The investigation into Kevin Ward's tragic death upon being struck when Tony Stewart raced by on Aug. 9 during a dirt-track race at Canandaigua Motorsports Park in New York is about to come to an end.
The speculation about what actually happened, however, won't and shouldn't come to an end anytime soon.
Tony Stewart's handlers prolonging his anguish?
Fansided.com, citing a FoxSports.com, said Tuesday that the investigation is close to ending, but no timetable exists as to when that report will be made to the public or the media.
In the absence of the results of the investigation, several media outlets have quoted those in attendance at the fateful race, those close to Ward and those close to Stewart.
Questions linger about Kevin Ward death despite support for Tony Stewart
A FoxSports.com analysis piece by Tom Jensen on Monday asked for the speculation to stop to allow the investigation to proceed unfettered.
"So far, I have avoided weighing in on who I believe is at fault in the crash," Jensen wrote. "There are several reasons for this:
"First off, I'm not qualified. The Ontario County (N.Y.) Police Department and District Attorney's office have professional trained investigators who do this for a living. They are interviewing witnesses, examining evidence, reconstructing the crash and doing what they are paid to do when someone dies unnaturally: Performing what is hopefully a painstakingly detailed, thorough and impartial analysis of what happened that night. It is the job of law enforcement to gather the facts and make a ruling.
"I don't get to interview witnesses. I don't get to examine a single piece of evidence, nor have I ever even been to that track. How could my opinion of who's to blame and who isn't possibly be more informed than that of the investigators?
All this is true, except for the fact that the case seems to hinge only on the testimony of one person.
Stewart.
No one can begin to understand the emotions - the anguish, the grief, the bewilderment - that Stewart must be feeling after what happen. There's no disputing that.
But this tragedy occurred during a sporting event - a race. It was a game of who could finish a race first that claimed a man's life. It was a public race in front of spectators who were in attendance to be entertained, not witness a senseless tragedy.
And all the "investigating" needs to occur is Stewart saying what happened.
Everyone witnessed that Ward's car and Stewart's car collided, sending Ward's car into the wall and ending his race.
Ward then inexplicably got out of his car as other racers whizzed past, walked toward Stewart's oncoming car pointing in anger at Stewart.
Ward's friend, Tyler Graves, who witnessed the tragedy in person, accused Stewart of hitting the throttle as he approached Ward in a gesture of retaliation to Graves' apparent anger. Graves claimed when Stewart did that, his car fishtailed into Ward, which is how Stewart clipped him and sent him flying dozens of feet, killing him instantly.
No one is suggesting that Stewart deliberately ran over Ward. But if Graves is correct, Stewart likely won't ever admit it. He would be subject to whatever legal ramifications that admission would cost him, not to mention the ramifications from a lawsuit from Ward's family - even though it would seem Ward would have to bear almost all the responsibility for climbing out of car and charging at Stewart.
That should be what some of the investigation is focused on.
If Stewart didn't respond in anger - didn't hit the throttle - it would seem he would be cleared of any wrongdoing.
The speculation has mushroomed because Stewart has not commented publicly. And even though he may be overwhelmed by the grief, he alone holds the answers that would solve the remaining mystery into Ward's death.
The racing world needs to learn what happened to prevent something like this from ever happening again. So that the Denny Hamlins of the world aren't throwing harnesses at the Kevin Harvicks. So that NASCAR, IndyCar, Formula 1 and whatever other racing entities require drivers to take some kind of anger management training.
The speculation should force all profession race-car drivers to take a look in the mirror and ask themselves what they would've done in that situation, how they can educate others in racing etiquette so that no one gets killed playing a game.
That's why the speculation is warranted. Because a race-car driver is dead, and, yes, the public deserves to know why.
Do you think Tony Stewart will publicly state what happened on Aug. 9? Comment below or tell us @SportsWN.
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