Forum: HoseHeads Sprint Car General Forum (go)
Moderators: dirtonly  /  dmantx  /  hosehead

I respect opinions but     TONY STEWART HAD A CHOICE, GAS OR BRAKE and you can clearly see and hear he chose the gas and tried to roost him. No matter where this driver was running, he hit him with the rear tire trying to roost him when he could have just hit the brakes. Tony did not try to hit him intentionally but he did hit the gas when he got to him and if you've been around dirt racing it is clear Tony hit the gas trying to roost him. Why didn't he hit the brakes?

If you are driving down the street and someone steps in front of you do you hit the gas or brakes? Tony hit the gas trying to roost him, that is where he put himself negligent, it was ignorant. Vehicular manslaughter regardless of the other drivers reaction.

How do you know that Tony "hit the gas"?

There's a lot of misinformation flying around. For example, almost all major news networks are reporting that Stewart and Ward made contact prior to the spin. I've yet to see evidence that supports that. Tony did crowd Ward, but I didn't see any contact. Ward got high, got loose, and eventually tagged the wall.

I'd also like to point out that the video was being taken from the grandstands, on the other side of the infield. If you're hearing a car gas it up on the video, its likely that car was much closer to the camera, not rolling out of turn two, where Tony was located.

It's not uncommon for drivers to clean out their motor or spin the tires to generate heat under caution. What is uncommon is a raging lunatic running down the embankment (making it difficult for him to change direction) on a live race track. Ward misjudged the 45 car and did again when Stewart approached.

Here are some simliar accident examples; see links below. The big difference between these accidents and Ward's is the victims were not running towards the action (making avoidance even more difficult). Was vehicular manslaughter discussed when these accidents happened? The answer is no; they were both considered tragic accidents.

http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/news/story?seriesId=99&id=2489141

http://www.indianaopenwheel.com/showthread.php?t=66842

Are we going to suggest that everytime a driver spins his car in front of another that if the the other driver hits the spinning vehicle then somehow there was intent.

The notion that Tony ran Ward down is stupid. Ward's actions were really stupid. Drivers should not have to worry about avoiding someone running towards them on the race track.

It is very unclear on the video if the motor rev noise was from Stewarts car. Even if it was, it appears he was off the throttle when Ward got hit.

Opinions are opinions and nothing more, nobody will ever really know exactly what happened. My opinion is that this was a terrible accidednt with no harm intended, I do not believe Stewart saw Ward until it was obviously too late.

So, in all of your infinite wisdom, answer this - which way would the rear end of Tony's sprint car had gone if he had jumped on the brakes? It's surely not to the left, and it's surely not going to come to a straight halt at those speeds.

Cmon! Did he hit the brakes????? Tyler Graves was right there and also says Tony gassed it sideways. He killed the guy, it's that simple. Tony himself has cracked and gone on the track to confront people, did they run him over?

If you are under caution and coming up upon the accident and safety workers are you not paying attention?????

Everyone needs to face it and realize Tony Stewart no mater his legacy is going to have to pay for his choice, in jail and lawsuit.

I will ask again, DID TONY HIT THE BRAKES?

Sprintfan16, in your infinate wisdom you are correct the car would go to the right but the friggin rear tire would not be spinning to suck him under it, it would have been stopped and just hit him instead of doing what it did.

There, now you have a little more wisdom.

@Still Looking,  This being only your 2nd post on this forum,  I believe you need to find another place to agitate. Regardless of all the other speculation concerning this tragic event, isn't it even quite possible that Tony never even saw the young man and had no idea that he had hit him until the impact?  Considering the banking of the track, the absence of good lighting and the obstruction created by the right side wing board,  this is very possible.  You may not care for Tony but you are wrong in your assumption that he is guilty of any crime.  Speaking of negligence, you shouldn't need look far to find it.

It's very easy to sit afterwards and second guess. This is a pretty simple scenario to me - Tony didn't see him until it was two late, tried to take instinctual evasive action and it didn't work out. 

This thing never happens if Ward isn't in a spot where he shouldn't be. It's very unfortunate that he lost his life in this incident, but the idea that no one can say he had a majority of fault in this incident because it's "disrespectful" is just stupid. It's a tragic incident but people need to get past the PC approach and call this situation for what it was. 

Why the blood lust? One driver is already dead; we don't need to maim another.

The caution flag was displayed, not the RED. Was Tyler driving Tony's car? Isn't Tyler friends with Ward? Is there a bias present?

You are making a lot of assumptions! Is it possible that Tony didn't see Ward until it was too late?

Read the first article I linked. Here's a clip that could be applied to Ward's accident,

The death was dubbed a "tragic accident" by Dave Pimentel, chief criminal deputy with the Grays Harbor County sheriff's office.

If the 45 car would have hit Ward, we'd be having a different discussion.

You need to be careful what you wish for. Tony has dedicated his life to racing and has given back a tremendous amount of time, energy, and money to the dirt track community. Suggesting that there was intent is misguided and may cause Tony to pause when it comes time to support another dirt track.

The Ward family needs our prayers and support, but so does Tony.

I just hope all the Agencies Involved read "Hoseheads" first before they base all of their facts on eyewitness reports and interviews of people that were actually there.

@cheroger    Not up for lipping off or getting in to a debate of degrade, if I wanted to I would have joined along time ago.

I have always chose to just read hoseheads and not get involved as a poster but the 'things to consider' thread that was started was assinine.

We all know the first mistake was getting out of the car in anger.

But we all know in our time behind the wheel of dirt cars that the last second mash of the gas that Tony did was to roost him. When you don't see a pedestrian until last minute is your first reaction to hit the gas or the brake? Tony is no dummy and I am sure saw the Kevin but I guarantee you did not intend to hit him.

Did Tony hit the brakes or the gas?

I dont hate Tony, never have, in fact I feel for him and hindsight is 20/20 and I am certain he regrets doing what he did.

There is two families in shock. Its terrible.

Who would you blame if the same accident happened and Tony was the one who got hit and killed? I have a feeling you would blame Tony for letting his hot head get him into a situation like this. I dont know if he hit the brakes but you can see that he didnt hit the throttle, the tires do not spin or create a "roost". It sad that folks like you seem to want it to be someones fault instead of seeing it for what it is, a horrible accident. Just be glad it wasnt you.

@cheroger      YOU WROTE    "Tony has dedicated his life to racing and has given back a tremendous amount of time, energy, and money to the dirt track community."

Does this mean he runs under different rules than you and I? You are sucked in, he also makes allot of money on guys like you and I, its a two way street. He is a good guy and does allot for others there is no doubt. He makes his living off buts in the seats and does give back.

Does this mean he can rip headphones off an official which he has done, break a girls back, mistreat people???? No, he is human like you and I and just another racer on the track. Whether it was Tony or some guy named Dave, it was wrong to hit the gas instead of the brakes.

that was @Hannity NOT @cheroger.

You signed up for hoseheads to come on here and troll? If you feel that strongly call the sherif on the case because it is getting sicking listening to people like you. 

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No driver is going to hit their brakes in that situation. Case in point the other 3-4drivers that almost hit Ward before Stewart especially the 45 car. If Tony was trying to "Roost" or itimidate Ward he would have to have a reason. He had none. Tony probably did not even know who the person was until after everything happened. Their was little to no contact and the accident that crashed Ward was a racing deal, which would cause to ill feeling towards Ward. Also, what the video does not show is where Tony is when Ward makes the two moves to his right and continues to move forward. Investigators said that speeds were around 35miles an hour and even at that closing rate even if Tony sees Ward, which I doubt he does given where the other cars are in front of him, he probably still hits Ward. Again, no driver is going to hit the brakes in that situatio, he hit the gas to try to help steer away from him. Let the investigators do their jobs and they will make the decision based on the evidence.

eyewitness interview at about 2:30...sped up called out...

http://foxnewsinsider.com/2014/08/11/witness-tony-stewart-sped-right-fatal-crash

Lincoln 1845 ft/.35 mile T1=118MPH 
Eldora 2287 ft/.43mile T3=135MPH
Port 2716 ft/.51 mile T3=TBD
Grove 2792 ft/.53 mile T3=135MPH
Selinsgrove 2847 ft/.54 mile T1=136MPH
"I didn't move to PA from El Paso in search of better 
weather." Van May

Just stop, a girls back got broken in an accident, but Tony certainly didnt break her back. What an ass.

From the video that was taken there is really no way to tell if he was on the gas or the brakes. There is no way to tell who did the engine rev to keep heat in the tires and Stewart doesn't come into frame until after the rev.

Stewart and Ward never made contact on the spin so he knows nothing about the caution until he comes around and the car is sitting there. Probably doesn't even realize he pushed the kid high and he spun out. There are no rescue or track crew at the car yet and it looks like a car waiting to get pushed back around and to the work area. No reason for Stewart to think a driver is walking on the track pissed at him and didn't see him until it was too late.

Until a video comes out showing Tony going thru the whole corner proving he gassed it and swerved its all speculation.

Curious if some of the people commenting have ever been in a race car on a dirt track. Vision is not as crystal clear as driving your car down the highway.