In a statement Monday morning, Plymouth (Ind.) Speedway officials confirmed NASCAR driver Tony Stewart had pulled out of a scheduled race at the .375-mile dirt track planned for this coming Saturday night.
Stewart sat out Sunday's Sprint Cup Series race at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International following his involvement in the death Saturday night of fellow racer Kevin Ward Jr. at an upstate New York dirt track.
A sprint car driven by Stewart Saturday night struck and killed Ward, 20, as he was walking on the track expressing his displeasure with Stewart over a prior incident on the track that evening at Canandaigua (NY) Motorsports Park.
Here is the statement released by Plymouth Speedway:
"We at Plymouth Speedway express our deepest condolences and prayers to the family of Kevin Ward Jr. and thoughts and prayers to Tony Stewart and his family. Tony Stewart will not be racing at Plymouth Speedway this Saturday. More information on the weekend's race will be announced later this week."
To read the latest on the incident between Stewart and Ward, go here.
Monday, August 11, 2014
Saturday, August 9, 2014
Tony Stewart will sit out Sunday's NASCAR race following incident at N.Y. dirt track
Sheriff Philip Povero confirmed during an early-morning news conference that the driver struck on the track was pronounced dead on arrival at F.F. Thompson Hospital in Canandaigua. The driver was identified by track officials as 20-year old Kevin Ward Jr. of Port Leyden, N.Y.
Povero said authorities questioned Stewart at the scene and said he was cooperative and "very upset" about the incident. The Ontario County district attorney's office has been notified of the incident and will continue the investigation, Povero said.
The are no charges currently pending against Stewart, who returned after the incident to his motorhome at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International, site of Sunday's Cheez-It 355 at the Glen.
At approximately 10:15 a.m. ET Sunday, Stewart-Haas Racing's vice president of competition, Greg Zipadelli, said Stewart had decided not to compete in Sunday's race.
"He feels strongly this is the right thing to do," Zipadelli said of Stewart, with whom he has worked for 18 years. "It's an unbelievable tragedy. Very tough, very emotional."
Stewart was expected to return to the Charlotte area.
“There aren’t words to describe the sadness I feel about the accident that took the life of Kevin Ward Jr. It’s a very emotional time for all involved, and it is the reason I’ve decided not to participate in today’s race at Watkins Glen," Stewart said in a statement released shortly after the start of Sunday's race.
Shortly after Stewart's decision was announced, NASCAR released the following statement: "Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family, friends, and fellow competitors of Kevin Ward Jr. We support Tony Stewart’s decision to miss today’s race and we will continue to respect the process and timeline of the local authorities and will continue to monitor this situation moving forward.”
Zipadelli said Nationwide Series driver Regan Smith was on his way to the track and would drive Stewart's No. 14 Chevrolet in the race. Because of the driver change, Smith will start from the rear of the field.
A spokesman for Stewart provided the following statement to The Observer early Sunday morning:
"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."
Video of the incident shows Stewart's car striking Ward's while racing in a turn. Ward's car then spun and bounced off the wall, placing the race under caution. Ward quickly exited his car and is shown walking down the track while pointing toward Stewart as he comes back around the track. The right side of Stewart's car strikes Ward, dragging him briefly under the car and then leaves him lying prone on the track.
According to the track, all racing activities were halted for the night following the incident and fans were asked to return home.
Around 1 a.m. ET, the track posted the following statement on its Facebook page:
"Canandaigua Motorsports Park will not have an official statement on the accident that happened in the ESS race until tomorrow. Please pray for the entire racing community of fans, drivers and families."
Canandaigua Motorsports Park is a half-mile dirt track southeast of Rochester, N.Y., and about 50 miles northwest of Watkins Glen International. In recent weeks, Stewart has returned to dirt track racing after a breaking two bones in his right leg in a wreck at a dirt track in Iowa last summer.
Pocono Raceway, NASCAR sued over fan's death by lightning strike
Brian Zimmerman, 41, was killed on Aug. 5, 2012, in the parking lot behind the main frontstretch grandstands at Pocono Raceway as a severe thunderstorm struck the area around the track in Long Pond, Pa. Ten people were hit in two separate lightning strikes.
In the wrongful death suit filed Aug. 1 in Pennsylvania, Zimmerman's widow, Marion, alleges the track and NASCAR were aware of the weather more than 40 minutes before the strike that killed her husband and didn't do enough to notify fans.
NASCAR officials said Saturday they do not comment on pending litigation.
To read the Pocono Record's coverage of the suit, go here.
To read coverage from The Observer of the race in question, go here.
Friday, August 8, 2014
Dale Junior talks about losing the National Guard as sponsor
In a statement, Hendrick Motorsports said it had an agreement in place for the 2015 season which it planned to honor.
“I really don’t have any details on anything,’’ Earnhardt said. "That’s between the Guard and HMS to sort all that out. Really enjoyed working with them over the last seven years and hope to be able to continue to represent them. It’s a huge honor.’’
Asked if he had any indication this decision was imminent, Earnhardt said: "There's been the debate in Washington and I've been watching it for several years. Hopefully, we'll be able to continue to represent them. I really have enjoyed it. It's been a great partnership. I think it's been very effective and hopefully we'll continue to do that."
Wednesday, August 6, 2014
Army National Guard to end sponsorship of Dale Earnhardt Jr.
"Significantly constrained resources and the likelihood of further reductions in the future call for more innovative and cost-effective ways of doing business," said Maj. Gen. Judd H. Lyons, acting director of the Army National Guard, said in a statement.
The Guard said it spent $32 million on its NASCAR sponsorship and $12 million on its IndyCar sponsorship for 2014. Future programs will rely on much smaller budgets, the Guard said.
"As part of a broad recruitment marketing strategy, motorsports partnerships — including NASCAR — played an important role in helping the National Guard build strong brand awareness and in turn helped us achieve extraordinary recruiting and end-strength objectives over the past decade," said Lt. Col. Christian Johnson, who heads Army Guard marketing.
"Our NASCAR sponsorship was principally a marketing program, intended primarily to build awareness of the National Guard as a career option" said Johnson. "The NASCAR sponsorship allowed the National Guard to leverage a 77 million fan base and the sport's most popular driver."
In a statement, Hendrick Motorsports said in had a contract in place with the Guard for the 2015, which it planned to honor.
“Our team has a contract in place to continue the National Guard program at its current level in 2015. We have not been approached by the Guard about potential changes and plan to honor our current agreement," the statement said.
To read the entire Army National Guard release, go here.
Kyle Busch wins again ... this time in Canada
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series star Kyle
Busch dominated Tuesday night's Pro All-Star Series (PASS) Super Late Model
Budweiser 150 at Autodrome Chaudiere in Valle-Junction, Quebec, Canada.
Busch,
who picked up his second Super Late Model win over the last two weeks, started
from the fourth spot, was in second after one lap and then on Lap 22 put his No.
51 Toyota out front where he remained the rest of the way. Busch held serve on a couple of mid-race restarts and crossed the finish line two
seconds ahead of second-place finisher Alex Labbe.
"It
was a great crowd out here tonight the guys at KBM gave me a really fast
(car)," Busch said. "These Super Late Models are a lot of fun to drive and
I always enjoy being able to travel around to some cool tracks around the United
States and Canada to compete against the guys that race these cars on a regular
basis."
Tuesday, August 5, 2014
NASCAR on ESPN's Nicole Briscoe is headed to SportsCenter
Briscoe, who is in the process of relocating with her family from the Charlotte area to Bristol, Conn., expects to begin her new role on SportsCenter by the end of January.
"I consider ESPN my home and I'm confident this is the best option for me because it's a great company and I have a lot of great friends there but then to have the opportunity to do SportsCenter? Show me a sports fan who doesn't know or watch SportsCenter," Briscoe told the Observer.
"The whole idea of getting to do this is really exciting for me. To me it feels like I'm going back to my roots. As much as I love motorsports and I love NASCAR and I love racing in general, my first love was football. It's getting back to the whole reason I became a sports journalist and the chance to do a little bit of everything again."
Briscoe said race fans can be reassured the network doesn't plan to ignore the sport simply because it's not airing NASCAR races in the future.
"I highly doubt ESPN is going to forget about one of the most popular sports in the country," Briscoe said. "And if I can push it - then, absolutely, I want to see the people I know on SportsCenter."
In addition to the SportsCenter role, Bricoe will also take part in a variety of other ESPN studio shows.
Briscoe joined ESPN in 2009 after stints as a sports reporter in Indianapolis and on the former Speed Channel. She and her husband, IndyCar Series driver Ryan Briscoe, have an eight-month old daughter, Finley.
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