Now, I realize its a bit late to offer my input on this story, especially seeing as I'm just a teenage blogger, but I can offer more insight than most, because I was at the Canandaigua Motorsports Park when Kevin Ward Jr. was struck by the car of NASCAR racer Tony Stewart.
The mood at the track towards Stewart before the race wasn't exactly overjoyed, much to my surprise. To many people there, the accident last year involving 19-year old Alysha Ruggles, Stewart and 13 others is still fresh in their minds. In fact, when the PA announcer casually mentioned the fact that Tony Stewart had arrived, there were more boos than cheers.
I was sitting in Turn 4 that night, which meant my view of the incident was blocked by barriers etc. I did see the spin that caused Ward to be upset at Tony. Essentially, Stewart and Ward were side by side going down the front stretch. I didn't see any contact, and when they began the exit of the corner Stewart pushed wide, forcing Ward into a spin. Being a racer myself, I would also be quite angry, despite the absence of any obvious contact.
I'm not going to place blame on either driver, because of my respect for both, but there are some things I would like to put an opinion on. Firstly, many people are saying that the track was dimly lit and dusty, which, coupled with the dark suit worn by Ward, could have meant Stewart couldn't clearly see. I would say, though, that I could clearly see Ward from my seat in Turn 4, an entire track away.
I also found it odd that Stewart didn't stop until the end of the backstretch after coming in contact with Ward in turn 2. I'm not an expert in sprint cars by any means but I'm fairly certain I would notice if I hit somebody and immediately stop. Adding to this is the fact that Stewart couldn't have been going more than 45 MPH, and in those cars it doesn't take a whole back straight to go from 45 to 0. I'm not placing blame, I'm just saying its something to think about, perhaps he didn't stop because he thought stopping in the middle of the track under caution was dangerous (Plausible but not probable).
Regardless, the eeriest part of all was the crowds reaction. After the red flag came out, I didn't know Ward had been struck, all I knew was he had gotten out of the car. However, only one car had been involved (Ward's) and it had little to no damage, and all of the safety crew were surrounded around something on the ground. I head the occasional scream and gasp, and soon police car after police car rolled in. I counted 12 emergency vehicles by the time I left the track. For about 20 minutes following the incident, the crowd was silent. The announcer was silent. None of the emergency crews went anywhere. And when we were told the nights activities were canceled and everybody was ushered out, the fans still remained silent. Only when I saw the crew members and drivers and family members in the paddock standing around in a circle solemnly, I knew the racing community had lost somebody.
I would like to send my thoughts to all those affected by the loss of Kevin Ward Jr.
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