked out and clipped the guy and the guy flew across the track."
Update (1:06 a.m.): More from Pockrass:

Tyler Graves, a sprint-car racer and friend of Ward's, told Sporting News in a phone interview that he was sitting in the Turn 1 grandstands and saw everything that happened.

"Tony pinched him into the frontstretch wall, a racing thing," Graves said. "The right rear tire went down, he spun on the exit of (Turn) 2. They threw the caution and everything was toned down. Kevin got out of his car. ... He was throwing his arms up all over the place at Tony for most of the corner.

"I know Tony could see him. I know how you can see out of these cars. When Tony got close to him, he hit the throttle. When you hit a throttle on a sprint car, the car sets sideways. It set sideways, the right rear tire hit Kevin, Kevin was sucked underneath and was stuck under it for a second or two and then it threw him about 50 yards."

[Mike Powers]

The guy was stupid to run out on a race track, but if Stewart really did hit the throttle when he was close, then it is clearly vehicular manslaughter. He needs to be thrown out of the sport, and spend some time in jail (again, if what is being reported us true).

[The TeeJ of Philly]

The guy was stupid to run out on a race track, but if Stewart really did hit the throttle when he was close, then it is clearly vehicular manslaughter. He needs to be thrown out of the sport, and spend some time in jail (again, if what is being reported us true).

Sounded more like a down throttle in the video. Those cars are a bitch to drive, you basically can see in front of you and that's about it. Guy got out of his car on a turn, Stewart went inside to make sure he didn't hit the car he knew was there, guy got closer as he drove by and got hit.

Watching the video, the guy was lucky the first 4 cars didn't hit him either.

[GM Franchise]

Sheriff says no criminal charges will be filed against Tony Stewart

http://www.foxsports.com/nascar/story/sheriff-says-no-criminal-charges-will-be-filed-against-tony-stewart-081014?cmpid=tsmfb:fscom:nascaronfox

Tony Stewart will not face criminal charges right now after a Saturday night incident in which Stewart's car struck and killed 20-year-old Kevin Ward Jr. during a sprint car race at Canandaigua (N.Y.) Motorsports Park.

The two crashed, and under caution Ward got out of his car and walked toward Stewart's car, gesturing at the three-time NASCAR champion. As Stewart's car approached Ward, Stewart appeared to gun his throttle and his right-rear wheel hit Ward, who was thrown into the air and died as a result of the contact.
Stewart was replaced in today's Cheez-It 355 at the Glen by veteran Regan Smith.

In a press conference shortly after 3 p.m. ET Sunday, Ontario County (N.Y.) Sheriff Phillip C. Povero said, "At this moment there are no facts or evidence that would support a criminal charge or criminal intent."
The sheriff's office is examining videos from fans who were in attendance and also is awaiting formal autopsy results.

Earlier in the day, Stewart issued the following statement: "There aren't words to describe the sadness I feel about the accident that took the life of Kevin Ward Jr. It's a very emotional time for all involved, and it is the reason I've decided not to participate in today's race at Watkins Glen. My thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends and everyone affected by this tragedy."

Ward's family also issued a statement, saying, "We appreciate the prayers and support we are receiving from the community, but we need time to grieve and wrap our heads around all of this."

[Hondo]

Sounded more like a down throttle in the video. Those cars are a bitch to drive, you basically can see in front of you and that's about it. Guy got out of his car on a turn, Stewart went inside to make sure he didn't hit the car he knew was there, guy got closer as he drove by and got hit.

Watching the video, the guy was lucky the first 4 cars didn't hit him either.

Here's the thing.

As a big fan of dirt track racing (and many failed attempts to break into the sport), these Sprint cars are a lot different than most race cars. They are incredibly light machines, and the powerful engines combined with the light frame of the car produces incredible amounts of torque.

I've watched the video many times, and I really honestly can't tell what he's trying to do there. It looks like he gooses the gas and tries to move down the track, but the high torque output causes increased wheelspin, causing the rear end to kick out. Because if you'll notice, it's the rear wheels that gets the poor guy.