04Green

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Tony Stewart: Why charges are unlikely (Opinion) - CNN.com

BigCajun

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The D.A. handling the investigation has decided to hand the case to a grand jury.
This is not particularly a good sign since he could have decided there was not enough evidence for charges and dropped the case himself.

gwilliams6

I have dealt with a lot of cases in my job as a newspaper journalist and i don't think this move signals anything . It was just the safe move for the D.A. so that whatever the grand jury decision, the D.A. going forward would not have to take the hit or any criticism from either side for his decision. The D.A. is playing it safe and covering his own hide here, nothing more. Remember this DA may have to run for some election in the future in this area, and his political career could be ruined over any decision he made, whereas the grand jury doesn't run for office.

bse50

Isn't natural selection enough of a penalty already?
You have to be a complete moron to step from a metal cage and walk on a race track when other cars are still racing.

I have never seen an european driver do that at any level of GT racing. The FIA would set their license on fire and bid them farewell from racing in a heartbeat.

BigCajun

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True statement.
I should never underestimate the political ambitions of public office holders.

comebackqid

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Yea buddy those type of people will do anything to make sure they have their way.

BigCajun

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ESPN is reporting the grand jury will not bring any charges against Tony Stewart.

gwilliams6

Tony Stewart won't face charges in other racer's death - CNN.com

And toxicology has determined the deceased driver was under the influence of marijuana at the time of the tragedy. So whether or not it is legal to use in any given state, no race driver should be on any track in any state while under the influence. CASE CLOSED for all the Stewart bashers in this case.

Vlaze

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Good call; can't imagine the **** storm that would have formed if it ruled the other way for the future of racing.

gwilliams6

Stewart of course will continue racing, with NASCAR's blessing, he is one of their stars. Yes it is sad for the family of the driver, but even sadder is the fact it was the driver's own fault, for being in the middle of a hot track, wearing black clothing at night in dust and dirt, and being under the influence of marijuana. Don't forget being under the influence of marijuana alone could be a contributing factor to both how he was racing and his irrational actions getting out of his car and walking into race traffic. I have spent countless miles on tracks in rotary sports cars and I hope neither I or any other drivers I encountered were driving under the influence, but I am sure some were. . IMSA GTU Championship Winning RX7 driver Walt Bohren, a good friend and amazing driver, had his career ended by Mazda after he showed up in Japan to be celebrated for his IMSA GTU championship, and was caught at the Tokyo airport with marijuana.He was never allowed to race again for Mazda.

I did see the tragic Stewart video and there was no way any law enforcement folks would have faulted Stewart after viewing it.

NASCAR changed the rules to demand drivers stay in their cars after a wreck unless on fire, but some irrational hot head will probably violate the new rules too. Sometimes in life, no matter what you do, you can't keep idiots from killing themselves. You just hope they don't cost innocence lives with their stupid moves.

Authorities are actually saying the deceased driver was "impaired" by being under the influence of the marijuana, so that tells an important part of the story about why he would enter a hot track. The driver's family now wants to file civil suit against Stewart for money damages, but they will lose as all the grand jury findings can be admitted by Stewart legal team. I feel for the deceased driver's family, but they will not get money from Stewart unless he gives them some out of the goodness of his heart, not from any lawsuit that would set a precedent. People just haven't gotten any damage money from ontrack accidents between drivers.

ken-x8

I hate to keep this thread alive, but Stewart spoke up at a press conference a couple of days ago:

Tony Stewart press conference: "It's been hard for me to function" | News | Motorsport.com

He makes a great point about not taking sides...it does no good.

Back when I was doing race reporting, I met Stewart, interviewed him a time or two. Nice guy, very straightforward. Also interviewed a lot of other drivers, so I've got as much of an idea as any non-racer can have about this. I've been saturated (over-saturated?) with all the news, thanks to friends on Facebook linking whatever they find.

While it's easy to bash the sheriff and DA for not having the ***** to cut the investigation off when they saw nothing, I think they had no choice but to let the process play out to the end. Otherwise they'd leave the door open for even more bashers and rumor mongers. So TS's request to not take sides should apply to all involved.

Ken

04Green

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++ ^^

gwilliams6

I agree, dont take sides, just side with the facts and the truth. Being not only a former amateur racer and sometime race crew member , but a professional photojournalist that has covered all forms of racing from Indy cars to Formula one , NASCAR and IMSA, I have met and photographed loads of drivers including Tony both in Indy Car and NASCAR and he seems no more a villain than the Busch brothers who go off from time to time. If everyone could just keep cool heads when engaging in a dangerous sports (sometimes a tough task) then we would have less of these regrettable tragedies on and off the track. I say a little prayer for all the fine race drivers I have known that are no longer with us.