Former NASCAR champion Tony Stewart will compete in today's Sprint Cup race at Watkins Glen, according to the AP. The race comes less than 24 hours after he was involved in an incident resulting in the death of sprint car driver Kevin Ward, Jr., last night. UPDATE
UPDATE: Zipadelli, Stewart's race team manager, just changed course at a NASCAR press conference. Stewart will not be racing today at Watkins Glen.
The rest of the original story follows below.
Stewart's race team manager Greg Zipadelli called today's race "business as usual," the AP reported.
For those just waking up to the news involving Stewart and wondering what's going on, 20-year-old fellow sprint car driver Kevin Ward, Jr., was killed in an incident last night involving Stewart at a dirt track race in upstate New York. After a shunt involving both Ward and Stewart that left the former's tire flat, Ward got out of his car to confront Stewart on the track.
When Stewart approached Ward, he appeared to gun the engine, forcing his rear tires sideways and into Ward. Ward was dragged underneath the race car, before being thrown approximately 50 yards.
Ward was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital.
Stewart, who won the NASCAR Sprint Cup series championship in 2002, 2005, 2011, and the Indy Racing League championship in 1997, has reportedly been fully cooperative with investigators, and has yet to be charged with any crime.
UPDATE: It appears as if the NASCAR organization has no problem with Stewart racing today as well:
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