Kevin Ward Jr. family on grand jury clearing Tony Stewart: 'This matter is not at rest' - MotorSportsTalk

Although a New York state grand jury determined there was no evidence of what Ontario County district attorney Michael Tantillo called “aberrational driving” and cleared NASCAR driver Tony Stewart of all charges in the racing death of young sprint car driver Kevin Ward Jr., Ward’s family is still holding Stewart responsible.

Kevin Ward Sr. – father of Kevin Ward Jr. – sent SportingNews.com writer Bob Pockrass a family statement after the grand jury reached its determination Wednesday.

“Our son got out of his car during caution while the race was suspended,” the statement said. “All the other vehicles were reducing speed and not accelerating except for Stewart who intentionally tried to intimidate Kevin by accelerating and sliding his car towards him causing this tragedy.

“The focus should be on Mr. Stewart and not my son. This matter is not at rest and we will pursue all remedies in fairness to Kevin.”

It would appear likely then, based upon that statement, that even though he’s cleared of all potential criminal charges, Stewart will likely still face a civil suit from the Ward family on behalf of Kevin Ward Jr.

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An IndyCar executive said there is “absolutely” disappointment that its long-awaited video game recently was delayed beyond its target date, but the series remains optimistic about the new title.

“Well, I don’t know how quick it will be, but the whole situation is important to us,” Penske Entertainment president and CEO Mark Miles said during a news conference Monday morning to announce IndyCar’s NTT title sponsorship. “Motorsport Games has spent a lot of money, a lot of effort to create an IndyCar title. What we’ve seen of that effort, which is not completely obvious, is very reassuring.

“I think it’s going to be outstanding. That’s our shared objective, that when it is released, it’s just widely accepted. A great credit both to IndyCar racing, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, something that our fans love.”

In June 2021, IndyCar announced a new partnership with Motorsport Games to create and distribute an IndyCar video game for the PC and Xbox and PlayStation consoles in 2023.

But during an earnings call last week, Motorsport Games said the IndyCar game had been delayed to 2024 to ensure high quality.

Somewhat compounding the delay is that IndyCar’s license for iRacing expired after the end of the 2022 season because of its exclusive agreement with Motorsport Games.

That’s resulted in significant changes for IndyCar on iRacing, which had provided a high-profile way for the series to stay visible during its 2020 shutdown from the pandemic. (Players still can race an unbranded car but don’t race on current IndyCar tracks, nor can they stream).

That’s helped ratchet up the attention on having a video game outlet for IndyCar.

“I wish we had an IndyCar title 10 years ago,” said Miles, who has been working with the organization since 2013. “We’ve been close, but we’ve had these I think speed bumps.”

IndyCar is hopeful the Motorsports Game edition will be ready at the start of 2024. Miles hinted that beta versions could be unveiled to reporters ahead of the time “to begin to show the progress in a narrow way to make sure we’ve got it right, to test the progress so that we’re ready when they’re ready.”

It’s been nearly 18 years since the release of the most recent IndyCar video game for console or PC.

“(We) better get it right,” Miles said. “It’s something we’re very close to and continue to think about what it is to make sure we get it over the line in due course.”

Kevin Ward Jr. family on grand jury clearing Tony Stewart: ‘This matter is not at rest’

IndyCar disappointed by delay of video game but aiming to launch at start of 2024