Tony Stewart has blood on his hands, through either the pressure of his foot on the throttle or the impact of his example on his sport. In a way, Tony Stewart not only ran Kevin Junior down, he also put him in the track in front of him.
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The 20 year old did what 20 year olds tend to do - think they’re invincible and act impulsively. THAT has nothing to do with Tony Stewart “putting him on the track”. Plus, doing it on a dirt track, at night, dressed in a black racing suit and a black helmet ..... tragic as it was, Ward paid the ultimate price for his lack of impulse control and common sense. “Smoke” may be a hot head in his own right, but he had no control over Ward’s actions.
Bottom line for Tony, he was driving the car that hit Ward & killed him, even though it was accidental. Although Ward put himself on the track in a position to be hit, Tony will forever be haunted by this and yes, he’s probably lost his peace of mind.
I do think as a result of this fatality that there will be a new rule in the event a driver’s common sense is not operating .... you do not get out of your car unless it is on fire.