Friday afternoon, from the infield press center at Atlanta Motor Speedway, driver Tony Stewart made his first public statements since the race car he was driving struck and killed 20-year-old sprint car driver Kevin Ward Jr. Stewart read from a statement and then left the room without taking questions.
On Aug. 9, Ward left his wrecked car and walked onto the track at Canandaigua Motorsports Park in upstate New York in an attempt to confront Stewart. The three-time NASCAR champion, who often ran in the lower-level races for enjoyment, stuck Ward with his car, killing him. Ontario County (N.Y.) officials have yet to wrap up an investigation into the accident.
After missing the last three NASCAR Sprint Cup races, Stewart is making his return to the track in Sunday’s Oral-B USA 500 at AMS.
Here is Stewart’s statement. The full story on his return is coming soon on AJC.com:
“This is been one of the toughest tragedies I’ve ever had to deal with, both professionally and personally. And this is something that will definitely affect my life forever. This is a sadness and a pain I hope no one ever has to experience in their life.
“With that being said, I know that the pain that Kevin Ward’s family is experiencing is something I can’t possibly imagine. I want Kevin’s father — Kevin Sr. — his mother Pam, and his sisters Christi and Kayla and Katelyn to know that every day I’m thinking about them and praying for them.
‘The racing community is a large family as you guys know and everyone’s saddened with this tragedy. I want to thank all my friends and family for their support through this tough emotional time. The support of the NASCAR community, my partners, all of our employees has been overwhelming.
‘I’ve taken the last couple of weeks off out of respect for Kevin and his family and also to cope with the accident in my own way. It has given me the time to think about life and how easy it is to take it for granted. I miss my team, my teammates and I miss being back in the race car. I think being back in the car this week with my racing family will help me get through this difficult time.
“I also understand that all of you have many questions and want a lot of answers. However, I need to respect the ongoing investigation process and can not answer and address the questions at this time. Emotionally I’m not sure I could answer them anyway.
“I’m here to race this weekend and I appreciate your respect. There will be a day when I can sit here and answer the questions.”
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