Spectators also told Bob Pockrass of that the two seemed to have an altercation before the incident. Ward, who had hit the wall and got out of his car, gestured angrily at Stewart. Stewart appeared to hit the throttle before swerving into Ward, witnesses said.

Tyler Graves, another driver and a friend of Ward’s who was in the stands at the time, told Sporting News that he did not believe that Stewart intended to hit Ward. But he added that Stewart shouldn’t be racing.

“Tony Stewart needs to be put in prison for life,” he said.