Ward’s car was spun into the outside wall and it came to rest there. Ward climbed from the wreck as the caution flag came out. As the parade of cars slowly made their way around Ward began to step toward the racing line.
What happened next has become the subject of investigation. Several cars missed the young driver, but he was still making his way lower on the track. Tony Stewart, the target of Ward’s ire, came around the turn onto the back straight. Ward began to step toward his line. Some say that Tony gunned the engine to scare the kid and make him move. Some say that he tried to turn to avoid him, but Canandaigua being a dirt track and sprint cars being notoriously slippy, the back end stepped out. Still others say that Stewart aimed at the young man and intentionally turned. The end result was Kevin Ward being caught and dragged by Stewart’s car before finally being thrown free on the back straight. Ward later died of “massive” trauma.
The investigation began and, currently, police say there is no evidence of criminal intent on the behalf of Tony Stewart. Still, it’s a tragic situation that could easily have been avoided. I’m not, in any way, trying to put blame on anyone in particular. Stewart’s a good enough driver to have avoided the young man. Ward should’ve been smart enough to know you don’t walk into the racing line on a dirt track at night while wearing a black racing suit.
NASCAR, a few years back, decided to “let the boys go” as part of a campaign to increase sagging rating. The end result was that a bunch of hot-headed drivers found themselves crashed out of races, and so as the pace-car led field drove around, helmets were thrown at offending drivers. Fights sometimes broke out in the pit lane. The TV producers loved it, but secretly NASCAR had to be cringing. With a policy of “let the boys go” it was only a matter of time until something tragic happened.
Now, in answer to this tragedy, NASCAR has published an amendment to its rules and regulations:
***Section 9-16 On-Track Incident Procedure
During an Event, if a racecar is involved in an on track incident and/or is stopped on or near the racing surface and unable to continue to make forward progress, unless extenuating emergency conditions exist with the racecar (i.e. fire, smoke in cockpit, etc.) the driver should take the following steps:
- Shut off electrical power and, if driver is uninjured, lower window net
- Do not loosen , disconnect or remove any driver personal safety equipment until directed to do so by safety personnel or a NASCAR/Track Official
- After being directed to exit the racecar, the driver should proceed to either the ambulance, other vehicle, or as otherwise directed by safety personnel or a NASCAR/Track Official
- At no time should a driver or crew member(s) approach any portion of the racing surface or apron
- At no time should a driver or crew member(s) approach another moving vehicle
All vehicles not involved in the incident or that are able to continue afterwards should slow down to a cautious speed as outlined in Section 10-4 (Yellow Flag), use extreme care as they approach an incident scene, and follow any directions given by safety personnel or NASCAR/Track Officials. Cars in line behind the safety car should not weave or otherwise stray from the line in the vicinity of the incident.***
What that means, in layman’s terms, is that driver’s must remain in their cars after an accident, unless the car is damaged to the point that there is a threat of injury or death to a driver if they stayed in. If the car is on fire, then get out. If you were spun out by another driver and you lightly tapped the wall but it broke your car, which is not on fire, then stay in the car until safety officials arrive. Frankly, it’s a policy NASCAR should’ve had in place a long time ago. Sadly, if the sprint car series had the same policy, Kevin Ward would still be alive.
Unfortunately, as is often the case with motor racing, it takes a tragedy to propel the series to make the proper rule changes. NASCAR saw it with the death of Dale Earnhardt in 2001, which lead to the creation of SAFER barriers at every track.
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