Tony Stewart cleared of charges by Jury from Kevin Ward's death

"Get away with this"?

It's America, Barney. There'll be a wrongful death suit filed within five minutes of the formal announcement, if not sooner.

Still, glad to see there's still some sense in the legal system.

Jenna Fryer ‏@JennaFryer  2m
Kevin Ward was under the influence of marijuania, tox report says.

Jenna Fryer ‏@JennaFryer now
marijaunia levels in Kevin Ward were "enough to impair judgement," DA says

Orange Cone ‏@TheOrangeCone  57s
Video analysis showed Stewart did not change direction in steering until after contact was made with Kevin Ward which sent car up the track.

Marijuana, the guy might be dead, but how dumb can someone be to race cars while high?

Even though he had marijuana in his system, he may not have been high during the race.

Part of me feels glad that Tony won't be charged, based on all the evidence that has come up. At the same time, it doesn't change how shitty it is that Kevin had to die this way.

Either way, only Tony will ever know what happened. It's time to move on.

NeverNeutral wrote:Even though he had marijuana in his system, he may not have been high during the race.

Part of me feels glad that Tony won't be charged, based on all the evidence that has come up. At the same time, it doesn't change how shitty it is that Kevin had to die this way.

Either way, only Tony will ever know what happened. It's time to move on.

"Enough to impair judgement." I will be blatantly honest with you guys. I really can't find sympathy for Ward now. I know it is kind of mean for me to say, but it is true. I feel bad for Stewart and for the Ward family. However getting on a racetrack driving a high speed automobile when you have anything in your system, not just marijuana is just asking for trouble. It is sad that he died, but with the choices he was making, he kind of was asking for it. Sorry if that was too blatant for some, but it is just the way I feel.

I don't condone marijuana use, but Kevin couldn't have possibly known he was going to get in this exact situation.

Was it foolish to race while under the influence? Yes. Was he intentionally trying to get himself killed? No. Once he was intoxicated, as the report says, he had impaired judgment.

Let's not forget all the factors mentioned in the previous thread. It was night, the track was poorly lit, Kevin was dressed in black, Tony would have to accelerate to steer the car better. His intoxication didn't cause the accident, it was just a factor. And to say he doesn't deserve sympathy is an insult to his friends, family, and competitors.

NeverNeutral wrote:I don't condone marijuana use, but Kevin couldn't have possibly known he was going to get in this exact situation.

Was it foolish to race while under the influence? Yes. Was he intentionally trying to get himself killed? No. Once he was intoxicated, as the report says, he had impaired judgment.

Let's not forget all the factors mentioned in the previous thread. It was night, the track was poorly lit, Kevin was dressed in black, Tony would have to accelerate to steer the car better. His intoxication didn't cause the accident, it was just a factor. And to say he doesn't deserve sympathy is an insult to his friends, family, and competitors.

Honestly, I wish I could find sympathy with him. But I just can't... Maybe its because I have known people who have been killed by drugs. He was putting himself as well as others in danger by being on the racetrack while high. Sadly he got killed for his immaturity, but he kind of did it to himself. I do feel bad for his family, but it now sounds like they are trying to spin his death for a paycheck. (Link Below) But I still do feel bad for them.

http://www.motorsport.com/nascar-cup/news/ward-family-claims-stewart-tried-to-intimidate-kevin-says-this-matter-is-not-at-rest

I find it easy to be sympathetic when you figure that one man is dead and another is still out racing in the big leagues today, It's honestly a sobering fact when you think about it from that frame of mind....That's kind of why it feels weird to see Tony race still. For one family their lives are charged forever and for Tony life just continues on like nothing even happened.

Alta wrote:For one family their lives are charged forever and for Tony life just continues on like nothing even happened.

I highly doubt life "just continues on" for Tony. He now has to live with the fact that he has taken someone's life, despite it being a completely freak accident. There's no way that he'll return to championship form with this looming over him for the rest of his life. It would be an incredibly difficult task if he were, but the odds seem unlikely to me.

It's gonna be a long time until we see see the sarcastic and humorous style of Tony Stewart come back. I don't see a smile ever being on his face for a long time.

Casey Lester wrote:

Alta wrote:For one family their lives are charged forever and for Tony life just continues on like nothing even happened.

I highly doubt life "just continues on" for Tony. He now has to live with the fact that he has taken someone's life, despite it being a completely freak accident. There's no way that he'll return to championship form with this looming over him for the rest of his life. It would be an incredibly difficult task if he were, but the odds seem unlikely to me.

I missed the "feel" somewhere in that sentence. Of course he will never be the same and of course he's probably still emotionally damaged over it.

I was more looking at from a neutral point of view, however with a case like this even typing it in the most neutral way possible can look like blame is being placed on someone.

Alta wrote:

Casey Lester wrote:

Alta wrote:For one family their lives are charged forever and for Tony life just continues on like nothing even happened.

I highly doubt life "just continues on" for Tony. He now has to live with the fact that he has taken someone's life, despite it being a completely freak accident. There's no way that he'll return to championship form with this looming over him for the rest of his life. It would be an incredibly difficult task if he were, but the odds seem unlikely to me.

I missed the "feel" somewhere in that sentence.  Of course he will never be the same and of course he's probably still emotionally damaged over it.

I was more looking at from a neutral point of view, however with a case like this even typing it in the most neutral way possible can look like blame is being placed on someone.

Nowhere did I say anything about you pinning blame on anyone or anything. I just said that Stewart won't be the same after this.

Casey Lester wrote:

Alta wrote:

Casey Lester wrote:

Alta wrote:For one family their lives are charged forever and for Tony life just continues on like nothing even happened.

I highly doubt life "just continues on" for Tony. He now has to live with the fact that he has taken someone's life, despite it being a completely freak accident. There's no way that he'll return to championship form with this looming over him for the rest of his life. It would be an incredibly difficult task if he were, but the odds seem unlikely to me.

I missed the "feel" somewhere in that sentence.  Of course he will never be the same and of course he's probably still emotionally damaged over it.

I was more looking at from a neutral point of view, however with a case like this even typing it in the most neutral way possible can look like blame is being placed on someone.

Nowhere did I say anything about you pinning blame on anyone or anything. I just said that Stewart won't be the same after this.

I understand Alta's point, it does seem almost surreal from an outside perspective. But, hey, it wasn't Tony's fault, he was on a race track where civilian automobile laws do not apply, and the victim put himself in a harmful situation as a result of impaired judgement. It was definitely the right move to let Stewart off the hook.

NeverNeutral wrote:Even though he had marijuana in his system, he may not have been high during the race.

Part of me feels glad that Tony won't be charged, based on all the evidence that has come up. At the same time, it doesn't change how shitty it is that Kevin had to die this way.

Either way, only Tony will ever know what happened. It's time to move on.

This.

I don't think Ward was high during the race. If he was a meth head I would believe it...

Just going to leave this here...

http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/other/auto_racing/2014/09/stewart_says_crash_was_100_percent_accident

NeverNeutral wrote:Even though he had marijuana in his system, he may not have been high during the race.

Part of me feels glad that Tony won't be charged, based on all the evidence that has come up. At the same time, it doesn't change how shitty it is that Kevin had to die this way.

Either way, only Tony will ever know what happened. It's time to move on.

This

I play hockey with a couple of guys who I know for a fact smoke marijuana, and I like playing hockey with them because if something stupid happens, they let it roll off their shoulder, and keep on playing.

Cynon wrote:

NeverNeutral wrote:Even though he had marijuana in his system, he may not have been high during the race.

Part of me feels glad that Tony won't be charged, based on all the evidence that has come up. At the same time, it doesn't change how shitty it is that Kevin had to die this way.

Either way, only Tony will ever know what happened. It's time to move on.

This.

I don't think Ward was high during the race. If he was a meth head I would believe it...

Maybe, but here's the problem. We don't know if he was high at the time of his death and we'll never know. From a legal standpoint, whether or not he was high during the race is irrelevant. Because he had marijuana in his system, there is no conceivable legal way to charge Tony Stewart for anything in this case, and not only that, but if the Ward family decides to file a civil suit, which they can do, I don't think their case is gonna have any leg to stand on anymore because of the toxicology report showing that Ward, Jr. had marijuana in his system at the time of his death. Maybe before the tox report, they probably had a pretty good case against Tony, but now, it's been shot to hell, and I don't think they're gonna get very far if they do file a civil suit. It'd just be a waste of money in the end.

I can't remember who said it, but I remember reading somewhere that New York speedways (may of been the Sprintcar Series that this happened) don't do drug tests. Due to Government policy here, Random Drug and Alcohol testing is done, and there has been a Sprintcar driver who has been caught and suspended due to Marijuana use.

Spannerhead29 (Nelson) wrote:I can't remember who said it, but I remember reading somewhere that New York speedways (may of been the Sprintcar Series that this happened) don't do drug tests. Due to Government policy here, Random Drug and Alcohol testing is done, and there has been a Sprintcar driver who has been caught and suspended due to Marijuana use.

Yeah, the series that Ward Jr. was running on doesn't do drug tests.

Tony will be having a press conference in 40 minutes.