Sad & shocking, but...............

[Mega]

Not happy about this, a young man has lost his life for nothing.........but it goes to show that a COOL head is worth more at times.

I fear people in the Whitehouse are just like him.
Mike

[flintlock]

Re: Sad & shocking, but...............

Think it was on purpose?

[GRG55]

Re: Sad & shocking, but...............

Think it was on purpose?

Flintlock, you can't be serious.

The last thing a race car driver is looking for is someone walking in the middle of the track. Compound that with the fact this is a sprint car race on a wetted clay track with a lot of dirt flying, they are racing at night under lights, and the driver that got hit was in a dark racing suit walking across the middle of the track on the exit from the turn. The line that a sprint racer takes is less exact than an F1 car on their special track surface.

Darwin award comes to mind...

[kescwi]

Re: Sad & shocking, but...............

I'm not a big race fan but along with your observations, it is my understanding that these cars don't have radios, so no spotter to tell Stewart that Ward was on the track at a time when Stewart may well have been preoccupied checking gauges and getting slowed down. These cars have a large wing on the front, limiting visibility, and they are designed for the back end to slide out in turns and the accelerator is actually used to help steer the car through a turn.

It seems the car in front of Stewart swerves, hits the breaks and almost strikes the kid and that may explain why it looks like Stewart drives up into the kid and hits the accelerator, when Stewart may have only been trying to avoid rear ending the car in front of him and get the car turning, never knowing Ward was standing there until it was to late.

I grew up in Indiana and have family friends, along with my step sons paternal family in New England in kart, midget, sprint... racing who have talked about Stewart in the past and I am aware of his aggressive reputation but... while this is tragic, it smells more like a kid making a very drastic mistake.

[flintlock]

Re: Sad & shocking, but...............

Flintlock, you can't be serious.

The last thing a race car driver is looking for is someone walking in the middle of the track. Compound that with the fact this is a sprint car race on a wetted clay track with a lot of dirt flying, they are racing at night under lights, and the driver that got hit was in a dark racing suit walking across the middle of the track on the exit from the turn. The line that a sprint racer takes is less exact than an F1 car on their special track surface.

Darwin award comes to mind...

Where did I say it was on purpose? I was asking his opinion because a lot of people have made that claim. Geez!

Not very bright of the victim to walk out there like that was it? I would not rule out the possibility that Stewart goosed the engine as he went past( in fact you can hear it) but I am quite confident he did not mean to actually hit him. Stewart's rear end fished-tailed out and clipped him. Only Stewart will ever know if that little move was necessary or not. And unless another camera angle shows up, I am prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt. Either way, it would not have happened if the driver had not try to confront a speeding car on a dark dirt track.

[Fox]

Re: Sad & shocking, but...............

Darwin award comes to mind...

No kidding what the hell was he thinking was going to happen!?

I've have a long standing saying:
"Stupidity will kill you faster than anything"

Which I coined when I did an innocent but very stupid thing that would have cost me my life it I did it only seconds later. Callous to say when someone dies, but it is a simple fact of life

I got lucky, Kevin Ward didn't.

The lesson: Don't Be Stupid!

[flintlock]

Re: Sad & shocking, but...............

Youth combined with adrenaline and testosterone. He is not the first driver to confront a moving race car. Stewart himself has done it. But he didnt do it on a dimly lit dirt track, or quite so agressively. A tragic waste.