Forum: HoseHeads Sprint Car General Forum (go)
Moderators: dirtonly  /  dmantx  /  hosehead

I just read that the toxicology report done on Kevin Ward actually states he had smoked marijuana within 5 hours of the accident.  Maybe that has been public knowledge all along and I'm just now finding out.  I had only read previously that it just showed marijuana in his system, not when.  

We've all read on here people defending use of marijuana by racers, which most know is idiotic, but this information is crazy to me.  There will be some idiot who jumps on here and states there is no way they can know when he smoked it, only that it was in his system...but I will trust the scientists on this one.  Of course his parents are disputing the accuracy of the toxicology report.  I'm certain science has methods to know within a certain window how recent the use was.  Especially in a circumstance where the ruling is within 5 hours.  I'm guessing it means there were still high levels in his lungs, not just his bloodstream.

That means this kid was getting high at about the time rigs were being put in the pits or possibly after.  I can't imagine the foolishness of a driver smoking a joint right before the driver's meeting then strapping into one of these things a couple hours later.  I mean I can get past getting high the night before and then racing the next day.... but this is absolutely crazy to me.

Back in the day, with just the urine test, they could only test the presence of cannabinoids in your system. Now, the blood testing methods can easily narrow it down to within hours of use.  

Of course its stupid & irresponsible to get stoned before a race, but I don't think thats why he got out of the car.

Pot smokers are not known for bad tempers, thats for belligerent drunks.

Tragic bad decision to get out of the car, for whatever reason

Probly not why he got out of the car, but anyone who has ever spent more than a few minutes in a sprint car know when someone pulls a slider on you like that, just breath the throttle and turn back under him. Sure was not good decision making to end up in the wall like he did. 

I can't imagine how Kevin Ward's family has been feeling over the last 12 months--and with 3 kids, I hope I never have to.

That being said, the fact that they are filing a wrongful death lawsuit after the toxicology results?   It is time in this country that at some point, we start holding those responsible for their actions, responsible for their actions.  The right thing for the family to do at this point is to withdraw the lawsuit, make a public apology and for the memory of their son, make a public statement against operating a race car under the influence of anything. 

I am not against those that smoke marijuana on their own time--know plenty that do and I am all for the legalization.  I do not however feel that a race track is the right place for this.  Alcohol is legal for those over 21, but not while in a race car (or any car if too much).  

It is time for everyone in this country to stop playing the victim.  Kevin's family:  I am sorry for your loss, but your family member was under the influence of an illegal substance.  Please do the right thing in his memory and speak about the dangers of this rather than drag someone else under the bus.  That seems to be the easy way out these days. 

I agree, they should withdraw the lawsuit because it has no basis to begin with.   If there was any real justice in our justice system it would be thrown out.   Marijuana or not, Kevin Ward is 100% responsible for his own death.   You're entirely right though, noone wants to hold anyone accountable for their own actions, and obviously Ward's family doesn't.    Hopefully common sense will prevail just like it did in the Williams Grove lawsuit last year.  

Do they know for sure that he smoked?    I am betting he took edibles.  (much easier to take too much and freak out) 

You're right on the effects of edibles, but who knows, & really, who cares? Too late now

Evidently anyone & everyone that is commenting on the subject.

You know where I stand from previous posts so I guess I'm an Idiot.

Actually what this confirms to me is that he was in fact NOT high at the time of the accident. If he smoked 5 hours earlier and was still stoned that would be incredible and some magical cannabis I have yet to encounter. In my mind the fact that he got out of the racecar had more to do with the effects of testosterone mixed with adrenaline rather than residual trace amounts of THC in his system. I speak from experience when I say that "if" he smoked cannabis approximately 5 hours earlier he most certainly wasnt feeling the effects of it at the time of the accident. Edibles? Maybe but thats a whole different story. Edibles would spike his levels and show up as a much higher concentration in his blood stream so I think its safe to rule that out. In the end a hot headed kid got into a situation that killed him nothing more nothing less.

Cheers!

Kevin Ward made a series of bad decisions. Its time for his family to own this and move on.

I agree.

Cheers!

Henry, Are we friends again? ; ) Cheers!

I think the smoking week within 5hrs has been reported before this. The other thing that was stated a year ago when the Grand Jury decided not to indict Tony Stewart was the levels that were in Kevin Ward Jr's body were enough to effect judgement. I do not know what those levels were, I am not a Marijuana expert, I do not smoke, and I do not care if anyone else smokes it. I am all for legalization of it, just not something I would do.

Its kind of the final straw in a series of bad decisions. 1) he gets out of the car, 2) he walks onto the track while cars are moving, 3) he walks toward Tony's car as it is coming, 4) before all of this happened he smoked before the race happened.

The marjiuana probably did not cause him to get out of the car, probably did not effect his ability, who knows. It just looks bad and probably should not be done when you are driving a racecar on dirt at over 110mph sideways through the corner. For that matter, none of the other decisions he made should be done on a dirt track either.

Hey Sarge.  Did you ever listen to Mike North on the score?  He had it down when he used to rant about people owning up to their responsibilities, he used to say the PUSSIFICATION OF AMERICA, and I used to love when he said it because he was dead on.....3 kids?  I am in the dark here......

I have not seen the toxicology report so I don't know what is deemed "a level enough to impair judgment".    Those that post that it does not matter are 100% correct.   I think it would be very difficult to smoke enough in the pit area close enough to feature time to make a difference, even with vape.    There has been no mention of prescription drugs or other dietary supplements.....as we all know both can have the side effect commonly known as 'roid rage.   

The reason I suspect edibles is both the discreet (and delayed) aspect and the easy ability to take too much and have bad side affects.  My guess is that he ate some during the night, and not having an immediate affect took more.   when the adrenilene started pumping his body started processing everything that was in his stomach.   I can only imagine that without controlled conditions of retail and medical marijuana that the amount of THC in the edible is unknown and not consistant.  

As most know,  pot usually mellows a person out, but there are at least 3 documented cases in Colorado where someone ate a whole 100 mg THC candy bar that was sold to be 10 individual doses of 10 mg each.   In one case the college kid flipped out at something and ran off of his hotel room balcony, in another a lady was killed by her raging husband while she was on the phone to 911.  

For what it's worth, and to those of you who don't know, it's harder to find shity weed now days then it is to find "the good shit". If you take just two good puffs, maybe even only one puff, you're high. No need to smoke full joints. What I'm saying is you can get away with smoking it just about anywhere as the smell is minimal. With the advent of vaporizers and edibles, the smell is eliminated. To speculate exactly when he may have smoked/used is pointless. It could have happened upon arrival or right before the feature. Nobody has the answer to that. The only thing we know, it was within 5 hours. That doesn't mean it WAS 5 hours before race time, and it doen't mean it was 5 minutes before race time. To guess that he consumed edibles at some point and they took affect during the race is purely speculative and carries absolutley no merit at all. Be responsible with the words that are coming out your mouth, and your finger tips. Somebody that has no knowledge of the subject could take your words to be fact when they are far from it and susequently spread false information to other people that lack the knowledge to know truth from fiction. Consider everyone involved in this thing, as well as your knowledge on the subject, before you speak about such a sensitive and unfortunate situation.

The point of my post is that pot CAN cause someone to flip out and lose control....it is documented but it does takes a large amount to do so.  I personally believe it is highly doubtful that you can get enough THC in your system by vaping or any form of smoking to cause this, but I do believe it is possible through ingestion.

You are correct,  it really does not matter WHY the kid flipped out and tried to tackle a moving racecar.   The civil suit claims that Smoke should have seen him and avoided him and therefor root cause of the flipout is inconsequential.

IMHO they can solve this real quick.   Just put the Texas bible thumping lawyer in a racecar with the same seat, wing (in the same position) and helmet (with the same number of tearoffs) and push him around a similarly banked and lit track.   Have another racecar in front of him that swerves around a black cardboard cutout at the last minute.    

Just like all these comments 1 will see different than the other.

When I did smoke I didn't buy it until the bills were paid & only hit it a couple of times when by myself.

Ok, I understand. I would agree with that. Unfortunately you're right, in a civil suit, the fact that Ward may have been under the influence of Marijuana won't mean a damn thing. And unfortunately there's a real chance that Stewart could be forced to fork over a substantial amount of money, likely due to the decision ultimately being made by somebody who doesn't have a clue about sprint car racing. I still haven't found a silver lining around this. Whole thing sucks.