Mr. WEO Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 Step into a 103 mph fastball with your head. You may change your opinion. That's basically what Ward did. Now, if the batter steps into it? That's what Ward was doing when he decided to hoof it on the track. No, if a batter steps into a bean ball, it's not manslaughter. But that's not the example you gave, you said if a pitcher intentionally beans a player and he dies, will he be charged. I think he would be. This kid was not stepping into Stewart's car. The video suggests he was moving away just before contact. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 there is precedent for battery litigation in sports: Marty McSorley and Bill Romanowski are two that come to mind. Just because someone is in a sporting event does not absolve them from any wrongdoing Yes. BUT you are missing the very critical element. Ward had no right being where he was and doing what he was doing. The burden is on him too! TS is an aggressive driver. Why is it his aggressive style is being seen as trying to hit or scare Ward? Maybe he was using it to avoid Ward... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truth on hold Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 Yes. BUT you are missing the very critical element. Ward had no right being where he was and doing what he was doing. The burden is on him too! TS is an aggressive driver. Why is it his aggressive style is being seen as trying to hit or scare Ward? Maybe he was using it to avoid Ward... clearly theres a burden on the plaintiff, no one is saying otherwise. TS' aggressive style and hot temper strikes me that it will hurt his defense, not help Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FireChan Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 A better analogy, which is purely hypothetical and stupid, is if a fan ran out in front of the pitcher a split second before the ball was thrown. The ball hits him in the head and he dies. Questions circulate, "was the pitcher trying to just scare him?" "Could he have done something to avoid the fan with the pitch?" They will never prove "intent" here, so at worse we're talking negligence. Still, in Nascar country, I doubt anything really happens to Tony. Especially if his "tried to avoid him," story sounds believeable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bowery4 Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 BTW tom, these cars run over 1100 HP and the length is under 20' iirc I am happy to see AJ is back!!!! Stojan, DrD, the Dean, and now AJ! Wow! agreed, and Stewart should give some money to his family The Senator could be added to that list (and sounds like he is having health issues so say a prayer). I swerve to hit cats... I kicked a taxi drivers ass for that once (in the 70s), I mean what if it was your kids cat, phht! Back in the day (1980s) a sprint had around 650 to 700 HP surprised to hear it is that high (1100) now. That is about almost a HP per pound (they weigh around 1500 IIRC), I am surprised they don't just fly out of the track, if they are really that high. Must be a B word to steer, the front must be off the ground all the time. I am seeing this differently now, with the wetness of the track, how close TS was behind the blue car, how far down on the track this kid went... it is all bad and dumb on his part. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbb Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 The cab driver purposely ran over the cat? If so, I'm really glad you kicked his ass! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajzepp Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 That is a completely baseless assumption by everyone. How can you discern what Stewart attempted to do from a single video on the internet? Just like people telling me I didn't see a plane hit the Pentagon, because the video clearly doesn't show a plane...everyone's an expert in photo-analysis on the internet, to the point of being able to to discern an individual's state of mind and exact thoughts from a video on youtube. I understand what you're saying. That's just what the other racer who witnessed the incident said. As far as Im concerned, Tony Stewart knows what he did or didn't do. I don't think anyone believes for a second he intended to kill or even harm anyone, but that doesn't mean he didn't do something foolish fueled by his temper - the history of which is obviously well-established - that resulted in the unfortunate death of this kid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbb Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 I understand what you're saying. That's just what the other racer who witnessed the incident said. As far as Im concerned, Tony Stewart knows what he did or didn't do. I don't think anyone believes for a second he intended to kill or even harm anyone, but that doesn't mean he didn't do something foolish fueled by his temper - the history of which is obviously well-established - that resulted in the unfortunate death of this kid. I'm pretty sure you're talking about the guy who is a driver and a friend of the dead guy. He said that he flew 50 yards in the air............After watching the video, I'm on taking him serious on his eyewitness account. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajzepp Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 It is truly ridiculous that people that have never driven one of those cars and don't even claim to know a blessed thing about how they are driven get on the internet and say they heard a sound on a video so Stewart was trying to scare the kid. That's what another driver said. Someone who knows both parties and was right there in that part of the track when it happened. If he wasn't seen to be accelerating into this kid, there would be no discussion---and no ongoing investigation. The kid made a poor decision, but he didn't jump into Stewart's car... He did sleep on it. And when he woke up, his team spokesman announced that they were going to race---"business as usual". Only after a predictable public outcry was Stewart shamed into skipping the race. I agree. There was a reason why he accelerated. Whether or not it was to avoid him, or scare him, or whatever...only TS knows. I'm pretty sure you're talking about the guy who is a driver and a friend of the dead guy. He said that he flew 50 yards in the air............After watching the video, I'm on taking him serious on his eyewitness account. "I know Tony could see him. I know how you can see out of these cars. When Tony got close to him, he hit the throttle. When you hit a throttle on a sprint car, the car sets sideways. It set sideways, the right rear tire hit Kevin, Kevin was sucked underneath and was stuck under it for a second or two and then it threw him about 50 yards." http://www.sportingnews.com/nascar/story/2014-08-10/tony-stewart-sprint-car-hits-driver-fight-incident-trouble-investigation-new-york-watkins-glen-kevin-ward Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbb Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 Yeah, that's the one. I didn't see him get thrown at all, much less 50 yards! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ALF Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 Stewart was in a collision , the yellow caution came out meaning no one can be passed. So why was he going so fast to circle the track and then hit the other driver? He could have been going very, very slow and never lost track position. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buffaloed in Pa Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 Your question is too logical. It`s Stewart being Stewart. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. WEO Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 All in all, I don't see some "dirt track racing expert" putting the hook on Stewart. He'll sail through and put another chapter in his life story... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truth on hold Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 (edited) Yeah, that's the one. I didn't see him get thrown at all, much less 50 yards! He did move a considerable distance. 50 yards? I don't know but certainly not zero either. Also the video you're watching is in 2 dimensions. To guage the actual distance also need to know depth Edited August 11, 2014 by Joe_the_6_pack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NDBUFFCUSEFAN Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 No. Not because it is a sporting event, but because Ward was actively seeking out TS' car. I believe if TS could, he would have avoided Ward. IMO, I think he tried to avoid him by accelerating aggressively around the situation and seeing how Ward was going to TS, the stars aligned he was hit. IMO, the best defense is the best offense... That's what TS was doing... That's what makes him great driver. You don't get wins driving defensively. Hey look you're so edgy and cool. Look at you! You're so cool! I hope I'm cool like you someday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ALF Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 (edited) When there is a caution you need to go slow enough to be able to stop for emergency vehicles , disabled cars or people on the track Edited August 11, 2014 by ALF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CountryCletus Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 If he wasn't seen to be accelerating into this kid, there would be no discussion---and no ongoing investigation. The kid made a poor decision, but he didn't jump into Stewart's car... He did sleep on it. And when he woke up, his team spokesman announced that they were going to race---"business as usual". Only after a predictable public outcry was Stewart shamed into skipping the race. Have you ever driven a sprint car??? The accelerator is just as much responsible for the steering of the car as the steering wheel is... I love how everyone says that TS accelerated as if it was malicious,... This is just another example of someone reading an article, or watching a video and assuming they know the whole story.... It's not just WEO.... Pretty much 3/4 of these comments are asinine.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inkman Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 (edited) No. Not because it is a sporting event, but because Ward was actively seeking out TS' car. I believe if TS could, he would have avoided Ward. Right. Some people think TS went out of his way to not avoid him. Even as far as to scare him a bit and intimidate him. I'm on the fence but Stewart's insatiable appetite for being angry has led people to a conclusion. Justifiably so or not. TS has been a bad dude with anger issues and confrontations his whole career. He lost the benefit of the doubt with his previous actions. I still don't think it will be a criminal case but Stewart has to live with his actions. For humanity's sake, I hope you are right. All in all, I don't see some "dirt track racing expert" putting the hook on Stewart. He'll sail through and put another chapter in his life story... Which begs the question, is the good ol' boy network protecting TS? Why the hell is Stewart racing in these two bit events anyway? He has so much to lose and so little to gain. Is it ego, greed, or just some dumb hillbilly ****? Edited August 11, 2014 by inkman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoSaint Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 He did move a considerable distance. 50 yards? I don't know but certainly not zero either. Also the video you're watching is in 2 dimensions. To guage the actual distance also need to know depth i think his point of contention is that it didnt catapult him, but dragged him - so "threw him 50 yards" isnt accurate either way. that said, i still havent heard any report, besides people watching the video, contest that it was stewart that hit the gas. his purpose isnt certain, but so far it seems reliable that it was him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dorkington Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 (edited) I'm no expert on this... I've seen Stewart race a lot, and he has an attitude, but there have been more heated situations for this, if he were the killing type, it would have happened already. I legitimately believe this was an accident. For all we know he wasn't looking towards Ward and tried to maneuver out of the way last second (accelerating in a dirt car can get it to turn faster), but miscalculated. He might have been pissed, or indifferent, or whatever, but I doubt he was looking to hit the guy. If he is that sort of psychopath, then he's held it together very well over the years, as he's had *plenty* of opportunity to murder someone in the past. Edited August 11, 2014 by Dorkington Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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