NASCAR bad boy Tony Stewart, moonlighting at a dirt sprint event in upstate New York late Saturday, ran over a driver who got out of his car to confront him on the track. The driver, Kevin Ward Jr., died. He was 20-years old.
The next morning Greg Zipadelli, a VP for Stewart's racing team, told USA Today Stewart would start at Watkins Glen on Sunday: "We're business as usual today." A couple hours later Stewart announced that he wouldn't race at Watkins Glen, which was probably a good idea considering the fact he ran over a guy and killed him the night before.
Later, Stewart released a statement expressing his remorse:
“There aren't words to describe the sadness I feel about the accident that took the life of Kevin Ward Jr. It's a very emotional time for all involved, and it is the reason I've decided not to participate in today's race at Watkins Glen. My thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends and everyone affected by this tragedy."
The Ontario County (N.Y.) Sheriff’s Office says it is investigating the incident but no charges are pending. Stewart was not arrested.
(Warning: Graphic images and coarse language in this video)
http://youtu.be/mtlTJAWFyRY
Certainly many will blame Ward Jr. for his own tragic death. After all, he got out of his car on a dimly-lit track wearing his black gear. He appeared to step near, if not into, the path of one other car and then Stewart’s before he was hit.
But then there are reports from witnesses who say Stewart gunned his engine as he approached Ward. One of those witnesses, sprint-car driver Tyler Graves, described the incident to the Sporting News:
"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."
Whether or not you believe Stewart is culpable in Ward Jr.’s death, there’s another issue here. It’s the racing culture that accepts these on-track confrontations as boys being boys. It’s the bravado and machismo of drivers who think it’s OK to get out of their cars looking to fight each other during races because they are mad about being wrecked.
It's not uncommon. Stewart himself did it at Bristol in 2012. A driver at a Saturday race at Bristol, J.J. Yeley, ventured onto the track near traffic to gesture at another driver who bumped him. These scenes of fighting-mad drivers confronting one another are a staple of cable highlight shows. The sports anchors snicker along with the rest of us.
Certainly there's some classism involved, in the same way people ridicule reality-TV stars: Everyone laugh at the out-of-control-rednecks!
Except now Ward Jr. is dead, and it’s not so funny.
It seems racing’s governing bodies could easily end this tomfoolery by handing out steep penalties to drivers who go on to the track to confront other drivers. Ban drivers for a long period for doing so and surely fewer of them would do it. Save the drivers from themselves, so to speak.
Or we can all just keep laughing at the fighting-mad race-car drivers who venture into traffic. If another one happens to get hurt or killed, it's their fault. Then it's back to business as usual.
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