Tony Stewart, this is not good

[widgeon13]

Nasty situation for everyone, pretty senseless. Guy should have stayed in his car.

AOL.com Article - NASCAR's Stewart hits, kills driver on NY track

[pavulon]

that looks like at least manslaughter, maybe more.

[KFC911]

Have no idea if "Smoke" also lost his cool (and could have avoided him) or it was just stupidity on the other driver's part to exit his car and TRY to attack a 3000 lb lethal weapon...wouldn't be the first time I've seen that either. Tragic either way imo...RIP. Just goes to show how one's life can be changed/ended in an instant of utter stupidity...

edited: I couldn't see the vid posted, but had seen the report on the news without video. Does it "appear" intentional?

[Baz]

[Schrup]

He appears to hit the throttle as he makes contact.

[rfuerst911sc]

It's being reported that Stewart gunned the engine supposedly with the intent to spray the driver with dirt, but the car slid out and hit the other driver. Stupid and sad/senseless. I get the heat of the moment but you have to remember you are driving a potential lethal weapon. Will be interesting if charges are filed, condolences to the deceased and his family.

[KFC911]

Thanks for posting that vid Baz. I watched it a few times and simply can't tell although you can certainly hear him gun the engine. Appears like TS "could" have moved over more to his left however and did the exact opposite. It'll have to be analyzed in slow-motion....certainly not looking good for TS from my perspective however...but I doubt if even a manslaughter charge would stick. WTF was the deceased driver thinking? ....Oh that's right, he wasn't thinking . Tragic for all parties involved imo...

[Baz]

I dunno guys......

My first thought is that other driver shouldn't have left his race car and wandered into the path of the other cars which were still racing.

You also have to wonder why a caution flag wasn't dropped the minute his car went into the wall and stopped.

And where were the corner workers and track marshals?

Of course......that does not excuse Stewart of any wrong doing. It just adds questions to the whole situation.

Ultimately a detailed technical review must be done with how Stewart behaved as he approached the other driver.

If he drove into him - whether to spray him with dirt or otherwise, I'm afraid he will receive some portion of responsibility - and whatever form of punishment that goes along with that.

[dennis in se pa]

Whether intentionally, or unintentionally, it appears from that video that Tony is responsible. Great men make great mistakes.

[FastCarFan]

Originally Posted by Baz

I dunno guys......

My first thought is that other driver shouldn't have left his race car and wandered into the path of the other cars which were still racing.

You also have to wonder why a caution flag wasn't dropped the minute his car went into the wall and stopped.

And where were the corner workers and track marshals?

Of course......that does not excuse Stewart of any wrong doing. It just adds questions to the whole situation.

Ultimately a detailed technical review must be done with how Stewart behaved as he approached the other driver.

If he drove into him - whether to spray him with dirt or otherwise, I'm afraid he will receive some portion of responsibility - and whatever form of punishment that goes along with that.

I read an article that said a yellow had been thrown & the incident happened under caution.

[Baz]

Originally Posted by FastCarFan

I read an article that said a yellow had been thrown & the incident happened under caution.

OK thanks - that's what I would have expected.

[Nathans_Dad]

Yellow flag was out, Stewart gunned his engine as he drove by which kicked out the rear of the car and he ran over the other driver with his rear tire. Threw the guy about 50 feet. He apparently had his crew change the tire in the pits, hopefully the police grabbed it.

Stewart's always been an a-hole, this is ridiculous though. Bet he ends up with manslaughter charges.

[URY914]

TS will be hung out to dry for this one. He is about 95% responsible.

[Nickshu]

Originally Posted by Nathans_Dad

He apparently had his crew change the tire in the pits, hopefully the police grabbed it.

Oooh. They're gonna be lovin' him all day and all night in the big house.

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by Nickshu

Oooh. They're gonna be lovin' him all day and all night in the big house.

Nope....even IF a manslaughter charge is pursued...he'll "beat" it imo. RICH folks have different outcomes than the rest of us .

[mikesride]

Oh my......my heart just sank watching that video. What a waste.
I feel so sorry for that young mans family, and I cant imagine what Stewart thought he was doing and how he must be feeling right now.
Do you guys see jail time? or at least an end to his public career?

[URY914]

His lawyers are putting in some overtime hours today.

[Skytrooper]

This track is only about 20 minutes from my house. It is a shame that it even happened. The deceased driver shouldn't have been out of his car unless it was on fire. TS, if the track was under yellow should have been more aware. In the AOL article (posted above) that his view was blocked by a car in front of him that swerved to miss the deceased driver, TS may have hit the gas to try a last minute avoidance of accident....who knows. It will be interesting to see how this all unfolds. I bet it is the last time TS runs at Canandaigua. Last year some overly ambitious driving on his part damn near paralyzed a young driver and wrecked 15 cars. I mean it is nice to have a professional come and play on the local track but the locals are not in the same league as TS, he should tone it down a little.

[Gogar]

Looks to me like two men made one bad choice each.

[Nathans_Dad]

The current theory is Stewart wanted to spray the guy with dirt on his way by and overgunned it. Either way he's got to see jail time.