Tony Stewart runs over another racer...

[vraiblonde]

but this one died. DIED.

That seems like a reasonable conclusion, considering he walked out in front of a bunch of race cars.

 

[DipStick]

I want to make sure I understand this before I comment:

In the middle of a race a driver spins out (or did he pull over? I can't find a complete account anywhere), gets out of his car, starts walking across the track (while cars are still racing and in motion), gets hit by one of those cars....and that makes the driver who hit him a murderer??? And he may face criminal charges?

If that is the case, that is the most ####ing asinine thing I've ever heard in my life and they should just ban racing altogether. Clearly it's dangerous and what's to prevent some other driver from leaping from his car into the path of oncoming racers? I mean, is that normal - drivers jumping out of their car in the middle of a race? Why is that allowed? Do the racing people not realize it's dangerous to jump in front of oncoming cars?

Seriously, help me here because I cannot for the life of me understand how someone jumping out in front of a bunch of fast moving cars makes the guy who hit him a murderer.

It's not uncommon for a driver to get out of his car under caution and show his displeasure towards another driver. It's often just some kind of gesture or the driver throwing something at another driver. I've never seen a driver get that close to another car though.

 

[Hank]

That seems like a reasonable conclusion, considering he walked out in front of a bunch of race cars.

Bet he doesn't do it again..... Too soon?

 

[Ken King]

Bet he doesn't do it again..... Too soon?

Nah, too soon would be saying a comedian/actor finally got the headline they always sought - Robin Williams Hung!

 

[MMM_donuts]

That's what I figured. There is no logic to it, that I can see. I thought maybe I missed something and could change my mind with more information. Well, it would keep your spouse from cheating on you, right? I guess I always thought of racing as the last truly "manly" mainstream sport, since the NFL decided to penalize taunting and excessive celebration. It's sad to see that it's gone this way. What should have happened is that Ward jumped out with his dukes up, got killed, and everyone chalked it up to stupid human tricks. Fans ruin every sport with their nonsense.

What is/was manly about car racing?

 

[mamatutu]

I can't see Stewart being charged with anything. I can't believe a famous driver, like Stewart, would deliberately hit another driver, and jeopardize his career, and on top of that being directly responsible for killing someone. Ward should have never been running into the traffic. And, everything happens so fast in those races. Maybe, if this had occurred in broad daylight, Ward wouldn't be dead; he is really hard to see in the video. JMO, Stewart is not responsible.

 

[DipStick]

There is already a new rule issued prohibiting drivers from leaving their vehicles while on teh track, except in extenuating circumstances like fire. Saw that reported just today. Not sure if it only covers that one race track..the class..or what.

It's a profoundly stupid rule. NASCAR drivers are already surrounded by an army of safety officials by the time they get their window net down. When these drivers throw helmets or flip other drivers off, they do it from a distance and are kept back by safety officials. What's NASCAR going to be showing in their promo for The Night Race at Bristol? They're going to be showing drivers throwing helmets and stuff like that. When NASCAR shows promos for the Daytona 500, they're going to be showing "the fight". And now, all this emotion that NASCAR itself and its television partners promote the sport on has been taken out of the sport.

 

[MMDad]

It's a profoundly stupid rule. NASCAR drivers are already surrounded by an army of safety officials by the time they get their window net down. When these drivers throw helmets or flip other drivers off, they do it from a distance and are kept back by safety officials. What's NASCAR going to be showing in their promo for The Night Race at Bristol? They're going to be showing drivers throwing helmets and stuff like that. When NASCAR shows promos for the Daytona 500, they're going to be showing "the fight". And now, all this emotion that NASCAR itself and its television partners promote the sport on has been taken out of the sport.

Do you honestly think that throwing helmets at moving cars is an important part of racing that should be preserved? How about returning to the good old days, before it became rasslin and when they actually drove "stock" cars, and make it about racing?

 

[DipStick]

Do you honestly think that throwing helmets at moving cars is an important part of racing that should be preserved? How about returning to the good old days, before it became rasslin and when they actually drove "stock" cars, and make it about racing?

If the racing was like this past weekend at Watkins Glen, that alone would fill seats up. But that's become the exception rather than the norm. But, emotion is part of the sport. I mean, what race put NASCAR on the map and turned it in to a national sport?

I hate stick and ball analogies but this would be like banning fights in hockey or fining NFL players for spiking the ball in the endzone. Emotion is part of sports, at all levels.

NASCAR has just implemented this rule and, while having this rule in place, their promos for the Daytona 500 will feature "The Fight" and they're going to produce documentaries on FOX and NBC about fights in NASCAR racing. It's total hypocrisy on their part.


Maybe NASCAR will give the drivers a cell phone when they get out of the car so they can send an angry tweet to the driver who wrecked them.

 

[vraiblonde]

What is/was manly about car racing?

You didn't think so? I just always thought of those guys as cowboys, really cool. Race car drivers. Chick racers were even cooler - Shirley Muldowney had more balls than most men.

Other sports guys just didn't have that same hot factor.

 

[vraiblonde]

Do you honestly think that throwing helmets at moving cars is an important part of racing that should be preserved?

YES!!! And when you get run over, you take it like a man.

 

[Merlin99]

It's a profoundly stupid rule. NASCAR drivers are already surrounded by an army of safety officials by the time they get their window net down. When these drivers throw helmets or flip other drivers off, they do it from a distance and are kept back by safety officials. What's NASCAR going to be showing in their promo for The Night Race at Bristol? They're going to be showing drivers throwing helmets and stuff like that. When NASCAR shows promos for the Daytona 500, they're going to be showing "the fight". And now, all this emotion that NASCAR itself and its television partners promote the sport on has been taken out of the sport.

Apparently they needed one more safety rule "Don't play in traffic unless surrounded by a ton of metal".

 

[DipStick]

 

[Larry Gude]

YES!!! And when you get run over, you take it like a man.

...yeah! And not lying down!!!


Wait...

 

[Larry Gude]

Or if Tony had just let him win. Then Ward wouldn't have gotten mad and jumped out of his car into oncoming traffic. I mean, is winning a car race worth someone's life??? Just let the young guy win next time if he's going to get all pissed off and commit suicide.

Right?

Tony Stewart is a top level NASCAR racer who happens to love racing so much he competes against lower tier people at small events in between big races. Some, it seems, resent him for this because it keeps lower tier guys from winning sometimes. This kid, Ward, has a cousin, a girl actually, who races and was in an altercation with Stewart in the past where it seems they feel like Stewart crashed her and broke her back so there was already bad blood.

Obviously, to lower level people, there is a lot more on the line because they don't have the money or fame and their investment in time and energy and money is much greater than Stewart. Another NASCAR millionaire getting spun out is relatively meaningless; one of your 50 guys fixes the car and rubbin' is racin'. If you're a weekend guy, a lower level person, it just means a LOT more.

So, that is why Ward was so pissed; existing bad blood, hot shot who shouldn't even be there runs up under him, into the wall and loss of cool.

Imagine, if you will, Tiger Woods playing the local hacks for the City championship in between his major events. And he gets up under the local hot shot, bumps his cousins golf cart into, say, the marigolds or something. Then, Tiger comes back again and rubs yet another golf cart into the rough so, local hot shot, hot head, grabs his Winnie the Pooh driver cover and waits for Tiger to come back around, throws it at him, Tiger flinches and runs the guys Foot Joys over. It's like that. Only worse.

 

[SoMDGirl42]

Yes. This.


The kid got out of his car because he was a testosterone fueled 20 year old competing in an adrenaline rich environment that thrives off of that type of behavior. And Tony Stewart is known to be emotionally reckless and vindictive on the race track.

We can speculate all we want. It could have been avoided had Tony Stewart not been an ass and shoved him into the wall in the first place.

:fixed:

 

[Gilligan]

It's a profoundly stupid rule. NASCAR drivers are already surrounded by an army of safety officials by the time they get their window net down. When these drivers throw helmets or flip other drivers off, they do it from a distance and are kept back by safety officials. What's NASCAR going to be showing in their promo for The Night Race at Bristol? They're going to be showing drivers throwing helmets and stuff like that. When NASCAR shows promos for the Daytona 500, they're going to be showing "the fight". And now, all this emotion that NASCAR itself and its television partners promote the sport on has been taken out of the sport.

So...you want it both ways..or what? You lost me...

 

[SG_Player1974]

Not a true race fan but....

Didn't I hear a report that said it wasn't even Stewart that caused Ward to wreck? Or was that speculation and the wreck was proven to be caused by Stewart?

 

[Gilligan]

Apparently they needed one more safety rule "Don't play in traffic unless surrounded by a ton of metal".

We were not allowed out of our offroad racers while on the track (or off in the weeds or whatever because we lost it) while the race was still underway until cleared to do so by a track official. That often meant you had to sit and stew for a while.

 

[Gilligan]

Another perspective....or at least more perspective anyway..

http://www.motorsport.com/nascar-cup/news/the-tony-stewart-kevin-ward-jr-debate-i-m-out-done-no-mas/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Formula1-Integrated-Feeds+%28Formula+1+Integrated+Feeds%29