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

Tony Stewart-Kevin Ward incident has led to few changes in Sprint Car racing, especially in the area of drug testing

I personally feel it's time. With Tony owning the All Stars, he should be the one to lead the way!! Look what has happend to him because of a POT HEAD!!!

+1

It has the changed the sport for me. My favorite driver hasn't been in a sprint car since that night. I have been watching Smoke race sprint cars for 20+ years and I fear he may never get in one again. 

Agreed.  Nobody else has put a foot forward to do so, I imagine he would be as motivated to impliment as anybody.  The only challenge I see is how do you account for the testing of not only the travellers but the local tracks and local racers that join you night in and night out.  How do you account for the drivers tests and have the tests done in a cost effective manner that doesn't drive away teams due to cost.  That's the true challenge. 

You're exactly right. Sprint car racing has always been very loosely organized and that's one of the things that has always made it appealing to me. In baseball, if you're a first basemen on a double-A club, you're not going to be stepping up to the plate against Clayton Kershaw unless you become a major leaguer. In sprint car racing, the amatuers are welcome to come to a WoO race and try their best against the professionals. While it has been something that made sprint car racing great, as with most other things, it's proving to be a double edged sword since this unfortunate ACCIDENT took place. It could be very hard, if not impossible to put something effective into place. That being said, I think this is something that SHOULD police itself. Blame the dope all you want but none of us will ever know for certain if it was a contributing factor but what do know for sure, is that a young man lost his cool, acted irresponsibly and regardless of what anyone thinks Tony did or didn't do, it ultimately cost him his life. I have my opinions about how his family is handling this and they aren't nice at all so out of respect for them, I'll just leave it at that. But the fact is, this should be something that every driver thinks about BEFORE he makes the choice to use his car to smash into someone else under caution to show his displeasure or walks out on the Speedway and gestures and/or throws something whether it be a helmet, steering wheel or whatever else at a driver who they're pissed at. Yes Tony has down all of the above in the past as has 90% of the drivers who have ever raced anything. I hope that whatever comes of this deal, that it changes things for the BETTER and that all starts with how each and every driver, owner, crew member or anyone else involved, handles themselves in times of anger. There are a lot of unknowns here and there always will be but the facts, although few, are very obvious and the fact is, if Kevin Ward Jr. had stayed in his car and went up to Tony in the pits after the race to express his displeasure, none of this ever would've happened. And now, his family and friends, regardless of what we think of them, has lost a loved one far too soon and a man who has done more than anyone for the very sport Kevin and the Ward family loved along with all of us, has to live with this outcome every single day regardless of how much money it costs him. This is a perfect and tragic example of how one mistake that only took a few seconds to make, can cause so much pain. 

I agree.  With so many different racing organizations and tracks it would be almost impossible.  Maybe something like the trucking industry uses would work.  Initial test and then be in a pool where there is a chance of being pulled for a random test.  Problem is who is going to govern it.  

I have noticed everywhere we Race they tell us to stay in the car under Yellow or Red unless we're on Fire.

The reason nothing a changed that much I feel is because what Ward did was so ridiculous. Ward's family showing their true colors now with this lawsuit. Not about getting "justice" it's about trying to fill their pockets, hopefully Stewart doesnt just cut them a check and be done with it which im sure he will do and what most people would do.

Nothing will be done until they are forced to do it. I am really surprised that the insurance carriers for the tracks and series haven't forced the issue.  

Another +1

I really don't see any reason why he would just take the "easy" way out (easy to say about someone else's money). 

What is the Ward family going to do if he does not?  Drag his name through the mud?  They have done that about as much as possible already.

B.O.S.S. has been doing all year...

http://buckeyesprints.com/rules.html

Parents of Kevin Ward Jr interviewed by ABC

 
 
 
They don't even know how to spell sprint car 
much less chromoly...http://www.ycmco.com

Thank you for the link. I will be looking into it.

  If sanctioning bodies and tracks would do drug testing. I'm sure insurace rates would drop at least slightly.

a grand jury already said there was no evidence against tony.

the only thing tony can be blamed for is being on the same track with a guy who got out of his car on a live track and ran into oncoming cars because he tried to drive around tony and slid off the track and crashed.

to indy and beyond!!

Lawyers always say there is no such thing as an accident. Stewart will probably settle out of court. It will never get to civil trial.

These are the kinds of things that will push more small tracks/promoters out of business.

i don't know if it is true but i heard said that tony paid for the funeral.

i would think that unless he was advised against it for legal reasons, tony would have already tried to appease the wards with some type of compensation.

seems to me the wards just want to be able to officially take the blame for the incident and put it on tony.  i think that is the whole motivation. i don't think they can accept the fact that their kid did what he did, for whatever reason, so they need to try to transfer blame to someone else.

to indy and beyond!!