What started as a deeply emotional race for Tony Stewart ended prematurely when a blown tire cut short his return to NASCAR.

Stewart came back to competition Sunday for the first time since his car struck and killed another driver on August 9.

The crowd at the Oral-B USA 500 erupted in cheers as Stewart was introduced. But after just 172 of 325 laps at the Atlanta Motor Speedway, his front right tire blew, and Stewart's car smacked the wall on Turn 2.

In the end, Kasey Kahne won the race and clinched a spot in the "Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup" playoff. Matt Kenseth came in second, and Denny Hamlin finished third.

But many thoughts were with Stewart and Kevin Ward Jr., the 20-year-old driver who was killed at the Canandaigua Motorsports Park in New York.

Stewart declined to speak to a reporter after Sunday's race. But he spoke to the media briefly Friday about Ward's death.

"This has been one of the toughest tragedies I've ever had to deal with, both professionally and personally," Stewart said. "And this is something that will definitely affect my life forever."

Do you think Tony Stewart shouldf have been allowed to race again so soon after his accident? Do you think that he was distracted? Tell in the comments section below.

You need to be a member of History 360 to add comments!

Join History 360

Replies are closed for this discussion.

Replies

  • Good story but try to stay away from yes and no questions and be sure to hyperlink to your story. Again, you didn't comment to people's replies.

  • I don't think he should have decided to race again. Even though it wasn't his fault the thought of him hitting and killing someone is still fresh in his mind.He is definitely  going to be distracted by it.

  • I don't think that he should have been allowed to race again this soon after his accident because it was tragic and it probably effected his mindset. 

  • I think Tony Stewart should be able to race because it wasn't really his fault, the driver shouldn't have gotten out of the vehicle because he put himself in danger when he did that. If anything, Tony should maybe just get a small suspension, but he should be able to race again.

  • I think he should've been able to race I mean I seen the video and it couldn't of been his fault why it had happened. I think he could've been distracted for the incident that had happened because getting on the track again can bring it all back into your head.

  • No one will ever know the real truth besides Tony if he really tried to hit him or not. I think this will be a distraction for him for the rest of his life. 

  • I think that he should of been able to race, because he was never charged and he should of been able to race whenever he was personally ready to start doing it again. I think he could of been distracted in the race since it was his first time back racing after the accident, and I think that was probably what his mind was on most of the time and not much on actually racing.

  • He should be able to race... It wasn't his fault what happened to the other driver. He didn't have enough time to avoid him. I think he was distracted during parts of the race. Nascar drivers focus on the race and Tony Stewart obviously wasn't concentrating on that.

  • I think that he should be able to race. He is the one who is shelling out the money to do it and it is job. Wrecks will all ways happen but that time it happened to him. He wasn't probably distracted because he has to worry what happening at the moment he is at when he is up to speed.

  • I agree and think that he should have been able to race at the race. He should of been able to race when ever he wanted to. He was involved in an accident that affected him. He shouldn't have to wait at all if he didn't want to. The wreck effected him, not people that worn't even there. The only reason anyone evens knows about this wreck is because he is famous. Had it been an everyday racer, no one would have ever known about the wreck. 

This reply was deleted.
eXTReMe Tracker