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Tony Stewart says he doesn’t need to talk to Kevin Ward Jr.’s family because his “closure” comes from his belief the deadly crash that killed the up-and-coming NASCAR driver was an accident. |
“At this point, I don’t need to talk to them for closure. I know what happened. I know it was an accident,” Stewart told reporters on Monday.
Stewart, one of the most popular drivers in America’s NASCAR stock car circuit, struck and killed the 20-year-old driver during an August 9 dirt track race at Canandaigua Motorsports Park.
Stewart did say he was willing to talk to the Ward family if it helps them with their grieving.
“I want to be available to them if they want to talk about it.”
Five days ago a US grand jury announced it had decided not to charge Stewart, a decision that was slammed by Ward’s family, who said they didn’t consider the case closed and would “pursue all remedies”.
Ward died from massive “blunt trauma” after being hit by Stewart’s race car.
Stewart first bumped Ward’s car and knocked it out of the race. On his next lap Stewart’s vehicle struck Ward, who had climbed out of his car and was walking down the track pointing his finger in the direction of Stewart.
As the car passed Ward it appeared to fishtail, hitting Ward and dragging him along the track for several metres.
Stewart said Monday he now wishes he “would have stayed at Watkins Glen” instead of taking part in the lower level dirt track race in upstate New York.
“I just wanted to have some fun that night,” the 43-year-old Stewart said.
Stewart, who is a multi-millionaire, is part owner of Stewart-Haas Racing, whose drivers include Danica Patrick.
Despite his success, up until Ward’s death Stewart continued to compete in non-NASCAR races on small and dirt tracks across America against drivers of varying talent levels and ages, including some in their teens.
Stewart said racing is still his passion but doesn’t know if he will compete on the dirt tracks again.
“I love what I do,” he said.
Ward, of Port Leyden, New York, began competing in Go Kart racing at the age of four in 1998. He began sprint car racing in 2010 and won his first career sprint car feature in June 2011.
HISTORY OF DUST-UPS
The hard-headed Stewart has a history of dust-ups with other drivers. Two years ago after a crash in a NASCAR race he walked onto a track at Bristol Motor Speedway in Tennessee and threw his helmet at Matt Kenseth’s car.
When Stewart competed in an event at Canandaigua in July 2013, he caused a crash that involved 15 drivers.
In Fontana, California last year, Stewart stormed down pit road and got into a fist fight with Joey Logano, whom he accused of trying to block him.
Following Ward’s death, NASCAR implemented new rules barring drivers from getting out of their vehicles, unless it is on fire, until safety personnel arrive.
