huskylawyer":2gcvpmle said:
Is Tony Stewart a hothead?
Yes, but in previous cases where he lost his temper it always involved a wreck or heavy damage to his car. In this case he did not wreck and there was no damage to his car. Ward did hit the wall but there doesn't appear to have been any contact between the two cars. Since sprint cars don't have mirrors and Ward's car was behind him it's very possible that Stewart wasn't even aware it happened.
2) Is Stewart one of the best drivers in the world, i.e., someone who is constantly aware of his surroundings and understands how to operate his vehicle better than 99% of the rest of the planet?
Yes, but as I've explained before the ability to maintain situational awareness in sprint cars is far more difficult than racing in NASCAR's highest series. The cars have no mirrors, no radios, no spotters relaying information, right side visibilty is blocked by the wing board, visors get covered with dirt and mud, and the tracks tend to be dimly lit.
4) Do you think Stewart tried to "teach the kid a lesson" by getting close or getting dust in his face?
It's impossible to tell from the brief instance that Stewart's car appeared in the video prior to hitting Ward. The previous car nearly hit him as well and the driver told his mechanic he didn't see him until the last second. Stewart was running several feet higher on the track than that car and had less margin of error to avoid Ward. There is no way of knowing when Stewart saw Ward on the track and how much time he had to avoid him.
BTW - has there been any release of the radio transmissions? I'd assume that the crew would radio in and say, "caution flag up..some driver left his car and there is a crash."
The cars have no radios. The only information that Stewart would have had was the yellow lights on the track indicating that the caution was out. He would have had no advance warning of a driver in the middle of the track.