What happened on Saturday night involving Tony Stewart and Kevin Ward, Jr., was simply tragic. To classify it any other way would be disingenuous. What makes it even more tragic is that it was a racing accident that easily could've been avoided. And that's why, in my opinion, some of the vile comments that people have made about Tony Stewart, even going so far as to label him a "murderer," are simply unfair.
Like thousands of others, I've seen the video of the crash. And, contrary to what Twitterverse may think (has Twitter sent him to jail yet?), that video supports the Ontario County sheriff's contention that there's no evidence to support criminal charges against Stewart. I'd be incredibly surprised if that changes. And if it does, it's likely only because they're bowing to public opinion. Or, at least the opinion of those who think Stewart "deserves to be punished" for his role in the incident.
If you look at the video objectively, you can see why the sheriff doesn't feel he has the grounds to pursue a case. There was contact between the two, then Ward got out of his car for some reason and walked down the track into oncoming traffic moving over 100 mph, for the sole purpose of getting in Stewart's face. The car in front of Stewart saw Ward and swerved to get out of the way. Stewart hit him, and the result was fatal. Whether or not Stewart saw Ward and/or tried to get out of the way are the hot topics of debate, but you'd have to be a pretty sick person to think he had any intent to hit and kill Ward.
I'm not saying Tony Stewart is blameless for the accident. Anything but, actually. It was because of his actions that Ward's dead, after all.
But, as trite as this might sound, Ward's actions were just as much a cause of his tragic fate. Why are you getting out of your car, especially when the safety crew hasn't arrived and everyone else is still whizzing around the track? I understand the emotion that goes into racing, but you have to be smart. Ward stays in the car like he's supposed to, this whole thing never happens.
It was probably Ward's inexperience that ultimately got him killed. He was only 20. He hadn't been doing this very long. Maybe if he had, he would've known how to better handle being in a wreck. Furthermore, he went after Tony Stewart. Was Tony Stewart going to be intimidated by him? Stewart's the multi-millionaire racing superstar who's doing this as a hobby. Stewart, of course, started on those dirt tracks, and Ward might've ultimately been headed for an equally lucrative NASCAR career. But he hadn't yet. And it's also just as likely that he was going to end up one of those guys who never moves beyond the dirt tracks, spending years racing the same guys on the same track every Saturday night.
There was already the legion of Tony Stewart haters out there, and that legion has only grown larger as a result of the Ward accident. Stewart has a long reputation as a hot head, which is why so many people dislike him. But it's also what's endeared him to so many. And Tony Stewart is human. That's one of the reasons why he's so passionate on the race track. His role in what happened is going to weigh on him heavily for a long, long time, if not the rest of his life.
Not racing on Sunday was the right decision, and the only one he could've made. Who knows when he'll return to NASCAR? The emotional weight of this situation is a burden that only Tony Stewart can bear. And the throngs of fans who'll be heckling him and calling him despicable things won't help the situation, either.
This accident wasn't completely Tony Stewart's fault. Sure, the sexy headline was "Stewart Kills Another Driver," but the truth is much more than that. Racing is a dangerous sport. Especially on those small, local dirt tracks, where the death rate is disproportionally high when compared to the superspeedways tens of thousands of fans watch Stewart race on regularly. Which begs the question: Why does Tony Stewart feel the need to participate in these races? After all, it was on one of these tracks that he broke his leg last year, costing him the last two months of the Sprint Cup season.
Perhaps the better question is: Why does NASCAR let Tony Stewart race in these races? Because, as tragic as this accident was, imagine if it had been the other way around. If Tony Stewart had been killed in a $3,000 race in front of a couple hundred people on a small-town dirt track. The risk-reward is much too high. Other than the thrill, there's no benefit to Stewart. And there's certainly no benefit for NASCAR.
So, maybe that's the solution. Sprint Cup racers aren't allowed to enter races that aren't NASCAR-sanctioned, or at least NASCAR-approved (like Kurt Busch's Indy-Charlotte 1,100-mile double attempt). I'm not a fan of Sprint Cup drivers in Nationwide or truck races, either, but one thing at a time.
That wouldn't prevent tragedies like this from happening, but it would be a start. Because, and this isn't meant as a knock on the drivers in these races, those drivers aren't as skilled as the NASCAR professionals. As a result, those races are inherently more dangerous. Inexperienced and/or unskilled drivers on poorly-lit tracks are a combination that can lead to disaster, especially if you throw one of NASCAR's best into the mix. Unfortunately, Tony Stewart and Kevin Ward, Jr., learned that the hard way.
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