Smoke And The Blue Deuce Visit The Big Red Truck

((HT: NASCAR their own selves/NASCAR on ESPN))

You remember the end of the Charlotte race and all of the associated shenanigans...

Well, if you don't, we'll show you...


And, if that wasn't all, Keselowski did this in the infield garage. The long version was missed by ESPN cameras...

IN THE INFIELD GARAGE!!!


NASCAR came down with their decisions today:

NASCAR has assessed behavioral penalties to drivers Brad Keselowski and Tony Stewart for their involvement in post-race incidents on Oct. 11 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Keselowski has been fined $50,000 and placed on NASCAR probation for the next four NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship events through Nov. 12 for violating:

· Section 12-1: Actions detrimental to stock car racing
· Section 12-4.9: Behavioral penalty – involved in post-race incidents

Stewart has been fined $25,000 and placed on NASCAR probation for the next four NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship events through Nov. 12 for violating:

· Section 12-1: Actions detrimental to stock car racing
· Section 12-4.9: Behavioral penalty – involved in a post-race incident

“These penalties are about maintaining a safe environment following the race,” said Robin Pemberton, NASCAR senior vice president, competition and racing development. “We knew that the new Chase format was likely going to raise the intensity level and we want our drivers to continue to be themselves. However, the safety of our drivers, crew members, officials, and workers is paramount and we will react when that safety could be compromised.”

"Behavioral penalties..."

Never heard that one before...

Does anyone remember that Kevin Harvick actually won the race...???

All Hell Breaks Loose Postrace In Charlotte

((HT: NASCAR on ABC/ESPN))

First, the end of the race in Charlotte this evening gave Kevin Harvick a win to advance in the new version of The Chase...
But all hell broke loose after the fact...

Your finish


And a longer version with commentary from some rather intense, very young NASCAR fans (NSFW)...


Then, Kenseth jumped Keselowski between the haulers out back to express some severe displeasure


Expect Kenseth, Keselowski, and Hamlin to visit The Big Red Truck very soon- and to, perhaps, be a little lighter in the wallet...

Reminded the HQ of something like this


Doesn't it...???

Here's postgame with Doc and Brad and Vince and Denny...

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.

Ward Family Not Satisfied With Stewart Grand Jury Decision

((HT: WHEC-TV))

Understandably so...

After the Ontario County (NY) Grand Jury returned the idea that they were not going to come back with an indictment of Tony Stewart in the death of driver Kevin Ward, Junior in a race August 9th in upper New York state, the Ward family issued their own statement:

"Our son got out of his car during caution when the race was suspended. All the other vehicles were reducing speed and not accelerating except for Stewart, who intentionally tried to intimidate Kevin by accelerating and sliding his car toward him, causing the tragedy. The focus should be on the actions of Mr. Stewart. This matter is not at rest and we will pursue all remedies in fairness to Kevin.”

Here's team coverage of the Grand Jury decision


"I personally am very happy with the outcome," Canadaigua Race Director Greg Hixson said when interviewed Wednesday. "I've seen the videos, I was there, I saw it live and for Tony to be charged I think would have been another crime. It's unfortunate and my heart goes out to the Ward family, but having another life ruined because of it, I thought it would have been very unjust."

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:

Tony Stewart Won't Race This Weekend Either

((ht: nascar.com))

Suffice to say the past two weeks have not been kind to NASCAR team owner and driver Tony Stewart.

By now, most of you know about the incident at a central New York dirt track Saturday night that cost promising driver Kevin Ward Jr his life after getting tangled with Stewart's car.

After initially saying he wanted to race in the Sprint Cup race at Watkins Glen the next day, Stewart relented and handed over the #14 Stewart-Haas racing car to Reagan Smith.

Thursday afternoon, Stewart's race team released a statement saying Tony would not race in the upcoming race in Michigan. They did not elaborate other than to say that veteran driver Jeff Burton would drive his car on Sunday.

Stewart has drawn a lot of heat on social media and other places for what appears to be a limited response to a horrible accident/mistake. No charges have been filed and we'd be surprised if eventually they were.

But that should not absolve the millionaire multiple times over Stewart from trying to something to help. As far as anyone knows--and we hope we are wrong, Stewart has avoided the public at all costs and has thus far not reached out to the Ward family.

Stewart will eventually get back behind the wheel and investigators in Ontario County, New York will eventually finish their investigation. And no matter the outcome, we suspect someone is not going to be happy with the results.

Fox Sports gives us the video update:

Kevin Ward, Senior Lashes Out At Tony Stewart

((HT: Syracuse Post-Standard/Hannagan))

The father of the sprint car racer killed in an accident with Tony Stewart has spoken to Syracuse media and is still not happy with Stewart and how things transpired on the track.

In an extensive interview with Syracuse.com's Charley Hannagan Kevin Ward, Senior feels that Stewart is solely responsible for what happened at the Canadaigua, New York track this past weekend.

From Hannagan is the collection of her quotes from Kevin Ward, Senior:

"Apparently, Tony Stewart was the only one driving out there who didn't see him," he said.

"Tony Stewart was the best damn driver by far on the track that night. Why he had to go up as high as he did and hog my son, there's no reason for it," Ward Sr. said.

"The one person that knows what happened that night is possibly facing 10 years in prison. Is he going to say what he done?" Ward Sr. said.

Ward wants everyone to remember his son as someone who just loved to race and that seems to be the main reason he spoke to Hannagan for her article. But even if the investigation shows no malice on Stewart's behalf, he may not be completely free from any kind of charges from the Ontario County police.

"CBS This Morning" brought in Jack Ford to discuss the legal options...


The funeral for Ward, Junior is tomorrow...

Should Tony Stewart Race at Watkins Glen? (UPDATED)

If you are just waking up and reading through the overnight news, you probably low about the Tony Stewart incident at an Ontario County, New York dirt track.

A driver was killed after being hit by Stewart's race car during a heat at the Canandaigua Motorsports Track is being investigated by the county police department. The investigation began after 20-year old Kevin Ward, the driver in question, died in a local hospital.

We'll spare you the video in this post, it can be seen in our original report on the incident.

Scroll down or page or click on the link RIGHT HERE

The reason for the follow up column, according to Stewart-Haas Racing, Stewart still plans on racing Sunday afternoon at Watkins Glen. No, Stewart is not facing charges from the incident at the present time, but we're stunned that he feels like racing less than 24-hours later.

Will Stewart be charged: That might be difficult to prove. If you've seen the video, you can plainly see Ward, after being spun out by Stewart, get out of his car and he's quite visibly angry. You can also see another driver avoid Ward who is gesturing towards Stewart. Stewart appears at first glance to try and swerve around him as well, but wasn't able to get out of the way.

The Ontario County sheriff's department is investigating the incident as they should. And yes, someone died at the track. There should be an investigation. A detailed one at that.

Reports say Stewart is devastated and he should be. It's a perfectly normal reaction to a horrific incident.

But how do you get past it quickly?

We have interviewed Stewart multiple times and are well aware that he lives, eats and breathes racing. There are very few other things in life that he does or wants to do. He may feel as though racing will take his mind off the incident.

But how?

NASCAR is following all developments and at the current time does not feel they should keep Stewart off the track. They don't feel ready to keep him away. If for some reason charges get filed, then we have a different conversation. We aren't there yet.

The part that is difficult to understand, and you'd have to get inside Stewart's head to know the reason he's going back on the track. The question we and probably you have though is this: "How do you focus on what you are doing, knowing an accident you were involved in killed a man just a few hours before?"

Here's video from WROC-TV of a press conference held by Ontario County Sheriff Philip Provero who talks about the incident and how the investigation is proceeding:




UPDATE---10:25 a.m: Per Stewart's Crew Chief Greg Zipadelli: Stewart will not drive in the race at Watkins Glen. Reagan Smith will drive the car for this race.

Ed Note: This is the right thing to do. As much as Tony may have wanted to race, out of deference to what happened to Kevin Ward, he needed to not be behind the wheel today. Nobody knows how the investigation will progress, but this is the proper decision.

Tony Stewart Hits Driver In Sprint Car Race, Later Dies (UPDATED)

[HT: Canandaiqua (N.Y.) Messenger]

Saturday night while participating in a sprint car race in Canandaiqua, New York, 30 miles southeast of Rochester, three time NASCAR sprint cup champion Tony Stewart was involved in an accident between turns one and 2 with another driver identified as Kevin Ward, Jr.

Ward spun out after contact with Stewart.  According to the Associated Press video evidence shows Ward approaching Stewart's car while the track is under caution before he was hit and hurtled 50 feet.

Ontario County sheriff Phillip Povero said the driver was pronouned dead at a Canandaiqua, NY hospital.

Here is said video evidence.




Stewart-Haas Racing released the following statement:

"A tragic accident took place last night during a sprint car race in which Tony Stewart was participating,  Tony was unhurt, but a fellow competitor lost his life. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends. We're still attempting to sort through all the details and we appreciate your understanding during this difficult time."

Povero said Stewart was quetioned and was fully cooperative during questioning.  The incident is not being investigated as a criminal manner.

Stewart is scheduled to race Sunday in the Sprint Cup race at Watkins Glen, NY.  

1600 UPDATE: The early word from Povero is they're not convinced of a criminal act by anyone involved...

From MRN's Pete Pistone via his Twitter

"At this moment there are no facts or evidence that would support a criminal charge or indicate criminal intent.”

Smoke Is The Bandit And It Works

((HT: ExxonMobil))

It's an homage... and it's the first part of a reported 6-part series...


Dig the mustache...
Completely...

Stewart Haas Adds Kurt Busch

In a great scoop and score for Stewart-Haas Racing, Tony Stewart has added Kurt Busch from Furniture Row Racing for the 2014 season...

SHR offered a little over a week ago, Furniture Row counter offered and Busch went to SHR...

He now joins Stewart, Harvick, and Danica...

But didn't the HQ think he heard SHR say that there wasn't going to be a 4th team when he let go of Ryan Newman in the first place...???

So much for that...

"It was always our intention to extend Kurt's contract," FRR general manager Joe Garone said in a statement. "We made him an offer last week to continue as the driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row Chevrolet in 2014 and beyond. Though he did not accept our offer we respect his decision and wish him future success. His driving skill and being a dedicated team player will always be appreciated. Right now, the main focus for Kurt and the team is to qualify for the Chase and contend for the 2013 Sprint Cup Series championship."

Busch is on the cusp of taking a western, one car team to the Chase... something a lot of people didn't think was going to happen...

Ever... but he has proven if he can keep his thoughts to himself, he can drive any car as well as anyone...

Busch's temper got him booted from Penske after the 2011 season which caused him to ride for FRR...
Stuff like this from Homestead got him in trouble, and it's very NSFW...
((HT: Jon Adams))


Ricky Craven discusses the second chance with Stewart Haas...

Mark Martin Picks Up Tony Stewart's Ride

Injured car owner/driver Tony Stewart finally found someone to finish out his 2013 Sprint Cup season.

Monday afternoon, it was announced that veteran driver Mark Martin will bring the #14 Chevy home for the next 13 races. Newcomer Austin Dillon will driver the car for one race--at Talladega.

You'll recall Stewart broke his leg in 2 places in an August 5th short track race in Iowa. He was on the fringe of qualifying for the Sprint Cup Championship, which takes place during the last 12 races of the year. Those points stay with the car. And with the #14 car in 13th place, it's quite possible Martin could still get the car into the Chase.

Martin, who had been scheduled to drive the #55 for Michael Waltrip for 10 races, got a release from owner Michael Waltrip to move over and pick up Stewart. Brian Vickers, who will take over the #55 full-time next season, will finish those races.

ICYMI: Tony Stewart Hurt in Crash May Be Done for 2013 (Video)

Good thing Tony Stewart's other job is car owner instead of just car driver.

"Smoke's" 2013 chances at winning the Sprint Cup are all but gone after Stewart broke his leg in 2-places during a dirt track crash Monday night at the Southern Iowa Motor Speedway.

Reports say Stewart broke his fibula and tibia on his right leg, which will make it extraordinarily difficult for him to drive, since all the pedals in a race car (or any car) are on the right side.

The crash happened just 5 laps from the finish of a 40 lap race and in the aftermath, Tony Stewart was rushed to a Des Moines Hospital where he immediately underwent surgery.

Stewart, who is 11th in this weeks Sprint Cup standings has already had his team release a statement that his car won't race in this weeks race at Watkins Glen. The guess is, his season is done, it's just a matter of whether the team and owner (Stewart) decides it's worth having someone else climb into his car to ride it out.

Here's video of said crash:


PM UPDATE: Looks like Max Papis will be filling in for Stewart at Watkins Glen. He tested at Road Atlanta as an ice breaker and, apparently, passed the SHR test...

Tony Stewart Walks Away From This...???

((HT: From The Marbles/Jake Phelps))

We all know that Tony Stewart loves him some racing...

His fondness for dirt tracking was evidenced by his love for Eldora raceway, the truck race there recently, and showing up at Ohsweken Speedway in Ontario, Canada for the 2013 Ohsweken Northern Summer Nationals. Smoke was battling another Stewart, Shane, when this happened...

Here's what he survived and walked away from...


Hasn't he done this before in larger cars...???
((HT: NASCAR on ESPN))


Yup... he had...

Smoke Wins Dover, Johnson Penalized On Restart

((HT: NASCAR on FOX))

Tony Stewart broke a 30-race winless streak by passing Juan Pablo Montoya with a handful laps to go and getting it to the checkered first at the Monster Mile.

But, the 48 car had its chance to set a record 8th win, until...
And the big word is "until..."


Johnson was assessed a drive-thru penalty for jumping. He disagreed...
A lot...

“I ran half-throttle for the first half a lap, waiting for him, and then at some point you’ve got to go, and you’ve got to race, and that’s when I got back in the gas and took off,” he explained. “I was hoping they would see that I was trying to give him the spot back.”

“That was an easy call -- a very easy call,” NASCAR VP Robin Pemberton said. “He beat the 42 even out of the (restart) box, from what we could see on the film. We give 'em an opportunity to give it back.”

In other news, Brad Keselowski's car failed a post-race "height-stick test"- meaning he was too low in the front...
Penalties are to be doled out this week...

And the other half of Stewart-Haas Racing wasn't so lucky... Ryan Newman got into it with David Gilliland and, by the looks of it, the 39 took out the 38 with a tap on the rear that sent Gilliand up the track and, eventually, took them both out.

The HQ is fairly certain we haven't heard the last of this one...

The Big One Only Waits 42 Laps At Talladega (UPDATED: With Another Big One With 6 To Go And David Ragan Wins)

Kyle Busch gets a push from Marcus Ambrose... He goes into the back of Kasey Kahne to send him around and all hell breaks loose at Talladega... Busch admitted on his in-car communications that it was his fault...

Your victims- Kyle, Kahne, Greg Biffle, Jamie McMurray, Brian Vickers, Casey Mears, Ambrose, Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick, David Stremme, Martin Truex, Junior, and Jeff Burton all either got damage of some sort or are out for the day... 14 of 43...

Not a bad percentage for the haunted speedway to take another chunk out of the sport... a full one-third of the field...

Here's a little bit of it from nascarcrashesmore...


More when we know more...

UPDATE: With 6 laps to go, it all happened again...

It looked like Ricky Stenhouse squeezed JJ Yeley as the cars went four wide and it caused another chain reaction involving Kurt Busch (who was looking to win the race). Ryan Newman ended up with the 78 on top of him. Bowyer, both Labontes, David Stremme, Danica Patrick, Jamie McMurray, and Jeff Gordon were all involved.

Stenhouse called out Yeley in his own in-car communication...
Here's the other big one...


NASCAR, much like Saturday's Nationwide race, only allowed one pass for a green-white-checkered finish. Seven hours after the official start, David Ragan got a big push from his teammate David Gilliand and beat out Johnson, Edwards, and Kenseth.
((HT: NASCAR))


Huzzahs to everyone at Front Row Motorsports for their finish...

At Least Joey Logano Is Consistent- Fighting 2 Weeks In A Row

((HT: NASCAR on FOX))

For the second week in a row, Joey Logano has created some angst and agita at the end of a NASCAR event...

This time it was created with Tony Stewart at the restart at the end of the race at Fontucky...
Both made it over the finish line (in various pieces), but when they both made it to pit road Stewart had had enough...

He'd had all he can stands and can't stands no more...
Punches were thrown... and the HQ sides with Stewart in this one...


Oh, the 18 car won and Dale Junior finished second...
No word on whether or not the 14 and 22 are heading to the Big Red Truck at present...

More when we know more...

Here's another version of the fight with some Steve Byrnes-ian post edited in...

Gen 6 Gets Their First Big Wreck At Daytona

And it was at the end of the Nationwide race...

Evidence below...
((HT: NASCAR on ESPN))


Regan Smith was dancing with Brad Keselowski and, by the time it was over Kyle Larson went airborne and lost the entire front of his car. Larson, Michael Annett, and eight others were involved in the final lap wreck. There was a 13-car wreck that caused the green-white-checkered after the race had been red flagged..

Tony Stewart survived the melee and won the 300-miler...

Six fans are listed as injured, two of them are considered in critical condition and the damage to the grandstand came from Larson's engine and the fluids coming form other cars involved in the wreck

"The engine came right through the fence, injuring about six people," said a Daytona International Speedway supervisor, speaking under the condition of anonymity to yahoo!Sports.

Here's the NASCAR version of what went down..
((HT: NASCAR.com))

More when we know more...

The Big One At Talladega Was... Normal...

((HT: NASCAR on ESPN))

Talladega has a mind all of its own when it comes to the racing we see...

Restrictor plates, curses, and usually "The Big One...."

And, what we mean by that for the uninitiated, is a very large wreck that takes out a great deal of the field- usually contenders- that puts some unsuspecting soul at the top of the ladder that you wouldn't normally suspect...

Here's all the fury on the green-white-checkered...


Four-wide is bats***-crazy-insane... and Tony Stewart's trying to block down to the bitter end blew the whole thing up and sent shards across 25 cars...which included 10 of the 12 Chasers...

"It's not safe. It's not. It's bloodthirsty," Dale Earnhardt Jr. said after the race. "If that's what people want, that's ridiculous."

But Stewart did fall on the sword for this one...

"I just screwed up. I turned down and cut across Michael and crashed the whole field," he said. "It was my fault, blocking and trying to stay where I was at.

"I was trying to win the race and I was trying to stay ahead of Matt there and Michael got a great run on the bottom and had a big head of steam, and when I turned down, I turned across the front of his car. Just a mistake on my part but cost a lot of people a bad day."

Brad Keselowski is now 14 points ahead of Jimmie Johnson, 20 ahead of Denny Hamlin, and 37 ahead of both Kasey Kahne and Clint Bowyer.

Those surprises in the final standings we talked about above...??? Regan Smith was 4th, Travis Kvapil was 8th, and David Gilliland was 15th...