http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/moto...art/ar-BBluJfd
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Being high or testing positive for THC and walking out on the track, I don't see a jury favoring Wards family. However, this is a bad situation all the way around.
True on the dope and actions by Ward, but there are two sides to the story. Tony has an extensive hothead history, both on asphalt and dirt. He's used his car as a weapon before, assaulted members of the press, and acted exactly as Ward did after being in the receiving end of an incident. Anyone else member the time he blatantly turned Kenseth in front of the whole field at Daytona? That behavior history will not be lost on the plaintiff's attorney, or the jury.The first thing I thought when I saw the video was Tony gassed it to try to scare or taunt Ward, and it failed, with tragic consequences. Why else would he have throttled up right before getting to an obviously displeased Ward.
When you throttle a sprint car they tend turn left
Not really, I could care less about Stewart one way or the other as a racer. I do like the fact he bought Eldora and kept Earl's dream rolling. However, the bottom line is the stuff I posted is likely going to be the angle the Ward family pushes. It doesn't mean Tony will lose the suit, but his many past actions and poor behavior will be used against him, period. Also, there's the fact that a civil suit requires a lower level of culpability and reasonable doubt than a criminal case. I'm not wishing for one outcome or the other, and neither verdict will bring Ward back, but there's more to it than Ward simply had THC in his system.
And we have no clue whether Ward was "stoned" when it happened. Marijuana is fat soluble, and stays in the human body at detectable levels for 30 days or more. We know beyond a doubt he made a poor choice to exit the car and come down the track, but sober and clean people also make poor choices daily.
There is more than the fact he had THC in his system he ran onto a race track in apparent anger with moving race cars on it I am sure he attended the drivers meeting and they always say not to exit your car until safety workers arrive.
I'm not a Stewie fan just because of his temperamental attitude, but I think it would be a crock of $#@& if found guilty. Anytime someone puts them self in a position such as Ward did, I can blame nobody but himself. Stranger things happen in a court room so who knows. You could be right but I sure hope not.
I believe this will ultimately turnout to be an undisclosed settlement. I would think Tony wouldn't want all his past problems on the track to be brought up along with his temper off the track. It just doesn't look good. He's still got sponsors to please. Find a number, that both parties will agree and get this behind them!! Tony can afford to part with a little money to get this behind him. I'm sure it wasn't a surprise to him and his legal team. Civil suits can be tricky and if their not careful the jury could easily find in the families favor for a huge sum!!
And again some are speculating on what happened and really don't know the reason why Tony gassed the car. Yes I do agree it could have been to intimidate Kevin or it could have been to avoid him none of us really know and the only person that does is Tony himself. I'm not so, sure ithis will be settled out of court because it seems like the Ward family wants Tony to own this and want him to be found at fault. And I'm not saying he is or isn't because, I simply don't know. As I said when it happened it's very unfortunate it had to happen at all. JMO and I could be totally wrong on this.
Wilson released a statement Tuesday I think it was about that whole deal. He said Shannon not only hit him, he also grabbed a hold of his helmet and twisted it. The way I took it, it broke the snaps on his HANS device.
Im with HH25 on this deal. Its walking into rush hour traffic and looking for the guy that cut you off. It's just plain dumb IMO.
I don't think you're wrong on any of it. I'll admit my point on why Stewart gassed it exactly when he did was pure speculation. No one knows but Tony. However, we're talking courtrooms here, and....
No other driver passing Ward gassed it then, no one else had just bumped Ward over the berm in 1/2, and no one else had an obvious reason to provoke, antagonize, or incur the ire of the visibly angry Ward. Combine that with Tony's extensive history of hot head behavior, both on dirt (well known here) and asphalt (well known to NA$CAR fans), and you have a civil case. My opinion might be speculative, but it isn't much of a reach. The prosecuting attorneys definitely will play that angle for all its worth if a settlement isn't reached. From the sound of the Ward family, a settlement may not be in the cards either.