Tony Stewart: Never considered retirement after Kevin Ward Jr. crash
NASCAR driver Tony Stewart said at a news conference onMonday that he never considered retiring after his involvement in the Aug. 9 crash that killed driver Kevin Ward Jr.
"There was never a thought in my head about stopping," Stewart said. "That would take the life out of me."
A grand jury decided last week that Stewart would not be charged over the crash that killed the 20-year-old Ward Jr. during a dirt track race in upstate New York. Stewart's sprint car struck and killed Ward after Ward got out of his car and was walking on the track.
• HARRIS: Tony Stewart-Kevin Ward Jr. tragedy leaves many unanswered questions
Stewart also made several other comments about the crash. He said that over the three or four days following the crash, he didn't have any desire to do anything and that he wanted only to spend time by himself. Stewart also said that he is receiving professional help.
Addressing the incident, Stewart said he knows what happened in the crash was an accident. Stewart was also asked what he would have done differently over the past couple of months. "I'd have stayed at Watkins Glen that night. ... It wasn't a big-paying race. I just wanted to go run my sprint car for a night. I do it to have fun. And it didn't end up being fun that night."
Last week, in an interview with the Associated Press, Stewart said he may never race in a sprint car again.
• MCCANN: What's next in Tony Stewart, Kevin Ward Jr. death case?
"I would say it's going to be a long time before you ever see me in a sprint car again, if ever. I don't have any desire at this moment to get back in a car," Stewart told The Associated Press in his first interview since a grand jury decided he would not be charged in Ward's death.
"If I had the option to go right now to a race, I wouldn't. I don't even know when I'll go to a sprint car race again to watch. I can promise you it's going to be a long time before you ever see me back in one."
Stewart missed three Sprint Cup Series races after the crash but participated in the next four.
