Tony Stewart hits and kills fellow racer

Exactly.

 

I think quoting is very important, because after having deliberately made a mess here he'll go back and delete or edit his own posts, screwing up the record of this thread and upending the context of everyone's replies. He does it on other forums and he's doing it here, too.

 

ASJ has an overwhelming animosity towards racing and apparently hillbillies too.

CW, we know green and yellow flags differ in meaning. Yellow flag is usually a caution to the drivers that there is an incident, not dire. When something is serious, a redflag would be thrown. Which would require cars to come to a complete hault. Under the yellow, drivers aren't assuming there are people on the track. This isn't a 2 mile oval where there are crews going in for repairs and 42 spotters on the roof of the stadium. This is a tiny dirt short track. It's the driver's responsibility to himself and the field to stay in that car. Yes, sometimes it happens where a driver does get out. But as with a major race, there is much more safety and support for the drivers. And like i mentioned, a spotter for each driver telling them the situations on the track. That is not going on at a short track.

What's even more humorous is the analogy of a driver running into a puddle. That means he had the intentions of being unsafe and it was a premeditated move. Seeing none of you two have actually show evidence supporting your outlandish claims. Speculations are not evidence.



ASJ should start a post and tell us all why autoracing is evil for all mankind. I'm quite curious where he'll go with it...lol

 

The bottom line is this, racing is dangerous.

Drivers know this full well going into the deal. Drivers who venture out onto a racing
line whether is under green or yellow conditions, when cars are on the track, doesn't really matter;
they're taking a much larger risk of injury or death than they would by simply staying in their cars
or hopping over the retaining barriers to get out of harms way.

Unfortunately, this young man Ward lost his cool and made a lunge for Stewart's car when
a cooler head should have obviously prevailed.

By portraying the racing business as a whole as being somehow culpable as accessories to
murder is so far over the top it cannot be taken seriously.

Speculating about this incident does not change anything.

BHW

 

Accidents can happen even under a caution. It's a race track, and it's an imperfect world. It's unfortunate, and drivers are also under intense pressure to produce results.

Clearly, however, none of those incidents involved any possible intent on the part of the driver to brush-back a competitor who was pointing him out.

CW

 

I agree that a yellow is not the same as a red. But, a yellow still is a heightened state during which special conditions and rules apply. As far as a yellow is concerned, it's no longer racing (either full course or at that station). If I understand correctly, according to the roundy-round racers, a caution is communicated by one-way radio transmission from race central. So, along with all the other drivers, TS would certainly have been informed of something going on at that corner. And, clearly, the pack was no longer at race speed.

You say "speculations are not evidence." However, how is a circumstantial case made? There is certainly some hard evidence, but there is also speculation, and it often goes to motive (as it would here). Since we cannot rely on what TS tells us (as he has an incentive to tell one version over another), we have to divine his intent from his actions. Did he intend to brush-back Ward or not? The question will be what a trier of fact feels about TS' actions given the facts presented. And, the facts will go beyond the immediate collision. They will involve the preceding lap. They will involve any histories between these two drivers. They will look at TS' previous conduct. They will look at Ward's past conduct, too.

Perhaps I should restate that I'm not saying that Ward is not culpable. To some extent, he most certainly is. So, don't think I feel Ward is a completely innocent victim here.

CW

 

Potential criminal and civil cases against Tony Stewart, explained - SBNation.com

Since the day he was involved in an incident that took the life of Kevin Ward Jr., Tony Stewart hasn't competed in a race. He has vanished from the public eye, surrounding himself with close friends and family, and is said to be grieving at an undisclosed location, according to the NASCAR team he co-owns, Stewart-Haas Racing.

As Stewart mourns, an investigation is ongoing into the actions that led to Ward's Aug. 9 death. Ontario (N.Y.) County Sheriff Philip Povero stated that the initial findings have not indicated any basis to find "criminal intent" by Stewart, whose sprint car struck and killed an on-foot Ward during a race at Canandaigua Motorsports Park.

The purpose of the investigation is to gather all available facts, and then assess whether Stewart should face any of an array of potential charges for his role in Ward's death, according to Meri Van Blarcom-Gupko, an attorney at Wiley Malehorn Sirota & Raynes in Morristown, N.J., who specializes in motorsports-related legal issues and spoke at length with SB Nation.

The criminal side

Murder or first-degree manslaughter are the most serious charges to be considered. Obtaining a conviction on either count would hinge on the prosecution being able to determine Stewart's intent, which would be a challenge, especially under the facts publicly presented.

"Proving that Stewart intentionally aimed at Ward with an intention of seriously injuring him or killing him is virtually impossible," Van Blarcom-Gupko said. "Although his 'bad boy' reputation precedes him, it is quite the stretch to allege that because he has thrown punches or a helmet at races before, it is proof that he intentionally went after Ward with his car. There is no pattern of Stewart aiming his car at competitors to scare or injure them from which any intent could theoretically be derived. At this point, there is no evidence to suggest a first-degree charge should even be considered."

A manslaughter or criminally negligent homicide charge would place the burden on the district attorney to show that Stewart's behavior was not in line with what a reasonable person would have done in a similar situation. Essentially, did Stewart do something that is atypical of a sprint car driver when under caution or when someone is walking on the track?

On this point, the sheriff's office has been seeking out and speaking with individuals with expertise in sprint racing who can provide "relevant factual information" and "firsthand knowledge," Povero said during an Aug. 11 press conference.

"It is not outside the norm for a sprint driver to accelerate to turn the car to the left, and for that to cause the back of the car to slide right," Van Blarcom-Gupko said. "That would be an area where the experts would need to inform investigators as to the various reasonable ways for a sprint car driver to react in the situation."

Experts will also need to educate investigators on the technical aspects of a sprint car and how it reacts to have a full understanding of what happened.

Vehicular homicide is one charge that Stewart will not face. It is not applicable because Stewart was not under the influence of drugs/alcohol nor does he have a bad driving record, among other contributing factors.

Without knowing the full details of the investigation, Van Blarcom-Gupko can't gauge whether Stewart will ultimately face criminal charges. But in her estimation, the most likely charge Stewart could face, if he was to be charged, is criminally negligent homicide, a Class E felony in New York and "the lowest level of criminal charge because the conduct at issue did not warrant a higher charge." However, she is of the opinion that the known facts do not support the filing of any criminal charge against Stewart.

If convicted of negligent homicide, Stewart would face a sentence that is not to exceed four years in prison.

The civil side

Although no exact date has been set, whether Stewart will face any criminal charges is likely to be determined within the next couple of weeks, according to Povero. But criminal charges are not the only reason that could result in Stewart appearing in court, as a civil suit seems certain.

A wrongful death lawsuit against Stewart for his involvement in Ward's death is one option available to Ward's family. They would then be able to seek compensatory damages. The standard of proof is lower in civil court than in criminal court, but any potential decision would take into account Ward's actions on the night he was killed.

Although somewhat of an accepted practice, Ward did walk toward the section of the track where cars were moving 30-to-35 mph, and he did so wearing a black fire suit and black helmet. The defense will almost certainly raise the question of whether Stewart even saw Ward, and if he did, at what juncture and how much time did he have to react.

"Stewart would contend that Ward's conduct leaving his car and going onto the racing surface contributed to his death," Van Blarcom-Gupko said. "Unfortunately, if Ward had remained in his vehicle, the outcome would be different and that has legal implications.

"New York is a pure comparative negligence state, which means that even if Ward is deemed to have negligently contributed to his death, it does not serve as a bar to recovery. Rather, whatever damages are awarded will be reduced in proportion to Ward's negligence. Thus, regardless of whether the jury allocated anywhere between one percent and 99 percent of the negligence on Ward, his family could still recover the remaining percentage attributed to Stewart."

In all likelihood, Stewart would seek an out-of-court settlement with the family to avoid a drawn-out process that could entangle sponsors and his race teams.

A lawsuit could also be filed against Canandaigua for contributing to Ward's death through improper lightning or a lack of other safety measures -- i.e., not having a rule in place that prohibited drivers from exiting their cars following a wreck. However, that would require a showing that Canandaigua had conditions that deviated from what is standard for similar racetracks.

Stewart's sponsors could be sued for supporting and funding a driver with behavior that could be deemed reckless.

"One arguable theory for a sponsorship suit would be that they allowed Tony to race their car even though they knew his reputation for altercations," Van Blarcom-Gupko said. "However, in general, it is complicated to demonstrate liability against a sponsor when their role is generally to provide funding and have no say in the day-to-day operations of or exercise no control over the team, car or driver."

Because Stewart was driving for Tony Stewart Racing and not Stewart-Haas Racing, there is no legal basis for the family to include the NASCAR team in a lawsuit, Van Blarcom-Gupko believes. Therefore, the organization that also fields cars for Danica Patrick, Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch would not be threatened.

SHR could be impacted from the residual effects of any potential criminal charges or civil suit. Stewart's sponsors, which include high-profile associations with Bass Pro Shops, Mobil 1 and Chevrolet, could dissolve their relationships citing morals clauses typically found in contracts if Stewart were to be criminally charged.

"Some sponsors may be willing to ride out the criminal process to the end before pulling out to allow Tony the benefit of innocent until proven guilty," Van Blarcom-Gupko said, "and others may try to find a legal way out of the agreement quickly to avoid going through the criminal and even the civil process."

 

News reports and officials (track) have already stated that there was no prior incidents between these two drivers.

Speculating, fishing for ideas, whatever's you want to call them. They are presumptions to an idea with no concrete evidence as of yet. So at best, it's a guesstimate.
The difference is, as of now, the hard evidence points towards Ward, not TS. Till there is hard evidence showing TS is culpable, it's all hear say and speculation.

 

Um, actually, the hard evidence shows that TS' vehicle ran over Ward.

CW

 

there is nothing in this article that CW has not already carefully outlined and presented to this forum. thanks again for the unpaid but accurate consulting.

pcb

 

I think some of the news reports did say that Ward and Stewart had raced in the past. There were no incidents apparently, but it would be interesting to know what their finish history was relative to each other.

The obvious cause was Ward running onto the track, which was certainly an ill-advised move. That said, if I were Ward's lawyer, I would be looking to establish the wreck as the causing issue. It was the incident of Ward being pushed into the wall that caused him to get angry enough to get out of the car. Given that the wreck is pretty visible in the video, I'm surprised there still hasn't been an expert analysis of the accident prior to Ward getting out of the car.

 

Ward running onto the track was not the issue. Ward's final lunge at Tony's car was the issue. Ward could run out onto the track, and gesture and fume, and still be alive.

Here, you can see Ward's final lunge at Tony. This is why Ward died, not getting out on the track.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploads23/Untitled+31408980841.gif

The evidence shows that TS's vehicle did not run OVER Ward. To run over Ward, you would see Tony's vehicle lift upwards, which it doesn't. Instead, you see compression of the sprung mass of Tony's car, which means the hit was to the sprung mass of Tony's car, and not the unsprung(wheel/tire).

Combined with a motion of the wing assembly dipping and rebounding, I think the impact point was the wing assembly. Ward was leaning fowards, and the wing assembly sticks out almost as far as the rear tire.(http://bangshift.com//assets/galleries/american-sprint-car-series-wheatland-missouri/american-sprint-car-series-lucas-oil-dirt-series-winged-non-winged-sprint-racing-wheatland-001.jpg)

A hit to the tire would transmit the shock energy below ward's center of gravity. This would create a spin effect in a clockwise manner relative to the camera, yet ward is tumbling in a counter-clockwise spin.

The wingplate would be mostly in shadow from Ward's perspective, which could explain him putting himself in its path without realizing he was committing suicide. That .gif I posted takes place in about a quarter of a second real time, there is no reasonable expectation for Tony to make any additional move to dodge the last moments of Ward putting himself in Tony's path given how fast it occurred.

I am certain the Ward's will sue. I cannot speak for how a jury would view things, or what price would call off their lust for Tony's head out of court. Losing a child even under the "best" of circumstances is hugely upsetting, and $$$ is a poor comfort in a time like that.

A note I'd like to say about yellow conditions that I can say as someone that has worked as a corner martial at short tracks, that we are all on headset, and are not cleared to enter the track unless told so. In driver's meetings, driver's are instructed in a yellow to bunch up, the lead car slows to pace speed, and the rest of the field is supposed to catch up to the car in front of them. Only once the field is formed, are we cleared to enter the track over radio. There is no expectation on a driver's part for anyone to be on the track while forming up the field. In the event of a fire, medical, or security emergency calling for prompt immediate entry of corner workers, the race would be red flagged.

There are 3 stages to a yellow, stage 1 - collection, stage 2 - cleanup, stage 3, setting up for the restart.

There is no mandate in written, or oral rules, to be "extra cautious" under yellow. The same expectations exist for both green and yellow flags. This is because incidents that call for a yellow flag, happen under a green flag, and there is a delay of human error for the head flagger to observe, and relay the information for the track to come under yellow. Colliding with some one on foot is equally as dire whether it happen under yellow or green.

 

You can nitpick my statement or criticize how I worded it, but the fact is that there was a collision with TS' car, and that collision is the cause of death.

CW

 

under caution first responsibility of the race car driver is The safety crews

 

There are 3 stages to a yellow, and there are no safety crews on the track in stage 1(which this occured in), only stage 2(clean up). Stage 3(setting for restart) has one person if the restart will be a double file restart, who places and removes a cone on the back stretch that allows drivers to choose which lane they will start in.

There is nothing in the rule book of any short track series I have seen that states what you've just said. There is an equal expectation of safety under both green and yellow, and not an extra expectation under yellow, but not green. I have had the stack of tires that were my "wall" struck by a racer while under green. I took a good hit to the shins from a rapidly moving tire, was knocked off my feet with no injuries but bruises and scrapes. There was no time for the track to go "yellow" from the time the car took off on and "off path" and hit me. I picked myself up, found the yellow flag, and started waving it as the head official called for a yellow. The field bunched up, and then I stopped waving the yellow, helped pull the vehichle off the tires it had run up onto, put the tires back in place, and then we set up to go green again.

Ward was not a member of the safety crew either, and Ward exited his car at a time there would be no safety crew on the track. If safety crew enter immediately after an incident - its a red flag incident, not yellow. This is why short tracks are adding into their rules that a driver exiting their vehicle without clearance from safety crew is also a red flag incident. In the first stage and order of a yellow, per the rule book, driver's are to first gather up to the car in front of them, and if you are the leader, you slow to agreed on pace speed for the track. The rest of the field is to run above pace until they meet the group trailing the leader/pace car. This is stage 1. The leader does not slow below pace speed for the field to catch it, but rather, the rest of the field drives above pace speed. There is no expectation at this point on a driver's part for any person to enter the track. Track workers are cleared over radio to enter once the field has gathered. Even the lowest of budget short tracks I have worked, still take the money for everyone who would enter the track to have a headset.

In short track racing, it is the discretion of the track whether laps count under yellow or not, and it supersedes any series rules(The series state this in their own rules that the track supercedes on this issue). Pretty much at any short track they are not counted. This means that when a car is spun and needs a start, there is no pressure on any of the staff to immediately get their favorite driver going again before that driver is a lap(s) down. Instead, wait for the field to bunch up, and then wait for the head official to clear the track for workers. Races that are televised may count laps under yellow, in the interest of keeping the block of time allocated more stable. Some still do not count under yellow, but impose an overall time limit that calls the race early on distance, if it goes over a certain time.

Laps not counting under yellow means Ward could get a push to the work area, fix his car, and rejoin on the lead lap, as it takes several laps to set the field to go green again.

 

+1

 

https://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nascar-from-the-marbles/tony-stewart-delivers-emotional-three-minute-statement-about-august-9-accident-172532866.html

Regardless of where people think the blame for the accident lies, this does not look like someone who should be in a racecar. Perhaps a test, but not an race event.

 

Geez he looks like a wreck. Is he going to be able to get into 'race mode'?

 

I wonder if NASCAR officials will require him to submit to a psychological exam before clearing him for racing.

Probably should.

CW

 

Yes, and that's why he's back now, starting HIS healing process by getting back to running his business and doing what he loves the most. Doesn't mean he's over the tragedy, probably never will be.

 

The rehabilitation of Stewart's actions for the media and fans has begin.

 

He is clear, as of today.

His demeanor says it all, as to the effect it has had on him.

Having dealt with one workplace fatal in my entire career, I can truly say it is NOT a good feeling and it lasts long after the lawyer circus packs the tent and heads on to other things.

There were a few things in that brief statement that tells me he is focusing in the right direction..

 

I'm pretty sure this has already been done.

 

I personally believe Stewart's racing career is close to over.

Not because he can't race but because sponsorship money will dry up. I think in a lot of people's minds, there's some fault on his end here. That's enough to make sponsors shy away and move their money elsewhere.

 

Unless, that is, there is some miracle melancholy finish this weekend in Atlanta.

And, of course, we all know, nothing like that ever happens in NASCAR right?

BHW