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Sunday, August 17, 2014

Tony Stewart Not Too Big To Fail--or Fall

If his name were Kevin Harvick instead of Kevin Ward, would we be taking such a blasé approach to his death?

Tony Stewart, after some deliberation, didn’t race Sunday at Watkins Glen. NASCAR’s honchos should consider whether to prohibit the three-time Sprint Cup champion from ever competing under their auspices.

Stewart crashed into Kevin Ward Jr.’s sprint car Saturday night at Canandaigua Motorsports Park in the Finger Lakes region of New York. The bump forced Ward into the wall and out of the running with a rear flat. To add injury to insult, Stewart clipped the 20-year-old driver with a right tire when the race fell under a caution flag. Apparently, sinew and bone is more fragile than steel and aluminum. Who knew? Ward died shortly after impact.

Caution doesn’t mean gas it up. Caution doesn’t mean drive recklessly close to the hot-headed, soft-headed pedestrian (a role that Stewart knows well). It means slow down and beware.

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13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Terrible accident, but, that is what it was!!! If the young man had remained in his vehicle we know the outcome would have been different. These small tracks love for the "Pros" to race to bring in larger crowds...so maybe rule changes are needed...regardless sad loss of life.

Anonymous said...

"Terrible accident, but, that is what it was!!!"
10:57AM, that's BS. Accident, yes, but caused by a hot-head who has a history of causing and threatening such 'accidents'. Stewart made this happen plain and simple. Spectator comments and the video itself shows how Stewart attempted to brush Kevin back with his car's sudden burst of throttle. Stewart is guilty of nothing less then manslaughter in this young man's death. And, his sponsors are hearing from me about it, too.

Anonymous said...

nail him up ! nail some sense into him !

Anonymous said...

should be charged with vehicular manslaughter.. obviously sped up as his tail passed.

Anonymous said...

So, what happens to boxing...knockouts that do brain damage, cause comas or death. Baseball when pitchers deliberately go head hunting with fast balls, MMA brutal attacks???? A lot more things to think about should you say ok to criminal charges on an accident when other DELIBERATE actions take place everyday in sports!

Anonymous said...

Anti-Tony Stewart blog?
Breaking safety rules are sometimes costly.

Anonymous said...

12:53
I have looked at the video several times but I must have missed it. could you please show me the time stamp when Stewart got out of his car and unbuckled the guy to drag him down into traffic? Yea that's what I thought, he didn't, so no Stewart didn't MAKE it happen. Looks like he was more of a hot head then Tony was and was trying to impress the locals by standing up to the big wig. If he would have stayed out of traffic he would still be here. The car just in front of Tony had to swerve to miss him as well.

12:53 said...

4:01PM, your comment says all I need to know. For, any NASCAR far, or for that matter, any racing fan knows this is not uncommon among drivers. So, get a clue, pal.

Anonymous said...

4:33

So running in front of or near fast moving vehicles is common in racing? That says all I need to know. Doesn't matter if your a race fan or not, what the kid did was extremely foolish and he paid a terrible price for it. It's moronic to say Stewart "made it happen." Maybe he could have turned, or braked, or done a dozen things different in that split second. I'm sure it will be examined for weeks and months and I don't really care what the result is. But at the end of the day, Ward is the one who ran onto the middle of the track and MADE this tragedy happen. Stewart just had a role in it.

4:33PM said...

Point taken 5:19PM.
Perhaps "Stewart 'made' this happen" is overstating. Maybe 'allowed' would be a better word.

Anonymous said...

Leave him alone....good press. I went to a fight and a dirt race broke out.

Anonymous said...

Mom said don't run out into traffic, you can get killed. To run into it on a dark dirt track where cars slide sideways as a common means of turning a corner? Ignorant at best; suicidal at worst.

Anonymous said...

It is common for drivers to get out and voice displeasure with other drivers. It is also standard for cars to slow and go to the opposite side of the track of the incident. Tony was gassing it to make a statement to this guy and his back tire caught him. Look how far up the track he was after the impact. The other cars managed to ride the bottom...why didn't Tony.