Saturday night at Canandaigua Motorsports Park in New York tragedy struck the race track, as NASCAR superstar Tony Stewart struck a fellow driver who was on foot on the track and killed him. The other racer was 20-year-old Kevin Ward Jr., who had spun out thanks to Stewart a bit earlier in the race.
Ward Jr. climbed out of his sprint car and forced one driver to swerve around him before he was struck by Stewart's vehicle and sent flying. Following this incident, there is new speculation that the days of drivers being allowed to exit their vehicle following a crash may soon be gone.
"Without suggesting any blame here, I think most people agree the days when drivers stand on a racetrack during a live race have to go," Zak Brown, the founder of Just Marketing said. Just Marketing has represented various sponsors in all forms of the racing game. "It's happened for years in every form of motorsport globally and that practice has to stop."
Before Sunday's Sprint Cup race at Watkins Glen, ESPN analyst Andy Petree addressed the tragedy that happened the night before and called Ward's death "a watershed moment for racing in general.
"Even if there's rule changes or procedure changes going forward, it's going to be something every race car driver will think about it. The impact of this tragic event is going to be felt from here forward. I think you'll see a lot of changes."
Another ESPN analyst Ricky Craven speculated Stewart may be out indefinitely following this incident. Stewart did not race at Watkins Glen.
"He's more than just a race car driver," Craven said. "He owns the team. He is the leader of the group. Many of his peers look up to him. He's going to have to stand tall through this. He'll have to find the courage and strength to rebound and get everything back in order.
"Having said all that, there's no playbook for this. I'm not sure this is a short-term situation. I think it's going to require a lot of help from a lot of people. This is going to be very emotional. Long before Tony can get back in a race car, he's going to have to deal with or understand and come to grips with the circumstances of (Saturday) night."
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