I would say this..my take only...Tony Stewart would not hit anyone on purpose. This was a horrible and avoidable accident. Him being known as a hot head does not help the overall perception here.
The engine did rev up when he got near Kevin Ward, however the kid was walking towards the car and no doubt Tony was speeding up alittle to get away from him, the rear end kinda pushed up with the RPM acceleration as the those dirt track cars do, and that was when it was hit. You can tell on the vid, the kid was killed instantly, the guy who get out of the service truck freaked out when he saw him, no doubt some sort of gruesome neck injury. It is a sad deal, tragic and totally avoidable. Was Tony reckless and negligent? That is up to public opinion, but local law enforcement officials see no wrong doing.
The will haunt Stewart the rest of career. I am in SHOCK he is in Watkins Glen racing today...I feel it is in poor taste to go as biz as usual under the circumstances......he should hire a driver to run the 14 car today....just my opinion.
RIP Kevin Ward.....20 years young...sad deal.