In AP interview, three-time champ talks about life since Aug. 9
RELATED: Full timeline of Stewart incident | Stewart may never race sprint cars again
Tony Stewart, in his first interview since a grand jury cleared him of wrongdoing after examining the events of Aug. 9 when the sprint car he was driving struck and killed Kevin Ward Jr. at Canandaigua Motorsports Park, said the incident was “an accident,” according to an Associated Press report.
“I know 100 percent in my heart and in my mind that I did not do anything wrong,” Stewart told AP. “This was 100 percent an accident.”
According to the report, legal counsel advised Stewart not to describe what he remembers about the Aug. 9 crash in upstate New York. The three-time NASCAR premier series champion did discuss his life since that night, which included missing races at Watkins Glen, Michigan and Bristol.
The 43-year-old reportedly was in shock when he returned to his motorhome at Watkins Glen at 2 a.m., and he has since sought and received professional help to deal with the accident.
“You sit there and you wrack your brain, you try to analyze ‘Why did this happen?’ ” Stewart said. “I made myself miserable just trying to make sense of it … I just couldn’t function. I’ve never been in a position where I just couldn’t function.
“You race hurt, you race sick, and that’s the way racers have always been. You say you can go do what you need to do, and then it becomes very clear that you can’t.”
While he returned to racing last month at Atlanta after the three-race absence, Stewart rarely leaves his North Carolina home.
“You are part of something so tragic and so unthinkable, it’s hard to face anybody,” Stewart said. “It was hard to wrap my arms around this, and it still is. I haven’t been a part of society for more than six weeks. You are scared to be around anybody, you are embarrassed to be around anybody because of what happened.”
While he is back in the Sprint Cup Series, don’t expect him to get behind the wheel of a sprint car anytime soon.
“I would say it’s going to be a long time before you ever see me in a sprint car again, if ever,” Stewart said. “I don’t have any desire at this moment to get back in a car.”
Getting back to his racing routine, including his role as co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing, has helped Stewart return to his life in the sport, but it’s a life that will never be the same.
“There hasn’t been a day that’s gone by that I haven’t thought about it. And it will be like that all your life,” Stewart said. “You are never going to forget about it. You are never going to not see it happen all over again. It’s going to be a part of me forever.”
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