Tony Stewart Apparently Hits Walking Driver With Sprint Car

[4down20]

If that's the issue, where is the outrage from everyone? If he tried to hit this kid or even just wanted to "teach him a lesson" then why are experts saying he probably never saw him until the bitter end and then bipped it to avoid him?

Put it this way, is ANYONE who doesn't have a dog in this fight condemning Tony Stewart for going after this kid? If so, I'm not seeing it.

I don't think he tried to hit the kid. I don't think Tony would intentionally hurt him like that in any manner.

I think he tried to scare him, and I think he made a mistake with it. Kind of like someone trying to make you flinch, but doesn't pull back in time. Again, it's the hitting of the gas and the type of message that would send that gets me.

Nobody is going to publicly speak out on this right now until they know what's PC. Until then, all you are going to hear is they are sorry for the family.

I don't have a dog in this, I like Tony Stewart as a driver.

 

[BF4L]

If that's the issue, where is the outrage from everyone? If he tried to hit this kid or even just wanted to "teach him a lesson" then why are experts saying he probably never saw him until the bitter end and then bipped it to avoid him?

Put it this way, is ANYONE who doesn't have a dog in this fight condemning Tony Stewart for going after this kid? If so, I'm not seeing it.

Interesting thought there and one that I had not considered. Honestly I have not looked through all 25 pages of this thread. I would hope the experts are right and I am wrong. Only person who knows that answer is Tony Stewart.

 

[pitman]

Only Tony Stewart "knows", but when other drivers think it, then there is a good reason for it.

Yes, pitman is mistaken. He is not taking into account that this was at pace speeds, not race speeds.

I liked Tony Stewart, you'll need to find another logical fallacy to try and spin things with.

No I am not mistaken… with 4-8 inches of stager in the rear tires at pace speed, if you hit the gas the car will pull to the left. I have done this 100's of times HAVE YOU.

 

[Camfantasy]

If only it had been Danica Patrick and not Tony Stewart then we could all just blame it on wimmen not being able to drive.

 

[HammerDown]

If only it had been Danica Patrick and not Tony Stewart then we could all just blame it on wimmen not being able to drive.

I'd be demanding the death penalty

 

[jeffro151]

No I am not mistaken… with 4-8 inches of stager in the rear tires at pace speed, if you hit the gas the car will pull to the left. I have done this 100's of times HAVE YOU.

Some folks just have no idea how sprint cars work, no matter how many times you try to tell them.

 

[gohusk]

They didn't have the video out when I went to sleep last night. From what was reported, I had envisioned what I've seen at many tracks from local all the way to Cup; angry driver stands a couple of feet away from his car and shakes his fist but this time Stewart buzzed him and hit him by mistake.

That's not what I saw on the video. Ward gets out of his car and moves into the racing line. While that's dangerous, its not unheard of (though most don't go this far). He keeps moving down the track and is almost hit by a car. Despite almost being hit, he goes even further down the track towards an oncoming Stewart. At the time of collision, they're practically on the apron. Given that these types of cars are almost totally blind on the right side, it's entirely possible that Stewart never saw he was that low and blipped the throttle because he caught a glimpse of him at the last micro second. Point is, the video showed me there's a lot more nuance to the situation than what was described. There's really no way any of us can determine for sure. Only people that would have insight would be Stewart and the guy that almost hit Ward.

Still, I'm a little surprised no charges have been filed as of yet. I figured the least Stewart would face is an involuntary manslaughter charge and then let the courts decide what sticks.

I read on another site that there's no spotters or communications with the pits. They just get broadcasts from race officials. He probably knew what the caution was for but there's no way in hell he could have figured that the guy was so far down the track. It looks to me that Stewart knew that he wrecked the guy and maybe wanted to rub it in his face but he didn't even know that Ward was out of the car and on the track when he came round.

 

[Camfantasy]

I'd be demanding the dick penalty

 

[4down20]

No I am not mistaken… with 4-8 inches of stager in the rear tires at pace speed, if you hit the gas the car will pull to the left. I have done this 100's of times HAVE YOU.

He did not need to hit the gas to dodge him at those speeds. As such, I have a hard time believing the claim that he was hitting the gas to dodge.

 

[gohusk]

He did not need to hit the gas to dodge him at those speeds. As such, I have a hard time believing the claim that he was hitting the gas to dodge.

There's no transmissions in those cars. It's like driving a muscled out golf cart. You won't get any response out of the steering unless you're hitting the gas, especially on dirt. I was condemning him at first but there's no spotters and no communications with the pits? How could he even know he was there given it was coming out of a corner?

 

[4down20]

There's no transmissions in those cars. It's like driving a muscled out golf cart. You won't get any response out of the steering unless you're hitting the gas, especially on dirt. I was condemning him at first but there's no spotters and no communications with the pits? How could he even know he was there given it was coming out of a corner?

Responsiveness is a matter of speed in terms of how much the front wheels grip.

At race speeds I wouldn't be able to find fault with Tony. But as pace speeds the cars are able to turn without hitting the gas, I posted videos of cars during pace laps doing that without any trouble at all.

 

[pitman]

He did not need to hit the gas to dodge him at those speeds. As such, I have a hard time believing the claim that he was hitting the gas to dodge.

Like I said Only Tony knows. WE don't know. I just stated the car will respond faster turning left if you hit the gas.

 

[ladyrockess]

So how much difference does being on dirt make versus being on an asphalt track?

 

[TigerBait1971]

So how much difference does being on dirt make versus being on an asphalt track?

Lots.

 

[4down20]

Like I said Only Tony knows. WE don't know. I just stated the car will respond faster turning left if you hit the gas.

Yeah but the backend has to kick out before that happens. And it was the backend he hit him with. The pivot point is in the front of the car.

 

[4down20]

So how much difference does being on dirt make versus being on an asphalt track?

Well if had been asphalt and he hit the gas, he wouldn't have hit him. But on dirt with those cars it makes the rear end slide around, so a pretty big difference.

 

[ladyrockess]

Lots.

The only time I've ever driven on dirt my dad was teaching me how to drive stick shift in the middle of a desert in a rental car, and I'm sure that has very little in common with driving one of those sprint car things around a track.

 

[gohusk]

Responsiveness is a matter of speed in terms of how much the front wheels grip.

At race speeds I wouldn't be able to find fault with Tony. But as pace speeds the cars are able to turn without hitting the gas, I posted videos of cars during pace laps doing that without any trouble at all.

Which I'll buy to an extent. But how the hell would he even know that he was even on the track with no spotter? What I thought was going on is he was doing a drive-by to rub it in his face a little bit but there's no way he could have know the guy was out of the car and in the track unless someone told him.

 

[4down20]

The only time I've ever driven on dirt my dad was teaching me how to drive stick shift in the middle of a desert in a rental car, and I'm sure that has very little in common with driving one of those sprint car things around a track.

Correct, the sprint cars basically turn on the right rear tire.

 

[4down20]

Which I'll buy to an extent. But how the hell would he even know that he was even on the track with no spotter? What I thought was going on is he was doing a drive-by to rub it in his face a little bit but there's no way he could have know the guy was out of the car and in the track unless someone told him.

The view in those cars is tight, but when you are on a straight before getting into the turn itself you can see a good bit of the turn. You just can't see to your immediate left a good bit, all that safety equipment prevents it.

If not being able to see was that bad, then how are they able to drive and dodge wrecks? It's limited, but I don't see how it could be that limited.