Winged sprint cars have horrible visibility, the hood hangs low in the front, the right side is about 75% blocked by the wing, add in a cage, helmet and harnesses with no spotters/radio to crew. Combine that with a poorly lit slick dirt track , a driver in all black, standing in the race line, and cars driving under caution (35-40mph) and other cars in front of him 2 of which almost hit him them selves. The #45 car driver who was right in front of Stewart already came forward saying that he barely saw him at the last second since his view was blocked by another car as well. Sprint cars steer very poorly with the steering wheel and mostly turn/rotate with the throttle, this also explains why Stewart hit the gas to rotate it to go left but Ward was too close and was caught by a tire. Drivers are all told at the driver meetings to stay in the car until the safety crew arrives and this is a perfect reason why, no one can see you out there until its too late. Sad day in the racing world. Stewart may be old school stubborn on the track but you will be hard pressed to find a bigger humanitarian in the racing world. The amount of giving he does that he gets credit for is amazing, the amount he does that goes unpublished is staggering, Vets, kids, animals, he spreads his wealth.
A couple of little unknown facts about Stewart and racing Sprint cars, he doesn't cash the winners checks if he wins, instead he donates them to the track or a special group in the area for kids, animals, women's shelters. if Stewart wrecks and damages another drivers car he pays for the repair work and parts so they can get it fixed and ready for their next race.
Here are a couple of the pics of what the driver has blocking his view, added with all the other things it's a no brainer not to get out on a live track. BTW not the first time this has happened, just making the news since Stewart is a high profile driver. Imagine a deer coming at you when you're driving next time and how little time your really have to react. As usual people in the media who have no idea what they are talking about should really stick to the facts these days vs their opinions.
Drivers view looking out the front.
Right side blocked by wing.
