Didn't that clown run over and kill a 20 year sprint car driver in 2014?
In my humble opinion, the kid that was killed caused his own death. I'm not saying that as a Tony fan....I'd say that even it it was that retard Joey Logano driving instead of Tony.
First, he is driving under the influence of an illegal substance. No matter what else, that shit is STUPID and puts all parties at risk. When I was racing modifieds, we found out that one of the guys in our class was racing while popping pills. I won't go into too many details, but let's just say that he never started the feature and never came back to the track again.
Second, the dumbass unbelted and charged the line of cars while they were still under motion (yellow flag, not red). I've raced at dirt tracks all over the country and here's a few constants.
- Lighting is NOT like it is at Daytona or Bristol. No Musco lights, typically pole mounted stadium lighting. When looking through a visor with a stack of tear-offs on top there's a lot of shadows. Let's say visibility isn't what you'd call "high noon". If Tony said that he didn't see the kid, I'm gonna have to give him the benefit of the doubt. Additionally, most people have a black (or dark) firesuit when racing dirt track....lighter colored ones show dirt way too easy. I'd be willing to bet this guy's firesuit was dark as well. Throw in the bars, low wing overhang on the right side of the field of vision, the debris grid that takes the place of a windshield in dirt cars.....yeah. Seeing some dude in a dark firesuit charging the field is not as obvious from the seat as you'd think.
- The rules at these tracks state to stay in your car after an accident until safety personnel arrive and to keep your distance from cars circulating under caution. This kid obviously ignored that completely.
- Gunning the engine under caution is standard process. The purpose is to spin/deform the tires to keep them scuffed and to maintain some heat in them so when the restart comes, it takes less time for the tires to fire off. Also keeps the spark plugs from fouling while idling. It's probable that was Tony was preoccupied with when he struck the kid.
The cliffnotes version is: Don't be so quick to judge Tony about that accident. There are a lot of variables that people who aren't intimately involved in the sport don't quite understand. You can think Tony is a shithead, but that really isn't an applicable metric to this situation.