If you feel the compelled to flame this horrific event on IOW because of the overwhelming emotion it engenders (that is then further incited by a media that is thirsty for drama in order to sell more advertising), keep this in mind: the events at Canandaigua Motorsports Park affect you, and not positively!

Step back and look at this for a minute. For starters, the odds are now against there ever being races at Canandaigua Motorsports Park again. It is extremely hard to believe that the insurance company will let it happen, and the lawyers who will be flocking to this tragedy like moths to a flame will further motivate the insurer to avoid any further risks there.

While we might lash out because we hate Tony Stewart or we point fingers because the promising young life of Kevin Ward, Jr. was needlessly ended when we walked out onto a hot track (like - as Dad has pointed out - so many others have done), this event will inevitably cast a pall over all motorsports, especially those on dirt tracks. A year from now, we will all forget about this incident (except of course, the Ward family and Tony Stewart who will have this imprinted on their souls forever), but the lawyers and insurance companies will still be chasing each other around to milk ever dollar out of this tragedy.

Of course, we must offer Mr. Stewart and the Ward family all of our prayers and support as they are members of our very close community. But do not forget the track owner and the promoter. They will now have to spend untold amounts of resources defending themselves against attacks from the legal community who will doggedly probe for fault: “What was said in the drivers meeting? Why didn’t the track workers keep Mr. Ward from walking down into a hot track? Why wasn’t the lighting on the track better? Why aren’t there spotters? Why are these cars ‘open-wheeled’? Were racecievers used? Why isn’t there more government regulation to prevent such things?”

(Keep in mind, the point of these questions and the infinite degree to which they will be explored has less to do with right and wrong and more to do with extracting the most amount of money from the target.)

If you are reading this, then the odds are good that you do not have the luxury of driving for the France family or Bernie Echols or the FIA or some other entity with seemingly bottomless pockets. Our track owners and promoters and sanctioning bodies are not getting rich doing what they are doing so we can enjoy the sport. An event like this would be catastrophic if it happened at their track or in their race, and it might be almost as damaging that it happened at someone else’s track or during someone else’s event.

And what of Mr. Stewart’s involvement? Well, how much press would this have received if one of us had been driving the car that struck Mr. Ward? I shudder at the idea that it could happen at all, but the point of the question is to illustrate how his celebrity and assumed wealth will draw more attacks on our community. Why else would I have to wake up to a loud-mouthed “legal expert” on Fox Sports 1 (namely, Rob Becker) spout off about how Mr. Stewart should be charged with second-degree manslaughter? Seriously, Mr. Becker strikes me as someone who knows as much about motorsports as I know about space travel.

(Mr. Becker is an attorney [not a partner, maybe “of counsel”] with the New York City firm of Fross Zelnick, which bills itself as "the largest law firm in the world specializing exclusively in trademark, copyright, design and unfair competition law." Mr. Becker is an intellectual property lawyer, so his expertise in ******** law or motorsports is well hidden if it even exists at all.)

Personally, I am insulted that someone from the outside can now wade in with such caustic remarks, but Fox Sports is trying to sell the drama. (For the record, I have Fox Sports 1 on by accident because the last thing I watched yesterday was the Tudor race replay.)

Mr. Stewart is guaranteed to be a target again because of his celebrity and assumed wealth, but the ripple effects of the event will impact everyone around him: his sprint car team, Eldora Speedway, his NASCAR team, Haas Automation, sponsors, supporters, and – yes – you.

You must finally remember that this is all being played out to an audience who, for the most part, does not know that we exist. At best, the vast majority of people in this country see the sport we love as the red-headed step child of NASCAR . . . maybe.

For example, the people who saw the incredibly graphic footage over their breakfast and coffee on the Sunday morning news shows (yes, I couldn’t even avoid that tasteless celebration of Mr. Ward’s death on the frickin’ Sunday morning news shows!), would be thrilled to see what we do outlawed. To them it is dangerous, senseless and extremely unnecessary especially as we speed towards an existence of self-driving cars and “benign” governmental omnipotence.

And finally who will pay for this? Of course, it breaks all of our heart that Mr. Ward had to pay the ultimate price here. Mr. Ward's pasing is the “stone dropped into the middle of the pond,” and that is and should be central to all of your thoughts and prayers. But there will be some very serious “ripple” effects from that “stone,” and everyone who touches our sport will pay that price. That price will be reflected in the gear we buy, the insurance costs that must be passed along by the promoters and track owners, the extra rules and procedures we will be required to follow – for starters.

IOW should be a little proud here because the vast majority of contributors and posters are not focused on blame or drama. Instead, the focus is on the incredibly sad loss of a promising young man who had a beautiful future pursuing our passion. Let’s use this as a time to remember how fragile and precious life is, and how lucky we are to enjoy such a special passion with such an incredible group of people.