As the events of the tragedy at Canandaigua Motorsports Park unfolded late Saturday night and into Sunday morning, I was glued to twitter, searching for answers. I was hoping for the best but fearing the worst. When it became clear that a young sprint car driver named Kevin Ward Jr. had lost his life, I was at a loss for words.
Sadly the same was not true for many others. I was appalled by some of the comments from so-called racing fans who were already labeling Tony Stewart as a killer who should be thrown in jail. But just as distressing were those who put the blame solely on Ward. I decided to turn off my computer and get some sleep but sleep wouldn’t come.
My heart was heavy and I was fighting back tears, wondering why this had hit me so hard. But then I realized it was bringing back memories of a much deeper personal loss. My brother was struck and killed three years ago by a young man while riding his bicycle home from the store.
It wasn’t the first time I had lost a family member but this one was different. Losing someone is never easy but losing someone suddenly and in such a violent manner is even more devastating.
As I thought about it, I began to understand to some small extent the anger that was permeating the pages of twitter and other social media. I remember being furious with this young man whose only mistake was to take his eyes off the road for a few seconds. It wasn’t fair and I wanted, no I needed, someone to blame.
It makes little difference that most of the people expressing their outrage don’t actually know Tony Stewart or had never heard of Kevin Ward Jr. until now. The racing community is a diverse collection of people who call themselves family and they are hurting.
I would never compare my loss to what Ward’s parents are experiencing. The loss of a child is unthinkable and I can’t begin to imagine the depths of their sorrow. My heart also breaks for the torment that Stewart is going through. The suggestion that he intended to harm Ward is preposterous. This tragic incident will undoubtedly haunt him the rest of his life.
What I do know is that anger and blame are roads that will only lead to more heartache. I forgave that young man who I truly believe was suffering as much as I was and let myself grieve for my brother and begin to heal. It forever changed my life as I’m sure it did his.
The simple truth is that this was a senseless tragedy and there will never be an acceptable resolution. Could it have been prevented? Possibly, but as with most things in life, we make decisions and have to live with the consequences of our actions. It’s easy to go back and say if only, but there is no rewind in life. All we can do is move forward together and search for ways to ensure that this type of accident doesn’t happen again.
Sometimes life isn’t fair and there are no easy answers.
I have put this off long enough. This is my perspective on the tragedy involving Tony Stewart and Kevin Ward. My insight and perspective is this.
This was a senseless tragedy that a very good very caring and giving man will carry with him for the rest of his life. And it was avoidable.
Let me start with a few basics. Winged sprint cars have limited visibility and no mirrors. The wing obstructs the view forward and the head and neck restraints on the seat impair it side to side. If the wing is pulled all the way down to give forward down force, the side panels also restrict vision side to side. Winged sprint cars are meant to go in a circle. Their right side tires are bigger than their left side tires. That creates two things. It makes it easy to go around a corner but it makes it so they can’t turn on a dime. If they try to do that they flip over. They do not have transmissions. Their brakes are not that of a street or Cup car. Even at slow speeds they are darty and they don’t respond as quickly as you think they would. They are very affected by moving air. If you want them to turn quickly, you turn the front wheels the opposite direction of where you want the tail of the car to go and hit the gas. Remember in Cars….turn right to go left? That is the principle here. In every driver’s meeting on every dirt track across the country drivers are told before the racing starts, stay in your car in case of a wreck. If you can’t stay in the car, stay with your car. It’s the racing version of stay out of the street. But rules are made because they became necessary, so at some time this has happened before, or something similar.
Now my insight. I am going to start with a few questions thrown out for you to think about. Why would you jump out of your car and run down the track and back the way you came? Where was the safety crew? And since the young man had been racing since he was 4 according to his bio, why didn’t he follow the directions and stay in the car or with the car?
Now it makes no sense to find fault or blame. It’s a horrible tragedy; a young man died and another will carry the scar for the rest of his life. But the catalyst was not following the rules. Had he stayed in the car or with the car and flipped him off as he went by he wouldn’t have been in a position to be in harm’s way. Now it was a matter of monkey see and monkey do in my opinion. He saw NASCAR drivers do it on TV so he thought he could make a show and do it too. But these are very different cars with different response times. The car in front of Stewart, as a matter of fact several in front of Stewart, almost hit him and he still kept coming. Coach Bud Lathrop in my high school days would say, “You are Hell Bound you are going to lose this game.” This young man was “Hell Bound” to get to Stewart. Stewart did the only thing he could do when he did see him and he was by that time, reaching out towards the car. Stewart tried to avoid him quickly without flipping the car over on top of both of them. His hope was that he would jump back out of the way. He did not. Because of that a tragedy occurred. It was a tragedy that could have been avoided had he just stayed in the car or stayed with the car.
It was a tragic accident. When everything came together, none of the checks and balances to protect both of them was in place. Why? Because sadly fate made that determination that day. To call it anything but a tragic accident is irresponsible. To demand jail time, etc. is ridiculous. The only things that we can do are pray for the families of both drivers and pray for Tony Stewart. We have to find our comfort in Mr. God’s promise that nothing is arbitrary and he has a plan. Then we have to look in the mirror and ask ourselves if the shoe was on our foot how would we feel and how would we want people to treat us? That is the course we should then steer, not only off the track but on it as well. We should ask ourselves in our social media interactions, how would I feel if I knew the families of both drivers were going to see this? Steer the course that you would want to travel.
That’s it. I am tired. I haven’t been to bed yet. I haven’t eaten. My friend hurts. I hurt for him. Real journalists don’t decide right and wrong. They don’t pass judgment. They simply tell you what happened. I am disappointed in the media corps. of NASCAR. I am disappointed in a long time hero who is a Winston Cup champion but who has not driven dirt competitively in years and when he did it was in a late model stock car now classified as a street stock. I think it is very important for us all to remember that perspective is reality. The more ugly, hateful things that are said the more people believe them. Bottom line truth. Had the kid stayed in his car as the rule book mandated it wouldn’t have happened. It’s not appropriate to find fault with a dead man. But he sealed his own fate when he reached in the car that was still traveling 45 mph on dirt. Sadly, I can’t think of any situation that would be worth dying for because I couldn’t control myself. But then I am an old modified racer whose Daddy had some pretty strict rules. And I am old. Dirt rules are pretty simple really, even the unspoken ones. Take the fight to the pits. Don’t approach moving cars. Don’t cross the track while cars are moving. Those rules are why we throw red flags when cars overturn. It makes it safe for the safety crew to work and help that driver.
Late Wednesday night, we received the tragic news that Jason Leffler was killed in a Sprint Car crash in Swedesboro, New Jersey. He was 37 years old and leaves behind a five year old son named Charlie Dean. When I heard the news, I couldn’t bear to believe it just like the rest of you. The racing community is a family and always comes together in times like this. Jason Leffler and #LEFturn were trending worldwide as drivers and fans alike took to Twitter to mourn the loss of a good man who like so many others, was taken much too soon.
Leffler was a real grassroots racer who loved to play in the dirt and he did so better than most. In 1997, he became a USAC National Midget champion and went on to win 3 consecutive titles in that division. It was the first time since 1962 that a driver won three midget titles in succession and no one has done it since. In 1998, he won the USAC Silver Crown championship joining NASCAR legends Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon as champions of that series. Some of his major short track victories include the 1997 Hut Hundred, the 1999 Copper Classic and two Turkey Night Grand Prix’s. His success in USAC caught the attention of Joe Gibbs Racing who put him in a Nationwide car for select races in 1999. He ran his first full Nationwide season in 2000 finishing 20th in points. He also made his one and only start in the Indianapolis 500 that year placing 17th.
In 2001, he moved to the Cup ranks with Chip Ganassi and struggled to find success although he did win a pole and post a top 10 at Homestead; the only pole of his Cup career. In 2002, he went to the Camping World Truck Series (CWTS) and put in a solid effort earning 4th place in the standings. Jason was inducted into the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame in 2003. After an impressive season in the CWTS, he began to jump around running part-time schedules in all three national touring divisions of NASCAR. Nashville Superspeedway in 2004 was the site of Leffler’s first Nationwide victory when he held off Martin Truex Jr. and Clint Bowyer in the closing stages of the event.
Joe Gibbs Racing signed Jason to drive their newly formed Cup team with sponsorship from FedEx in 2005. With pressure from a big time sponsor like FedEx to perform, Gibbs decided to replace him mid-season with Denny Hamlin. In 2006, he went back to the Nationwide (NNS) ranks with a full-time ride courtesy of Todd Braun. He continued to run full-time in NNS until 2011 with his best season being 2007. He finished 3rd in points and won what would be his final NASCAR race in thrilling fashion that year. He battled fiercely with David Reutimann and Greg Biffle in the closing laps trading paint and rubbing fenders as he tried desperately to hold on. He refused to lose and after David passed him, he came right back at him and muscled his way by. After running Biffle up the track with three to go, he put the pedal to the floor and drove off taking the checkered flag. That was also Toyota’s first win in the Nationwide series. Kyle Busch put him in a truck for a handful of races in 2012 and Jason finished top 10 in six of his ten starts with a best result of 4th. His last flash of greatness in NASCAR came in the July NNS Daytona event back in 2011 when he drove from outside the top 10 with just one lap remaining to finish a very close 2nd to Joey Logano.
Jason Leffler Sprint Car
He made his final Cup start a Pocono last weekend before a Sprint Car race at Bridgeport Speedway. While running 2nd in the dirt race, he lost control and flipped into the wall. Jason was killed on impact and the racing world is still stunned by this unfathomable loss. It’s been a long time since we’ve lost an active NASCAR driver like this and the mood is somber as we all reluctantly gear up for a weekend of racing at Michigan International Speedway. Leffler will be remembered as an aggressive driver who never gave an inch and fought tooth and nail for every position. After getting into it with Sorenson once, Reed said to Leffler, “if you had lifted, we both would have made it through there.” Jason simply replied, “I don’t lift.” Just one of the many examples of what kind of competitor Leffler was. Panther Racing owner John Barnes was quoted saying, ” Jason was a small man with a huge right foot.”
Jason was a devoted single father who adored his son and had an unshakable passion for going fast. His determination to win was incorruptible and even through all the hardships, he pushed on, he persevered, he refused to give up. This phenomenal talent could push a car to the absolute limit, teetering on the edge of disaster with no fear or trepidation of what could happen should something go wrong. His tenacity behind the wheel was awe-inspiring and his goofy, yet friendly personality will be remembered with smiles and with tears. We lost more than just a racer on that track, we lost a great man and a little boy lost his father.
The unwavering bravery and determination of racers never ceases to amaze as they look death in the eye every time they drive and losses like Leffler’s are never in vain. As legendary racer Bruce McLaren who also perished behind the wheel once put it; ” To do something well is so worthwhile that to die trying to do it better cannot be foolhardy. It would be a waste of life to do nothing with one’s ability, for I feel that life is measured in achievement, not in years alone.”
Well said Bruce. Death in racing is unavoidable and the wounds left in its wake sometimes never heel. We bury the fallen with tears, embrace the ones who escape death’s firm and final grip with relief and race on because that’s what racers do. Rest in peace Jason Leffler and let us all take comfort in the fact that you’re racing with angels now.
“Last night we lost a real racer (in) Jason Leffler” -Mario Andretti
“Jason Leffler was a great racer and an even better friend….We raced together a lot, and our career paths were very similar. He loved racing, especially open-wheel racing, and that’s a passion we both share. To not have him around to talk about whatever race one of us had just run, or were going to run, will be hard.” -Tony Stewart
“He died doing what he loved. He was a real racer, and he will be missed.” -Ryan Newman
“Can’t stop thinking about Jason Leffler…Very sad night. What a great guy we lost tonight. Rest in Peace Jason.” -Kasey Kahne
“Hate bein reminded of whatta dangerous sport racing is. Lost a good buddy 2nite” -Shane Hmiel
