Racer Kevin Ward, Jr. on Fatal Receiving End

In Sports in the Fast Lane, I wrote about the IndyCar crash that killed racer Dan Wheldon.  It was October 2011, just at the heels of Steve Jobs' death, and I was so stunned that I spent hours reading articles and watching videos on ESPN and YouTube.

This time it was Kevin Ward, Jr. on the fatal receiving end.

Tragic breaking news from a sprint car race on dirt track!

Tony Stewart apparently hit and killed Kevin Ward, Jr.

Kevin Ward, Jr.

Tyler Graves, a sprint-car racer and friend of Ward's, told Sporting News in a phone interview that he was sitting in the Turn 1 grandstands and saw everything that happened.

"Tony pinched him into the front stretch wall, a racing thing," Graves said. "The right rear tire went down, he spun on the exit of (Turn) 2. They threw the caution and everything was toned down. Kevin got out of his car… He was throwing his arms up all over the place at Tony for most of the corner.

"I know Tony could see him. I know how you can see out of these cars. When Tony got close to him, he hit the throttle. When you hit a throttle on a sprint car, the car sets sideways. It set sideways, the right rear tire hit Kevin, Kevin was sucked underneath and was stuck under it for a second or two and then it threw him about 50 yards."

Reference:  Police: Out-of-car driver dies after being hit by Tony Stewart.

Meanwhile a friend on Facebook posted Tony Stewart hits, kills driver in sprint car race, and noted:

During a sprint car race at Canandaigua (N.Y.) Motorsports Park, driver Kevin Ward Jr. was spun out by Stewart, got out of his car to show his displeasure and then was struck by Stewart's car, sending Ward sliding down the track, fellow sprint car racer Tyler Graves and witness Adam Dulski told USA TODAY Sports.

I and others commented:

Graves also told Sporting News that he saw Stewart hit the throttle,as Ward approached him, and slammed him sideways with the right rear tire. Ward getting out of his car and walking on the track, even with the caution, was not at all smart. It seems to be a case of two drivers making terrible, fatal judgments.

That is an understatement. This could result in criminal charges.

Charles, you are kidding....please...Unless it is against Ward. It is a racetrack....not the beach on Sunday afternoon.

Yes but it looks like he m ay have intentionally hit him, or at least tried to scare him by going close and went too close. The local authorities are investigating according to the news.

Athletes should not automatically get a pass for violence on the field.

At the speed they were going, I doubt he was contemplating hitting him.

Yes, and Ward was stupid to walk out there, but it should be investigated, don't you think?

The investigators definitely a tough job to do and a tough determination to make. If they can corroborate what Graves saw, then there may be criminal charges against Stewart. My guess is that his attorney and team counsel advised him to withdraw from the race. If there are in fact charges against him, I don't know how much Ward's own actions will mitigate his guilt. Ward is only 20 years old, but it's tough to chalk up his running on the live track, despite the caution, as due simply to immaturity. He had to dodge two or three cars, and vice versa, before getting to Stewart's. Unfortunately he chose to risk his own life.

Then I posted the following video on Google+, and copied my comment about what Graves told Sporting News:

Amen to that. Two people making bad judgment calls in the heat of the moment. Bad deal for everyone!!!

Exactly! I hope everyone learned a critical lesson from this tragedy. Racers get hot under the collar like all other athletes, but they just have to get a grip, man!