The Official Dirt Track Racing Thread

#79
#79
My abridged version from another post:

Sprint cars have limited to zero visibility for the drivers on the right side. He was wearing a black fire suit and helmet on a dimmly lit track. The 45 car barely missed him, and he was still moving down the track once that car passed. My guess is Tony did not see him until it was too late. Sprint cars are a handful to drive at race speed and even harder going 30-40 mph. The only way to get the car to turn that quick was to get on the gas.

I feel sorry for the friends and family of the man who lost his life. And without trying to sound cruel, he should have never gotten out of his car.
 
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#80
#80
robbymoore94 said:
My abridged version from another post:

Sprint cars have limited to zero visibility for the drivers on the right side. He was wearing a black fire suit and helmet on a dimmly lit track. The 45 car barely missed him, and he was still moving down the track once that car passed. My guess is Tony did not see him until it was too late. Sprint cars are a handful to drive at race speed and even harder going 30-40 mph. The only way to get the car to turn that quick was to get on the gas.

I feel sorry for the friends and family of the man who lost his life. And without trying to sound cruel, he should have never gotten out of his car.
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Robby, have you been finding these sort of confrontation antics happening at the tracks you visit?
 
#81
#81
Not really. Most of the time drivers in either wait until the pits, still not the safest situation, or they might both get out of their cars if they are both stopped. The later is highly irregular.
 
#83
#83
I watched the video and it seems like there was an opportunity to avoid this tragedy. Ward made his way further down to the track and I believe Tony was intending on displaying his anger about the situation too.

Never for a second believe he truly wanted to run the guy over, but his intent (which is what is going to be hard to prove) IMO, was to drive his car near the kid to either:

A. Yell at him at close range
B. Rev his engine
C. Make a gesture

Don't know if they will ever get the whole story though. Two people know what really happened and one of them is dead.
 
#84
#84
Perhaps I am not understanding the point above, and I have no background in this AT ALL. But when I watch the video, it does not look to me like TS' car swerves out via the right rear tire, as though it was the back corner that caught the guy. Rather, it looks to me like the car drives toward the right, front end leading.

And that frankly makes me a little suspicious of the claim that he did not see Ward because there was some distance after the first car passes and TS' car gets there. Now whether TS meant to actually hit him is one thing, and whether Ward is also at fault for walking towards TS' car or down the track is another issue as well. But watching the video I get the impression that TS may have driven towards Ward.

If I am Ward's family, I am frankly going to have a lot of questions and suspicions.
 
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#85
#85
Could they prosecute him based on "intent" whether or not the least desirable outcome occurred LG?

I mean, in a court room, could a judge/jury say, "Yeah we get it that you didn't mean to actually kill the kid, but you "intending" on driving dangerously close to him when you could have chose to avoid him by a greater distance."

Is that something they could do?
 
#86
#86
TXA&M07 said:
Could they prosecute him based on "intent" whether or not the least desirable outcome occurred LG?

I mean, in a court room, could a judge/jury say, "Yeah we get it that you didn't mean to actually kill the kid, but you "intending" on driving dangerously close to him when you could have chose to avoid him by a greater distance."

Is that something they could do?
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Not being familiar with the laws of where this occurred (and that will be state by state), I imagine there is a manslaughter, or low level homicide charge, that might be available where the claim is that, even if he did not have the intent to hurt him, or even necessarily to strike him at all, he acted so recklessly that it rises to a criminal level.
 
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#87
#87
That's kinda what I was thinking. I think he got close and wanted to be close. What happened next was tragic.

I also agree that Ward played a significant role in his own death. He was equally as negligent in his self preservation the moment he got out of the car. He then proceeded willingly down lower on to the track. Both sides are at fault to a degree IMO.

Where does a case like this go from here considering they're still in the exploratory part of the process? Should Tony continue racing in the immediate future? What kind of impact might that play on the social aspect of any potential indictments?
 
#89
#89
With all due respect to lawyers, as they do have a purpose, I really hope this does not go to court. It could lead down a slippery slop, and at the bottom of the hill is the entire racing industry.
 
#90
#90
Just to give you a better idea of the right side of a sprint car. This is one of Tony Stewart Racing's car. Add the extended headrest, and you can get a better idea of the limited viewing area.
 

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#91
#91
lawgator1 said:
Perhaps I am not understanding the point above, and I have no background in this AT ALL. But when I watch the video, it does not look to me like TS' car swerves out via the right rear tire, as though it was the back corner that caught the guy. Rather, it looks to me like the car drives toward the right, front end leading.

And that frankly makes me a little suspicious of the claim that he did not see Ward because there was some distance after the first car passes and TS' car gets there. Now whether TS meant to actually hit him is one thing, and whether Ward is also at fault for walking towards TS' car or down the track is another issue as well. But watching the video I get the impression that TS may have driven towards Ward.

If I am Ward's family, I am frankly going to have a lot of questions and suspicions.
Click to expand...

To my understanding, TS's car wasn't damaged or made less driveable by the initial "contact" between his car and Ward's which caused Ward to hit the wall and crash. (I can't decide if TS's car touched Ward's or just really pinched him into wall).

So, there was absolutely no reason at all for TS to be upset in that situation, except maybe at himself for squeezing the guy into the wall. Add to that the fact the whole incident occurred in a matter of seconds and on the very next lap that TS made, and it makes no sense to me that TS had reason or time to be upset enough to want to hurt or scare Ward. Not saying TS hasn't shown that characteristic before, but I just don't see it here.

I am a Nascar fan and not a TS fan in the least. I just don't see it. I think the kid just surprised TS with no time left for TS to react, for good or bad.
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