Tony Stewart Speaks Publicly For 1st Time Since Ward Incident

NASCAR Sprint Cup driver and team owner Tony Stewart spoke publicly Monday morning for the first time since the August incident that changed his life.

Stewart has been mostly a recluse since a dirt track car he was driving collided with driver Kevin Ward Jr. who got out of his car after a spin out at an upstate New York track.

There were tons of questions as to whether Stewart deliberately hit Ward or if it was just an accident. Ontario County, New York prosecutors investigated what happened and presented their evidence to a Grand Jury and that Jury came back just last week and said they could not move forward with charges.

A subdued Stewart sat alone at a podium and took questions from a large group of assembled media types:

--Stewart: "I know what happened and I know it was an accident"

--Stewart said he would like to talk to the Ward family, but does not think he needs to because he has closure in the matter. Though he added he would make himself available at any time if the family wants to talk.

--He described the awkward feeling of not doing anything other than going from the track to his track motorhome to his office and his home and nothing else. And that he ran the smaller tracks for fun, it helped keep him energized and he misses that.

--He's not done any fan appearances or corporate appearances since the incident, though he does feel like he will begin to do some in the near future.

--He also talked at length about realizing there is more to life than just racing and that he needs to round things out and do more of things he's put on hold because of his devotion to racing.

--Stewart said he avoided reading reports of what happened for a long time but has eventually started reading. He talked about the wrongness of "picking sides" at what happened. He said it's about an accident that cost a man his life adding "picking sides" takes away from Ward and himself.

--"There's been nothing normal about my life the past 7-weeks". Stewart describing what he's been doing and his interaction with his race team and others.

--Stewart was asked his thoughts on toxicology reports stating Ward was "under the influence"--"It didn't matter to me a young driver lost his life and that's all that mattered".

No huge revelations in the press conference and we did not expect any. A somber Stewart related what he's been going through and it's VERY clear this has made a huge impact on his life.

While he says what happened has not impacted the back half of his race season, the fact is it had to have some impact.

It's very clear, at least to us, Stewart has been struggling with this. He's also having to deal with Ward's family calling for more action and insisting that what happened was intentional.

Coming out and addressing the issue at hand at one time was perhaps the best thing he and his team could have done. We know he's been avoiding having to talk about it, and doing it with everyone in the building limits him having to be chased and asked about it in perpetuity.

It was very interesting to see...and hear.

No Charges for Tony Stewart in Death of Kevin Ward

An Ontario County, New York Grand Jury has declined to charge NASCAR driver Tony Stewart in the death of driver Kevin Ward in a dirt track accident at the Canandaigua Speedway on August 9th.

The incident occurred at the small track after Stewart and Ward got tangled up during a race. Ward spun out and after the incident, got out of his car and appeared on video to approach Stewart's car, still in motion at a fairly high rate of speed.

Ward died from the impact.

Stewart released a statement saying; "This has been the toughest and most emotional experience of my life and it will stay with me forever. While much of the attention has been on me, it's important to remember a young man lost his life. Kevin Ward Jr's family and friends will always be in my thoughts and prayers."

County D.A Michael Tantillo had asked the Grand Jury to consider charges of second degree manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide. They could not come to a unanimous decision on either.

Most agreed Tantillo would have had a difficult time proving criminal intent in the incident and issue further complicated when he said Ward had been under the influence of marijuana that night, "enough to impair judgement".

Stewart took a 3-week leave of absence from racing after the incident. He still could be Civilly charged in the incident, but that has yet to happen.

NASCAR released a statement:

"There are no winners in tragedy. Our thoughts and prayers remain with the Kevin Ward Jr. family and Tony Stewart as they all cope with this tragic incident at Canandaigua Motorsports Park. This has been a difficult time for everyone involved and we have respected the local authorities responsible for reviewing this case."

As did Stewart:

“This has been the toughest and most emotional experience of my life, and it will stay with me forever. I’m very grateful for all the support I’ve received and continue to receive. “I respect everything the District Attorney and Sheriff’s Office did to thoroughly investigate this tragic accident. While the process was long and emotionally difficult, it allowed for all the facts of the accident to be identified and known. “While much of the attention has been on me, it’s important to remember a young man lost his life. Kevin Ward Jr.’s family and friends will always be in my thoughts and prayers.”

Tony Stewart Incident Goes to Grand Jury

We knew last week that investigators had finished their work in upstate New York, trying to piece together exactly what they believe happened when Tony Stewart collided with Kevin Ward, killing Ward on a dirt track.

Ontario County DA Michael Truillo announced Tuesday afternoon that the case would get presented to the county's Grand Jury.

The incident, which happened at a track in Canandaigua, New York on August 9th, was a result of Ward spinning out during a race, which may or may not have been caused by Stewart. Tony's car came around the track the next lap, Ward got out of his car and at least according to video, moved towards Stewart's car.

That's when he was hit and eventually died from the crash.

Stewart spent three weeks on the sidelines and investigators have spent a month trying to collect videos and photos of the incident in an effort to piece together what may have happened and whether or not Stewart intentionally hit Ward.

What should be of concern here is that the D.A felt he had enough information to go to the Grand Jury about this. And while they may not feel there is enough compelling evidence to hand down an indictment, it appears...at least on the surface their may indeed be enough to charge Stewart with a crime.

Now we just wait and see.

No date has been set for presentation to the Grand Jury, but since they are usually rotated in most places on a fairly quick rotation, we'd expect it to happen soon.

Stay tuned.

Our pals at ESPN got legal guru Roger Cossack on the phone to discuss: