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NASCAR 2014 Season Omnibus


Rev Ray

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I don't know how you can call it "Intentional".   I know nothing about racing etiquette but if someone is actually on the track arguing it isn't like you have to go on a complete shop like it is a crosswalk.   Always confused me why people would people would just jump out like that with all of those cars flying by so fast.  

 

Tony Stewart is a pretty huge name in NASCAR so I expect it to get more some short segments.  Unfortunately I also expect hours and hours of redneck stereotypes from the sports radio and TV shows about this.   

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I think that Stewart's reputation as a hot head isn't helping things any, if it was Dale Jr. or Jimmie Johnson no one would be mentioning that it was intentional.  But hot head or not, common sense says that Stewart isn't intentionally running over someone which obviously would either seriously injure or kill them.  I didn't see anything reckless, personally, the driver just got caught up in the moment and wondered onto a track where racers were going 80+ MPH (no idea how fast they actually go, just that it is stupid fast and dangerous looking).  He almost got hit by another car as well.

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Not only is Stewart a hot head but he is a professional driver. I wouldn't say he hit the guy on purpose but I would definitely buy that he was driving close to him on purpose.

 

Edit: Witnesses are saying that Stewart gunned it when going by him.

I'm not trying to be difficult, but have you watched it?  Ward literally charged to the middle of the track while there was a live race going on.  He wasn't on the fringe, he was actually running towards Stewart's car in the middle of a turn while it was driving at him.  I think it is terribly sad that someone died, but pinning it on Stewart just doesn't seem fair, professional or not if you are driving that fast, turn a corner and someone is running at your car there is a pretty good chance that you will hit them.

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The sad part is that because it was Tony Stewart, the person that died will be pushed out of focus.  If it was just two racers that nationally weren't known I think it would get more equal coverage (it would be news regardless of course), but hardly anything is being said about Kevin Ward Jr.  I think in the heat of the moment he did something foolish, which I don't think anyone would disagree with, but its still tragic that someone that young has died.

 

It would probably be best if Stewart took off the rest of the year, but I don't think he should be punished just because someone says they think he 'gunned it to go by him' even though in the video it just shows him taking the turn like he probably did every lap in that race not knowing there was a racer standing in the middle of the turn.  But this isn't going away anytime soon and it would help the rest of Nascar's season if he took a voluntary leave.

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For those that don't want to watch the video, this is just a screen grab I found online of Ward standing in the middle of the turn, pointing.  Also just shows the lighting wasn't great and he was wearing all black.  There are no incoming cars in the picture at all so this is not graphic in any way, but I am going to put it in spoilers anyway just to make sure no one is offended.  The car in the background is his car, which of course would eliminate the drivers from taking that way to get around him, not leaving a lot of room.

tony-stewart-hits-kevin-ward-aft-480x357

 

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Tyler Graves is a sprint-car racer and was at the event.

 

"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."

 

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Guest The Magnificent 7

Of course you can't.  Which is why you shouldn't jump to conclusions. 

 

There are so many circumstances involved.  Dirt tracks are slick as hell.  Night race.  Black suit.  He wasn't far behind another car who narrowly missed the guy, possibly impairing his view. 

 

Yellows don't automatically mean everyone slows to a crawl in racing.  The last F1 race had some situations under yellow that I thought were a bit dicey with some track workers tending to a crashed vehicle / driver.  Sometimes it makes more sense to hit the gas to try and avoid something rather than brake and lock up the steering.  Lots of calculations even for a seasoned racer in split seconds. 

 

So many unknowns.  I can't fathom how anyone is ready to charge Stewart with all sorts of things yet. 

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Stewart clearly revved his engine/jerked his car as he was going around Ward.  Whether one thinks Stewart revved the engine to mock Ward or as a means to actually hit him--it's speculation.  You also have to factor in Ward running toward Stewart, nearly getting hit by the #45 car, on a dark track while wearing black.

 

Stewart's volatile personality will do him no favors in this tragedy.

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He wasn't running towards Stewart when he was hit though. He was standing there pointing. People have said "well, another driver almost hit him also" which is fair I suppose but you can also look at it this way. The other driver DIDN'T hit him. He got around him and it's interesting that the driver who does hit him is the same driver he has an issue with..  that's why when I read comments like those from Graves it makes me think that it's entirely possible Stewart was trying to scare the kid and/or being a dick.

 

You can say it's absurd to start charging Stewart with anything but it's also absurd to believe that he didn't see him and not look further into it. The police have to look at every possibility and I'm sure they are.

 

 

Everyone and their mother on the internet's armchair reactions to this event make me fucking ashamed to be a human.

 

Odd.

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It's possible Stewart was trying to 'throw dirt' at Ward, revved up his car to kick up dust, and hit the guy by mistake.

 

Even wih his temper, it's hard to imagine Stewart would purposely run over someone.

 

I could see Stewart being charged with reckless endangerment.  But I don't know how much more can be proven.

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My first post was a bit unfair reactionary nonsense because we don't know all of the details but to me..  you can't say for sure that it was unintentional or that he was not being reckless. It needs a full investigation and you can't tell everything from that video.

 

Fixed.

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