Tony Stewart

[LMITOUT]

I am not a Tony supporter or fan at all but I am not going to jump on some media bandwagon and play judge and decide what went down when you have zero experience or know anything about a race car handling.

And yet, you do.

[CaptainMusky]

I don't.

what if this was Dale Jr instead of Tony involved? It certainly wouldn't be a witch hunt I can guarantee that.

[harvey lee]

What I typed came out wrong. I am not going to explain why or how as you would not believe me anyways lmit.

If I am being a judge saying Tony did nothing wrong as the facts show that, so be it.

Do I believe Tony is innocent of any wrongdoing, yes I do as there are no hard facts to say much else except for assumption's and guessing and that goes nowhere in court.

It is good they do an investigation but there simply are not enough if any facts to charge Tont to date even with the fans video.

[harvey lee]

I read a report today from a witness that said Ward "reached" in toward tony as he approached.

I have heard those same stories Capt. I heard that Ward tried to grab his roll cage but I find that hard to believe as the car was moving and that would be like the kiss of death to do something like that.

Think a person goes online and see a lot of assuming and to some degree, little in the fact dept.

[LMITOUT]

what if this was Dale Jr instead of Tony involved? It certainly wouldn't be a witch hunt I can guarantee that.

I would agree, mainly due to the difference in each driver's history. Dale is not known to be a hothead. Stewart is. That's why the question remains whether or not Stewart tried to spin dirt on Ward and misjudged his actions which then resulted in killing Ward.

Stewart's reputation precedes him. And now he's in hot water because of it.

[PierBridge]

I read a report today from a witness that said Ward "reached" in toward tony as he approached.

Sure looked like it... I dont think Tony or anybody would have expected or anticipated that.

[PierBridge]

Its not a witch hunt because of who Tony has been.

[PurpleFloyd]

He is innocent until such time as a jury says differently. Until then keep the pitch forks and torches in the shed.

[CaptainMusky]

Its not a witch hunt because of who Tony has been.

sure he has been a hothead. No disagreement there. But a hothead in the past is not admissible as evidence in any specific investigation. It could be used in sentencing but has no bearing on whether or not he is guilty of anything here. The facts of THIS case determine that.

[LMITOUT]

But a hothead in the past is not admissible as evidence in any specific investigation. It could be used in sentencing but has no bearing on whether or not he is guilty of anything here. The facts of THIS case determine that.

I wouldn't be so sure of that. Attorneys who have commented on this case have stated that his antics in the past and his temper issues would most certainly play into the evidence against him. And we all know he has a long and documented history of temper issues which have led to anger management therapy.

[upnorth]

There are a few opinions on this. Here are some comments from a sprint car driver that was in the stands during the incident.

Quote:

Tyler Graves, a sprint-car series driver who was sitting in the stands at the Saturday race and gave his eyewitness account to multiple media outlets, told 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."

Video of the collision appears to show that the back end of Stewart's car slightly wiggles out in Ward's direction as he drives past. Sprint cars are designed to break loose and slide, particularly in the turns and especially on dirt tracks, where Stewart has logged thousands upon thousands of laps.

Graves said Stewart swerved and gunned his engine as he approached Ward, but did not believe Stewart was trying to hit the driver.

"You never mean to do something like that," Graves said. "Kevin was [PoorWordUsage] and he let Tony know. And Tony was trying to give the message back that he wasn't happy either. He went over the line with it.”

[CaptainMusky]

I wouldn't be so sure of that. Attorneys who have commented on this case have stated that his antics in the past and his temper issues would most certainly play into the evidence against him. And we all know he has a long and documented history of temper issues which have led to anger management therapy.

well then its up to the judge because the attorneys I've talked to said its absolutely not. Wouldn't matter if tony was accused of robbing a bank and had history of it that has no merit on conviction without evidence. It MAY impact sentencing.

[PurpleFloyd]

I wouldn't be so sure of that. Attorneys who have commented on this case have stated that his antics in the past and his temper issues would most certainly play into the evidence against him. And we all know he has a long and documented history of temper issues which have led to anger management therapy.

You might want to ask your Timex because attorneys are wrong 50% of the time while even a broken clock is right 2x a day.

Evidence entered /= guilt.

[PierBridge]

Not that its going to trial but yes there are ways Tonys past transgressions could be admissible......

And as far as Stewart hitting the gas which was pretty obvious.

JJ Yeley, a NASCAR driver who has driven sprint cars for Stewart, told the Sporting News that the fact you can hear Stewart hit the gas in his car prior to hitting Ward should be taken into the context of how sprint cars operate.

“They have a solid rear axle, they don’t turn on a dime,” Yeley said. “You usually turn those cars with the gas. … They don’t just turn as soon as you turn the wheel. It does take the throttle to do that.”

Yeley said that if Stewart would have turned the wheel sharply without getting on the throttle, the car would have continued in the path it was going or would have spun. He compared it to riding a jetski, where throttle is needed when making a turn.

“The right side wing panel comes down sometimes below your eye level so you will have a blind spot. … There’s a part there where you wouldn’t see someone if they jumped out and got that close to the car,” Yeley said.

[LMITOUT]

Wouldn't matter if tony was accused of robbing a bank and had history of it that has no merit on conviction without evidence. It MAY impact sentencing.

Unfortunately for Stewart this isn't about robbing banks. It's about his past history when racing.

[upnorth]

This by no means apples to apples, but some interesting parallels.

Look at Byron Smith shooting those kids in his house, before all the evidence that the prosecution had many people figured he would walk. Mainly cuz the kids did something very stupid. All the evidence came out and pretty much cleared that up pretty quick.

Look at Zimmerman shooting Trayvon Martin. Many people figured for sure Zimmerman was gonna be cooling his heals for a long time, he walked. Mainly because Trayvon pulled the dumb thing and attacked Zimmerman, and the evidence cleared things up.

I am pretty sure there is evidence that is being looked at that we just don't know about yet. So pretty hard to send him to jail or say he isn't guilty of something even if it is gross negligence. We tend to think that we get everything up front, but they pretty much keep the majority of stuff tight lipped until the decision is made whether or not prosecute. And even then they prosecute they keep some stuff for trial.

Time will tell what they have or don't have.

[LMITOUT]

You're correct.

The original discussion here was why some believe that Stewart was trying to prove a point to Ward, and others claiming that this was just a witchhunt in social media circles (remember the comparison to Dale Jr?). After that was debunked Captain changed it to whether or not it would hold up in a court of law.

Like Pier said earlier, if Ward's and Stewarts's roles were reversed the Stewart apologists would be approaching this from a completely different angle. Even without that scenario the Stewart apologists can't seem to get their excuses right.

[reddog]

No initial contact. Possibly a "boogeyman" reaction took his right front to the wall causing the spin.A tap of his brakes just prior to the pinch point and life goes on without incident.

For what it's worth, I don't think the driver of the 14 ever seen him.

He probably had no idea even where the caution was at at the time of the yellow flying, and certainly didn't expect the other driver to be down the track. It's still unclear to me who the deceased driver was [PoorWordUsage] at, the 45 car or the 14, or both.

Not releasing the toxicology report of the deceased (being withheld) is interesting to me.

[Big Dave2]

I am not a Tony supporter or fan at all

Could have fooled me.

If you want to contend that there is not enough evidence to conclude that Stewart did anything to cause this tragedy, well it goes both ways. There is also not enough evidence to say that he didn't. The only thing I am sure of is that Ward was way too close to the moving vehicles but I have no idea whether or not Stewart did anything to contribute to the accident and neither do you.

[magicstix]

Sad deal for both parties. My thoughts and prayers go out to all involved.

Even though I've never cared for Stewart from day one he is a heck of a driver and can put teams together.

My 2 cents: The crash itself looks like he got pinched on the wall, spun out, happens all the time in open wheel. No he probably shouldn't have gotten out of car and dealt with it in the pits but again drivers get out of car more frequently then they should unless its on fire.

I don't think Tony ever saw him till the last second. It was in the corner, Tony's looking for crash, Ward's car is black he's wearing a black suit, it not lighted the best and I think the 45 car blocked Tony's view of Ward on the track till it passed then Tony sees him coming at his car at the last second. As gruesome as sounds, Ward got way to close and got clipped by the wing and Tony hit the gas to slide car over not to run him over with rear tire. I highly doubt Tony would even think of running someone over or trying to scare someone that close to your car. Just my 2 cents.

I've witnessed a good friend get hit by a car. I can tell you this, seeing and hearing someone get hit by a car is something I'd not like to ever have to deal with ever again.

[CaptainMusky]

Oh it was debunked? Funny LMIT. Maybe in your mind.

Attorneys MAY attempt to bring up his past as evidence but that will NOT prove guilt in this case.

How about this... you are driving down the road and a police officer scans your license plate and it tells him its registered to LMIT of xyz city who had a speeding ticket and exhibition driving ticket in 2012. He pulls you over. Can he issue you a ticket for speeding because of your past transgressions. Trying to dumb it down for you a little bit so you can understand.

[upnorth]

It won't allow him to issue a ticket, but if his behavior is suspect and he gets a ticket getting the charge to stick and convict his past can sure be used against him.

[CaptainMusky]

Against him as in amt of fines etc but it will not determine guilt in that instance. The radar gun (facts of the case) would.

[Sifty]

Just a thought.

Could the 14 have been hitting the gas because of the upcoming turn?

[harvey lee]

Could have fooled me.

If you want to contend that there is not enough evidence to conclude that Stewart did anything to cause this tragedy, well it goes both ways. There is also not enough evidence to say that he didn't. The only thing I am sure of is that Ward was way too close to the moving vehicles but I have no idea whether or not Stewart did anything to contribute to the accident and neither do you.

Maybe the mix up is in what I said, not a supporter or fan, I should have said, I do support Tony in this case as the facts show nothing against him in regards to wrong doing.

Dave

I do not believe you could find one post saying I am a fan of Tony's. I do support him in this case as there is simply no proof he did anything in the wrong, esp on purpose, does not say that I am a fan of his in anyway. I do not dislike him but do not cheer for him either.

I do support the facts and not one shows Tony did anything on purpose. I thought one was innocent until one proved he was guilty. I honestly do not see facts in this case that would say beyond reasonable doubt that Tony did anything on purpose and how they could get a jury to say Tony meant to do that would be out there.

But with all the social media pressure and HSOforum's like Mr Conservative saying what they are, that will put pressure on the D.A.'s office to do something right or wrong or even without hard facts other than assumption's.