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Hot Heads, Stupidity and Tragedy.

by John F. Tamburo, Editor in Chief, Publisher
Originally Posted: 8/11/2014 4:02:15 PM

Kevin Ward, Jr. is dead at 20. He died, sadly, because he acted rashly and stupidly. He is a dirt-track racer. On Saturday, August 9, 2014, his life ended. He was racing and had minor contact with NASCAR legend Tony Stewart, who as a hobby loves to race on the dirt tracks. Instead of controlling his temper, Mr. Ward left his vehicle and ran out onto the track! At least one other driver narrowly averted striking him.

Tony Stewart wasn’t so lucky. He tried to avoid the enraged younger driver, but remember, this is a dirt track with low traction. Tony tried to avoid him but the car lunged and struck Mr. Ward, who died later of his injuries.

Kevin Ward Jr. paid the ultimate price for his hot temper. Tony Stewart now has to live with this for the rest of his life. I can’t imagine what he’s going through. There is an active police investigation, but the police chief made a strong point that there is no evidence of foul play. Tony Stewart is co-operating fully. He pulled out of yesterday’s Watkins Glen NASCAR race.

How does this three-time NASCAR champ come back from this? Some weirdo leftist activists want NASCAR to crack down on heated exchanges between drivers; this smacks of being more tyranny from the left (which is after all, historically the source of all tyranny). You would never see a Sprint Cup driver run onto the track during green flag racing to tell off a driver.

Tony Stewart will be haunted by this – for life. I hope that he can come back from this, because he is a great driver and car owner (he owns his own race team, featuring him, Danica Patrick, Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch).

The one thing I would say, however, is that this is not Tony’s fault at all. He did not intend to cause Mr. Ward to hit the fence. He certainly did not intend to kill or even “buzz” him. Kevin Ward Jr. bears the responsibility – all of it – for this tragedy. I have sympathy for his family’s loss, but also for Tony Stewart. I hope and pray that he recovers and returns to his car as soon as possible.