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NASCAR grants Tony Stewart a waiver for Chase – USA TODAY
HAMPTON, Ga. — NASCAR president Mike Helton said Friday that Tony Stewart will be granted a waiver to participate in the Chase for the Sprint Cup if he were to win one of the final two races before the cutoff.
“This has been a very unique set of circumstances to Tony and our sport,” Helton said.
In clearing a return for Stewart, who missed three consecutive races after striking and killed Kevin Ward Jr. in a sprint car race Aug. 9, Helton said NASCAR had reached out to outside experts — whom he did not name — to help them determine the three-time champion was mentally fit to be behind the wheel. A grief-stricken Stewart read a 2-minute, 30-second statement in a quavering voice earlier Friday.
Meanwhile, Stewart remains under investigation in the crash that occurred in upstate New York.
NASCAR’s cutoff for the 10-race Chase is Sept. 6 at Richmond International Raceway. Stewart would need to win this weekend or next week at Richmond to make it.
Stewart is one of NASCAR’s biggest stars. He already has three championships — in 2002, 2005 and 2011. If he were to miss the Chase, it would be the second consecutive season the driver of the No. 14 Chevrolet would miss NASCAR’s 10-race run to the title.
He broke his leg in a sprint car accident last August and missed the final 15 races of the season.
A spokeswoman for the Ontario County (N.Y.) sheriff’s office told USA TODAY Sports on Friday morning there was nothing new to report on the status of the investigation, which still is ongoing. She said they didn’t expect to announce any news Friday.
Later Friday, Sheriff Philip Povero’s office released this statement:
“The investigation into the death of Kevin A. Ward Jr., which occurred August 9, 2014, at the Canandaigua, New York Motorsports Park will continue for at least another two weeks. The Ontario County Office of Sheriff has reviewed this investigation, as it has been developed to date, with members of the District Attorney’s Office. The Office of Sheriff will continue to apprise the District Attorney of information as it is developed. When the investigation is completed, the news media will be advised as to what action will be taken. The Ontario County Office of Sheriff thanks all media outlets for their patience and understanding as we continue to thoroughly investigate this tragic crash.”
Helton spoke a few minutes after Stewart and Stewart-Haas Racing executive vice president Brett Frood held a news conference at 1 p.m. ET.
Stewart, visibly upset and voice shaking, read from a statement in his first public remarks since the death of Ward Jr. Stewart said “this has been one of the toughest tragedies I’ve ever had to deal with, both professionally and personally. This will affect my life forever.”
Frood took a handful of questions, and said Stewart is a race car driver and his return marked the start of the healing process for the three-time Sprint Cup champion.
When asked why Stewart had decided to return this weekend, with the investigation still ongoing, Frood said “for Tony, it’s all about the healing process. That’s why he’s in the car.
“I am not going to comment on the incident itself. It was a tragic accident.”
Stewart, who is famous for his moonlighting at the grassroots level of racing, had been in seclusion at an undisclosed location the past three weeks as he missed races at Watkins Glen, Michigan and Bristol.
Stewart and Ward were battling for position when Ward’s car spun out into the outside wall. Ward had exited his car and walked down the track seemingly to gesture at Stewart as cars came back around under a caution flag. Stewart’s car clipped him, and Ward died of blunt force trauma.
NASCAR implemented a rule formalizing procedure for drivers who are involved in accidents or who are unable to make forward progress in their cars in the wake of the incident, in which Ward exited his race car and was walking down the dirt track under caution when Stewart’s car hit him.
Drivers now are required to remain strapped in their cars — unless they are in immediate danger from fire or another hazard — until safety crews arrive and can escort them from the scene. No driver is allowed to walk onto the racing surface.
Last weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway, Denny Hamlin threw his HANS device at Kevin Harvick’s car as Harvick came around under caution after the two had tangled. Hamlin was standing on the apron — not the racing surface — and had waited on safety workers before exiting his No. 11 Toyota. NASCAR did not penalize Hamlin for the throw.
Follow Ryan on Twitter @nateryan
Contributing: Jeff Gluck
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