Thread: NASCAR driver Tony Stewart Kills Kevin Ward Jr. In Sprint Car Incident

Im with failsafe, he gooses it knowing the rear will kick.
Only he knows his intent at the time.

^

Strange how every other car was slowing down and moving left, while Stewart was the only one going right.

Originally Posted by FailSafe

but he goosed the gas a bit to go sideways

Likely trying to throw him a face full of dirt... Damn Stewart looks grizzly these days, I thought he was taking off weight, last time I saw him he was looking trimmer, and that beard stubble? Looks like an old, backwoods lush.

Originally Posted by Fondles

Originally Posted by FailSafe

Had Stewart slowed down, his car would have gone left due to the way the wheels are staggered on sprint cars (which are basically steered with the throttle)- the only way he could have run that wide was if he was on the gas, and he's experienced enough to know that was not the wise course of action (and, in fact, was the complete opposite of what a driver is supposed to do under a yellow flag).

Yeah nah. If he got off the throttle it would have steered right, you hit the throttle to steer them left, which is what he did.

Not at yellow speeds. This was on the yellow.

Originally Posted by The Maestro

The driver who killed the kid has a long and storied history of losing his temper and throwing his car around.

Yes unfortunately he does but he wasn't the one out of his car and confronting another driver who was in his car on the track in this case. Not excusing mind, just simply making a point.

Originally Posted by Fondles

Originally Posted by FailSafe

Originally Posted by Fondles

Originally Posted by FailSafe

Had Stewart slowed down, his car would have gone left due to the way the wheels are staggered on sprint cars (which are basically steered with the throttle)- the only way he could have run that wide was if he was on the gas, and he's experienced enough to know that was not the wise course of action (and, in fact, was the complete opposite of what a driver is supposed to do under a yellow flag).

Yeah nah. If he got off the throttle it would have steered right, you hit the throttle to steer them left, which is what he did.

Look at the staggered tires- the cars run counter-clockwise- with the smaller tire on the left they steer left off the throttle- you have to hold the steering wheel slightly to the right just to get them to go straight. With no differential, the car is built to turn left- if you want to go right, you need to do it under power.

The big wheel on the outside steers the sprint car, hit the throttle and it turns left. get off the throttle and they understeer (turn right).

At yellow speeds, they drive like anything else.

Every weekend, all across the US, drivers get out of cars and on the yellow and do what this kid did.

Originally Posted by FloridaBorn

Originally Posted by The Maestro

The driver who killed the kid has a long and storied history of losing his temper and throwing his car around.

Yes unfortunately he does but he wasn't the one out of his car and confronting another driver who was in his car on the track in this case. Not excusing mind, just simply making a point.

He does it with his helmet off. This clip is Stewart himself in action.

Originally Posted by FailSafe

^

Strange how every other car was slowing down and moving left, while Stewart was the only one going right.

Yeah the vehicle turned right as the body went under the wheel.

Originally Posted by The Maestro

Originally Posted by Fondles

Originally Posted by FailSafe

Originally Posted by Fondles

Originally Posted by FailSafe

Had Stewart slowed down, his car would have gone left due to the way the wheels are staggered on sprint cars (which are basically steered with the throttle)- the only way he could have run that wide was if he was on the gas, and he's experienced enough to know that was not the wise course of action (and, in fact, was the complete opposite of what a driver is supposed to do under a yellow flag).

Yeah nah. If he got off the throttle it would have steered right, you hit the throttle to steer them left, which is what he did.

Look at the staggered tires- the cars run counter-clockwise- with the smaller tire on the left they steer left off the throttle- you have to hold the steering wheel slightly to the right just to get them to go straight. With no differential, the car is built to turn left- if you want to go right, you need to do it under power.

The big wheel on the outside steers the sprint car, hit the throttle and it turns left. get off the throttle and they understeer (turn right).

At yellow speeds, they drive like anything else.

Every weekend, all across the US, drivers get out of cars and on the yellow and do what this kid did.

At walking pace they drive like anything else.

Holy f! That's upsetting to see! I can't tell what is happening and usually I'm pretty good at reading these things. Stewart definitely sped up in his presence but I'm not sure why? When he does the car turns left but sadly I think it is because the tire loses traction rolling over the other driver so it appears he's avoiding him but maybe not?

He (Tony) may also have felt the driver was going to throw his helmet or something and wanted to get past him quickly as it's an open cockpit? That video really upsets me as either way it's going to bruise the sport in a way that will drain a lot of what makes racing racing. What a tragedy and tragically Stewart may have finally let his temper get the best of him too, appearances are disturbing to say the least.

The young driver was in a red mist and not thinking clearly, those are the last cars you want to approach while rolling by with their wide open wheels and that rear tire heated up, was like glue and he stuck to it, what a tragedy..

Originally Posted by Fondles

Originally Posted by The Maestro

Originally Posted by Fondles

Originally Posted by FailSafe

Originally Posted by Fondles

Yeah nah. If he got off the throttle it would have steered right, you hit the throttle to steer them left, which is what he did.

Look at the staggered tires- the cars run counter-clockwise- with the smaller tire on the left they steer left off the throttle- you have to hold the steering wheel slightly to the right just to get them to go straight. With no differential, the car is built to turn left- if you want to go right, you need to do it under power.

The big wheel on the outside steers the sprint car, hit the throttle and it turns left. get off the throttle and they understeer (turn right).

At yellow speeds, they drive like anything else.

Every weekend, all across the US, drivers get out of cars and on the yellow and do what this kid did.

At walking pace they drive like anything else.

No they don't- they turn to the left- if they're being pushed in a straight line to the pits, one of the crew had to hold the wheel a bit to the right- the staggered wheels cause the car to go to the left if they're perfectly aligned.

Actually, rethinking, and since I can't edit. The car does turn left when he speeds up as it would with the stagger. My impression was Stewart was speeding up to get past the kid quickly thinking he may throw something at him in the open cockpit and trying to at minimum throw off his timing to do so.. Well known trick with drivers. But Stewart misjudged how close the driver was compared to how far the car would swing out on throttle and the young driver may have taken a forward step towards Stewart too appears just at the wrong time and it resulted in a terrible tragedy of circumstance for all concerned and the sport of racing as well.

Tough lesson for all to learn, no second chance to get it right.

Originally Posted by FailSafe

Originally Posted by Fondles

Originally Posted by The Maestro

Originally Posted by Fondles

Originally Posted by FailSafe

Look at the staggered tires- the cars run counter-clockwise- with the smaller tire on the left they steer left off the throttle- you have to hold the steering wheel slightly to the right just to get them to go straight. With no differential, the car is built to turn left- if you want to go right, you need to do it under power.

The big wheel on the outside steers the sprint car, hit the throttle and it turns left. get off the throttle and they understeer (turn right).

At yellow speeds, they drive like anything else.

Every weekend, all across the US, drivers get out of cars and on the yellow and do what this kid did.

At walking pace they drive like anything else.

No they don't- they turn to the left- if they're being pushed in a straight line to the pits, one of the crew had to hold the wheel a bit to the right- the staggered wheels cause the car to go to the left if they're perfectly aligned.

Yeah I know that. But what I meant is, the car has a steering wheel. right is right. Left is left. You can see the other cars on the yellow steering left to go left.

I have no idea why there is any debate about this. The idiot got out of his car and stood in the middle of the track in the middle of a race.

Give him a Darwin award and be done with it.

^^

I agree with that.

The basic point is that (as you noted) they're not racing under yellow- they're driving at a slow(er) and more controlled pace to avoid possibly worsening whatever caused the flag in the first place- at the speed Stewart should have been driving, he would have been able to do whatever he wanted with his car- the fact that all the drivers in front of him were moving left was a pretty good indication of where he should have been.

The stagger is an interesting aspect of sprint cars, but it shouldn't have been an issue under yellow.

Originally Posted by FloridaBorn

Actually, rethinking, and since I can't edit. The car does turn left when he speeds up as it would with the stagger. My impression was Stewart was speeding up to get past the kid quickly thinking he may throw something at him in the open cockpit and trying to at minimum throw off his timing to do so.. Well known trick with drivers. But Stewart misjudged how close the driver was compared to how far the car would swing out on throttle and the young driver may have taken a forward step towards Stewart too appears just at the wrong time and it resulted in a terrible tragedy of circumstance for all concerned and the sport of racing as well.

Tough lesson for all to learn, no second chance to get it right.

Helmet throwing is uncommon. Plus, Stewart is well protected from a thrown helmet by the roll cage, the wing and the side netting. There is no way that he sped up to avoid getting something thrown at him.

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

I have no idea why there is any debate about this. The idiot got out of his car and stood in the middle of the track in the middle of a race.

Give him a Darwin award and be done with it.

At the end of the day he is to blame for his own demise.

Originally Posted by Fondles

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

I have no idea why there is any debate about this. The idiot got out of his car and stood in the middle of the track in the middle of a race.

Give him a Darwin award and be done with it.

At the end of the day he is to blame for his own demise.

I agree with this as well, but his fellow drivers had a responsibility to act in a certain way even if the kid acted like an idiot- even though what the kid did was moronic, if Stewart did indeed make a move on him (to scare him without intending to hurt him), does he bear no fault? It looked like two stupid moves to me. Maybe I'm wrong, but I think if Stewart had followed protocol, the kid would still be around.

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

I have no idea why there is any debate about this. The idiot got out of his car and stood in the middle of the track in the middle of a race.

Give him a Darwin award and be done with it.

It was not in the middle of a race. The yellow flag was out for a whole lap. After the yellow is out, a driver of a wrecked car is supposed to get out of the car. And the other drivers are supposed to slow to a designated speed and use extreme caution.

Drivers usually get out at the exact time that this guy did because there is always a danger of fuel fire in these accidents.

Originally Posted by FailSafe

the fact that all the drivers in front of him were moving left was a pretty good indication of where he should have been.

My impression is that Stewart wanted to push him up the track so he could drive left to get away when the time came, that's why he was up that far, he didn't want to get caught down low with no where to go, unfortunately then when accelerated the car kicked out further than he anticipated it would, essentially hooking up unexpectedly hard. I'm speaking of the actual incident of Tony hitting the young driver on the track, not the incident that caused the car contact.

Originally Posted by The Maestro

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

I have no idea why there is any debate about this. The idiot got out of his car and stood in the middle of the track in the middle of a race.

Give him a Darwin award and be done with it.

It was not in the middle of a race. The yellow flag was out for a whole lap. After the yellow is out, a driver of a wrecked car is supposed to get out of the car. And the other drivers are supposed to slow to a designated speed and use extreme caution.

Drivers usually get out at the exact time that this guy did because there is always a danger of fuel fire in these accidents.

Is the driver supposed to go walking directly at another vehicle ranting at it ?