NASCAR's Stewart Hits, Kills Driver on NY Track

[Jeff]

What a shame, Tony might want to leave those dirt tracks alone, last year he broke his leg and was out of Nascar for a while ( yes I am sure he was paid but he is also partial owner of the team) so with all this bad luck it may be time to settle down and just concentrate on winning in Nascar.



NASCAR driver Tony Stewart struck and killed a sprint car driver who had climbed from his car and was on the track trying to confront Stewart during a race in upstate New York on Saturday night.
Ontario County Sheriff Philip Povero said his department's investigation is not criminal and that Stewart was "fully cooperative" and appeared "very upset" over what had happened



http://www.newsmax.com/US/US-Tony-Stewart-Crash/2014/08/10/id/587854/

[SassyLady]

I saw this and thought the same thing. However, as the ex-wife of a sprint car driver it's hard to get an adrenaline junkie to stop racing. I bet it will be hard for him not to race today.

I used to stand down in the pits and watch until I saw a car spin in turn 4 and head straight through the pits and ran over an official (Santa Maria, CA track). It happened right in front of me and I'll never forget that sight. We lost a driver in 2012 at Calistoga Speedway (I used to live on the fairgrounds where the track is located). It was always a wild, wild weekend when the Outlaws came to race against NARC. Those were the days of Kinser, Swindell, Kaeding, Jac Haudenschild. We never raced at Calistoga cause hubby was race track promoter. P.S. We built the track in Hanford, CA in the 80's. Those were the days of speed, and more speed!!

Read the article closely and you'll see Tony did well here too.




In 1937, as the Model A was dominating America’s roadways when a promoter with the colorful nickname of “Fancy Pants” came to Calistoga with a ‘fancy’ idea. He believed the town’s horse racing track was ideal for another kind of horsepower. He persuaded the town’s leaders to promote a car race on the Napa County Fairgrounds. About a dozen cars showed up for an afternoon of hippodrome-style speed exhibitions. It was the beginning of a tradition that has endured for over 70 years.

Except for the years of World War II, when all racing in the nation was put on hold to conserve fuel and rubber, Calistoga Speedway has hosted open-wheel race cars. From spindly wire-wheeled wonders with four-cylinder engines to midgets and the V-8 powered, winged and modern sprint cars of today, Calistoga’s first racing heroes were family names that are still found in the Napa Valley, such as Figone, Normi, and Pacheteau.

The first races were sanctioned by the Bay Cities Roadster Racing Association and later the American Racing Association. The track hit its stride as a racing destination under the nurturing hand of another well-known Calistogan, Louie Vermeil, owner of the former Owl Garage on Washington Street, whose association with the track spanned over 40 years. Initially, he was a mechanic and later a car owner. By 1960, Vermeil and others had formed the Northern Auto Racing Club, now known as the Golden State Challenge Series, to boost the professionalism of sprint car racing. For the next 25 years, Calistoga Speedway was known as the “home” of the Northern Auto Racing Club while Vermeil presided as president.

Some things have changed over the years. Admission price in the early years was a mere 55 cents. The fastest cars of the hippodrome days took more than 30 seconds to turn a lap on the half-mile oval. To be sure, they were daring speeds at the time in rough cars with narrow tires. But they seem tortoise-like compared to speeds of modern sprint cars, which rocket down the long straightaways twice as fast at more than 120 miles an hour.

Over the years, Calistoga Speedway has hosted some of the best drivers of their eras. Indy car veterans Jim Hurtubise, Bob Veith, Freddie Agabasion (’52 Indy pole winner), and Earl Motter raced here in the ’50s and ’60s. Some of the best race car drivers of the next generation took their place, including 20-time World of Outlaws champion Steve Kinser and Tony Stewart, who has gone on to win championships in the United States Auto Club, the Indy Racing League, and NASCAR stock cars. Many of the drivers on the track’s all-time win list became nationally known for their talent, even if they raced primarily in Northern California, as the track gained a reputation for requiring the best effort of the area’s best drivers in order to win.

Today, Calistoga Speedway continues its tradition of presenting special events for some of the region’s most competitive racing series, including the winged sprint cars of the traveling Civil War and Golden State Challenge series and the traditional sprint cars and midgets of the United States Auto Club.
by Bill Sessa

[Jeff]

I just found this now and it gives another view of what happened, it looks like to me, after watching Tony have all those temper tantrums over the years that he put the guy into the wall because the guy was crowding him and then he ran him over, the video sure enough looks like he had plenty of room to go low but he didn't, if they can prove that Tony did this because he was mad they need to throw the book at him !!!



A new video has been released showing Tony Stewart hitting a 20-yr old sprint car driver on the race track during the Empire Super Sprints series on Saturday night.




http://clashdaily.com/2014/08/shocking-video-nascars-tony-stewart-kills-20-year-old-sprint-car-driver/

[SassyLady]

Yes, that's how fast it happens and it looked just like this. Get too close and those open wheels grab hold of you and drag you down and under.

Sad, sad day for everyone involved. If there are other angles that show Stewart deliberately trying to scare the guy and then ran him over because both of them were hot headed, he will probably be charged with vehicular homicide.

This should be a lesson to all the friggin hotheads out there that losing your temper and throwing a tantrum has consequences.....quite possibly a death for one and a ruined life for the other.

A racing death is always tragic, but to be run over by a competitor during a temper tantrum is absolutely heartbreaking for the lives ruined.

[SassyLady]

Looks like he won't be charged:



Tony Stewart accident: No evidence of criminal intent, sheriff says


http://www.latimes.com/sports/sportsnow/la-sp-sn-tony

-stewart-accident-race-20140810-story.html

[Jeff]

Looks like he won't be charged:




http://www.latimes.com/sports/sportsnow/la-sp-sn-tony

-stewart-accident-race-20140810-story.html

I read this earlier but to be honest I have seen Tony throw his hissy fits on the big track in front of millions, I am afraid he is getting a pass because of his celebrity status, but all the articles I have seen say he Probably wont be charged , so I guess time will tell.

[SassyLady]

His team spokesperson almost caused a horrible PR situation by saying of course he'll race Sunday "it's business as usual".

Truthfully, I think he would have been a danger to all the other drivers because something like this has to make you weary and distracted. If he had raced it might have caused him more trouble than he has currently with his PR status.

[Jeff]

His team spokesperson almost caused a horrible PR situation by saying of course he'll race Sunday "it's business as usual".

Truthfully, I think he would have been a danger to all the other drivers because something like this has to make you weary and distracted. If he had raced it might have caused him more trouble than he has currently with his PR status.

No doubt, Everyone knows Tony is a major Hot Head and he has gone after young drivers throughout his career. if he had drove he would of looked unfeeling which honestly many feel he is.

[Gunny]

Yeah, he's a hot head. That's kind of where I draw the line though. Being a hot head does not make one guilty of murder. I don't think he had a chance to miss. Stuff's happening too fast and those cars don't turn on dirt like they do pavement.

A horrible accident? Yeah. Could it have been avoided? Yeah. What's rule number 1 for drivers? If it ain't on fire, stay in your car. I see everyone being real quick to try and make this about Tony Stewart, but HE was actually doing what he was supposed to. Ward on the other hand, was charging a sprint car on a race track full of sprint cars.

The media needs a new hobby. Reporting the news would be nice instead trying to create it. ;)

[Jeff]

Yeah, he's a hot head. That's kind of where I draw the line though. Being a hot head does not make one guilty of murder. I don't think he had a chance to miss. Stuff's happening too fast and those cars don't turn on dirt like they do pavement.

A horrible accident? Yeah. Could it have been avoided? Yeah. What's rule number 1 for drivers? If it ain't on fire, stay in your car. I see everyone being real quick to try and make this about Tony Stewart, but HE was actually doing what he was supposed to. Ward on the other hand, was charging a sprint car on a race track full of sprint cars.

The media needs a new hobby. Reporting the news would be nice instead trying to create it. ;)

I agree with ya Gunny 100% but most every driver has gotten out of the car at one pointy or another ( hell I watched Tony get out many times ) as for Tony I watched him try to kill Kenseth when at 190 mph he chased him down into the infield in Daytona, he went into the grass as well as Matt trying to wreck him, but as you said things happen so quickly and Tony isn't a idiot, he has a lot to lose if he was charged let alone convicted.

[Gunny]

I agree with ya Gunny 100% but most every driver has gotten out of the car at one pointy or another ( hell I watched Tony get out many times ) as for Tony I watched him try to kill Kenseth when at 190 mph he chased him down into the infield in Daytona, he went into the grass as well as Matt trying to wreck him, but as you said things happen so quickly and Tony isn't a idiot, he has a lot to lose if he was charged let alone convicted.

You could be right. I'm going face value here. So Stewart ran him into the wall. Part of the game. Your 160 pound body charging a ton of steel isn't. I think Stewart is all hype and I'd have NO problem kicking his ass. I'm gonna wait 'til he's in the pit though. Not doing 80 mph on I-10.

I watched the video a few times. No way could stewart have reacted in time to do anything but see how many times he could roll that buggy. And it STILL would have nailed Ward's ass to the dirt.

I get these morons all day in their Euro-racers buzzing around my truck like it's invisible. A a big, 1 ton red truck. Can't miss it if you can legally see. If I hit the breaks you're dead. Might scratch my bumper as it crushes your windshield and everyone behind it.

People are stupid. They do stupid things. I blame Ward's death on him thinking he was bigger than a sprint car. As big, hardass and tough as I am, I never thought I was bigger than a car. :)