2nd Annual Tony Stewart/Kevin Ward Poll

[OldSchool+]

I believe that the thinking goes like this:

True, they will not get their son back, but...

They believe this suit will exonerate him and place blame on Tony, and...

They can make Tony "pay" by extracting cash from him, and...

Hey, money is money.

You are certainly entitled to your opinion. Do you have children?

Before I had kids, my buddy did, and in a late night conversation he said that if his kids had to...die, he wished he could die first.

I did not understand. Until I had kids.

It happens all the time, but IMO, it is sad and unfair that any parent has to outlive their child, regardless of circumstance.

[sport603]

I feel bad for the Ward family, but when Kevin decided to become a pedestrian on a racetrack nothing good was going to happen. I strongly feel that had the Ward family not been as vocal in demanding a prosecution Tony would have taken care of the family without this trial. Tony has been a very benevolent person over the years, while it may have been self serving I do think he would have taken care of them. The fact that I can't get over was that the kid was under the influence of marijuana. There won't be any winners in this trial, but I do understand the anger of the Ward's. I do support Tony in this trial and hope for the best for him. This has definitely weighed on him. He hasn't been the same driver since. Hopefully all will be satisfied when it's said and done but I doubt it, just a sad situation for everyone.

[exnyer]

Exactly, money is money.

[egspeedway]

Actually have compassion for both...

A tragedy all the way around. They lost their son, and Tony has suffered a huge personal loss in who he was as well.

For all the comments and passionate statements for/against etc. The above statement from Old School says it all and in the fewest words regardless of the outcome.

[zerofor]

Tony has shown his true personality on many occasions and has walked away with a slap on the wrists on each occasion.If what he gets stings more this time it is deservedly so.

[OldSchool+]

Yeah...

So, I suspect he has all the earlier momentary lapses really figured now.

Seems like the take-away is to realize how important it is to keep our own "red mist" under control, y'know?

[jnyg23]

Yeah that marijuana makes you rage enough to wrestle a racecar haha,

[JMITCH]

Having THC in your system and being under the influence are two different things.

[OldSchool+]

Clearly it has been shown that Mr Ward had measurable THC levels in his system. It is my understanding that they will appear up to two weeks later after ingesting. It has also been widely reported that Kevin "was under the influence of drugs"--and done so as a way of explanation/assignment of guilt.

Marijuana/THC has been used medicinally for years, and is now legal for recreational use in several states. Thus far, to my knowledge, there are no reliable standards for what is "acceptable" (or not acceptable) while operating a motor vehicle.

But Kevin's mistake was not while driving, and clearly involved anger, presumably for Tony's prior on track behavior.

Back in the day alcohol was used by drivers before they hit the track and I am pretty sure it has contributed to "anger related" issues over the years. Thankfully that is largely now a thing of the past.

But has anyone had any personal experience with someone that was under the influence of marijuana (without other drugs or alcohol being involved) that exhibited serious anger/rage symptoms?

[exnyer]

OS, it does not matter if it is drugs or alcohol, they are all mind altering substances.

It depends on the person and how they process it, I have seen people drink and they will be fine, other's want to take the whole bar on.

I have known people that have smoked pot, for the most part, no, they have not been angry or had rage. However, do not forget this is based on the person, some people have anger problems, some have a mental issue, some can have a short fuse and the pot will just make them less inhibited to control it.

Let's just assume for a second that the pot/thc in his system had nothing to do with it, let's also assume that Tony did want to run the kid over (who know's why) but let's just say that is what was happening that night, no matter what way you play it out, it still falls back on the Ward kid for walking down the track to the cars. If he stayed up by his car and the safety crew he would probably still be alive today and we would not be having this discussion today.

What made the kid walk down the track to the cars, who know's? Obviously he was mad at something, if he was under the influence that could have possibly made him have poor judgement or less self control or the kid could of simply have been a hothead.

The fact is, no one else is responsible for our safety, we are responsible for it and if we choose to put ourselves into dangerous situations then we must be prepared to handle the consequences of our actions. If in the event something happens when we put ourselves in a dangerous situation how can we turn around an put blame on someone else when we caused it.

[Benny The Mule]

Old school is correct. bad situation for all.

The incident, the pending civil suit and the single bad angle-grainy video release clearly shows Ward moving into the path of Tony's car. regardless of where Tony's actual path was. I have heard there are other videos from different angles but i haven't seen them. I disagree with the civil suit and no monies should be awarded. i see negligence on the (pedestrian's) part and not the driver..............regardless of who he is.

[OldSchool+]

In many cases there is more than one party that is negligent, and in this case, the lawsuit is dealing solely with Tony's culpability (or, that's how I think it works).

That aside for this discussion, I understand the point that it takes throttle to turn a sprint car.

And that being said, if the throttle had not been hit for whatever reason, it is likely (or at least far more likely) that Kevin would be here today.

IMO, the fact that it was depressed, and the reasons why, are at the heart of the discussion, and the lawsuit.

Tony and God really are the only two parties that absolutely know the Truth, and everything else, IMO, including court decisions, is speculation.

[falcon6]

Heartbreak

This thing really caused me to lose sleep. Canandaigua was my home track growing up. I ran my first race there in 1980 and have witnessed other tragic occurrences within its confines. The news of this accident broke my heart, and was a major loss for the short track racing community.

Tony Stewart's racing success cannot be disputed. Those who know him say he is a decent and generous man. Stewart has used his financial and celebrity status to promote short track racing and donate to those in need. On occasion, he has done some really stupid things on the race track. Because of this, it was believable that a Tony's recklessness may have ended Ward's life.

On the track that night, Stewart pulled a bit of a dick move by taking Ward's line. He was not totally clear to move up, but Ward's wheel was not in his sight, so all's fair. Ward could have breathed the throttle and crossed over to the inside instead of driving into the wall, but his judgement was obviously clouded. Drivers who raced with Ward have said (privately) that he had been acting erratically on and off the track, and suspected drug or mental problems. Toxicology reports showed levels of THC in Ward's system high enough to "cause impairment". Nothing wrong with smoking a little weed, but not on the track.

On the ensuing caution, I don't think Stewart saw Ward until it was too late. Canandaigua is a clay surface that really sticks to your face and impairs vision. You can only load so many tear-offs on your face shield before your view is distorted. There is also a wing in the field of view where Ward was coming from. On caution laps, drivers also tend to ease their concentration from the track. You check your gauges, pull your belts tight, take a deep breath and visualize the coming restart. The driver directly ahead of Stewart said that Ward "came out of nowhere" and if Ward was a few feet lower on the track he would have hit him. Ward made a stupid move by charging Stewart's car. The clay surface may have caused him to slip down the track into Stewart's path, but the whole thing was just stupid on his part.

So was Stewart partially at fault? He was there, and some would say that is unfair to local racers. Personally, I would relish the opportunity to race against national talent.

I felt sympathy for the Ward family at the loss of their son, but now that they have dredged this whole matter back up again they can suck it. Their son was an idiot and it cost him his life. His actions caused immense sorrow to his family and will haunt Stewart for the rest of his life.

[OldSchool+]

Clearly you are deeply knowledgeable, and thank you for your insight.

But none of that accounts for the fateful throttle blip. If it wasn't for that, I would be right there with you, but if it wasn't for that, we may not be having the discussion.

Clearly though, Karnac voters believe 3 to 1 in supporting Tony.

[OldSchool+]

To be clear: Am not "mad" at Tony. Don't "hate" him. Don't want to see him "get his" in any way.

It's just...he is no longer one of my favorites. No longer can I find it in my heart to pull for him against all odds. No longer will it be fun (like it used to be) when he gets out of a car looking for Kenseth, helmet in hand.

Instead, am looking forward to him retiring as a driver and running his Teams and tracks.

And again, feel bad for Tony regardless. It is a Blessing that is not a burden I carry. And it is a Blessing that each of us can be Forgiven, regardless of circumstance.

It is right there for the asking.