14 DAY TRIAL // It's been several weeks since NASCAR driver Tony Stewart went “into hiding” from the media following a crash that killed fellow racer Kevin Ward Jr. Reports claimed that he was considering his future into racing and also spoke about the impact that this crash was going to have on his career.
On Friday last week, Tony mustered the courage to appear before the press for the first time since the incident and spoke at a news conference at the Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Ga. The driver appeared remorseful and admitted that the killing of young Kevin Ward “will affect my life forever.”
He also explained that “I’ve taken the last couple of weeks off out of respect for Kevin and his family and also to cope with the accident in my own way,” hinting at his mysterious absence from the media and from the race circuit after the horrific Canandaigua Motorsports Park accident.
Stewart, a skilled driver with a lot of experience, was blasted by Ward's family after the crash, but other drivers stood by him as the public lined up to take shots at him. “It’s given me the time to think about life and how easy it is to take it for granted. I miss my team, my teammates and I miss being back in the race car and I think being back in the car this week with my racing family will help me get through this difficult time,” he said.
The exact circumstances of how Ward was killed are still the object of an ongoing police investigation, although there are no criminal charges brought against Stewart at this point, since there has been no way of proving criminal intent on his part.
The incident took place on August 9, when both Stewart and Ward took part in a sprint cup race. Ward's car was taken out of the race after a collision with Stewart. This made the 20-year-old driver mad enough to get out of the car and walk the length of the track, trying to hunt Stewart down.
Other drivers in the race managed to avoid Ward, who was furiously pointing at Stewart's racer, but Tony managed to catch him with the back of the sprint car and run him over. Ward later died in the hospital the same day due to serious injuries resulted from blunt trauma.
Tony Stewart will return to racing after this mourning hiatus, according to Radar, and NASCAR confirmed that the driver was eligible to get back behind the wheel after he “has received all necessary clearances required to return to all racing activities.”