Tony Stewart pulls out of dirt-track race after fatal incident

NASCAR’s Tony Stewart canceled plans to race a sprint car this Saturday night in Indiana following his involvement in a fatal incident at a similar race in New York.

Stewart was scheduled to compete at the Plymouth Speedway dirt track in Plymouth, Ind. But the track posted a note on its website Monday saying that Stewart “will NOT be racing at Plymouth Speedway this Saturday.”

Stewart, a three-time NASCAR champion who routinely drives open-wheel sprint cars at small tracks nationwide when he isn’t in a stock car, struck and killed another driver Saturday night at Canandaigua Motorsports Park in upstate New York.

The driver, 20-year-old Kevin Ward Jr., had climbed from his car after making contact with Stewart’s car and was gesturing toward Stewart when Stewart’s car struck Ward, who later was pronounced dead at a local hospital.

Ontario County authorities said that no criminal charges were pending against Stewart but that an investigation was continuing.

Stewart, 43, then pulled out of a NASCAR race Sunday in Watkins Glen, N.Y., where Regan Smith took over the driving duties in Stewart’s No. 14 Chevrolet.

In announcing that Stewart would not compete this Saturday night, the Indiana track said on its website that “we at Plymouth Speedway extend our deepest condolences and prayers to the family of Kevin Ward Jr. and thoughts and prayers to Tony Stewart and his family.”

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