“You can’t replace a life”: When $90M star Tony Stewart opened up about Kevin Ward Jr.’s fatal accident 

Former NASCAR and IndyCar champion Tony Stewart was involved in Kevin Ward Jr.'s fatal accident in 2014. The Indiana-born driver shared his thoughts on the incident during an interview with Dan Patrick on January 31 earlier this year.

During a late-evening Sprint Car race at Canandaigua Motorsports Park in New York, Stewart bumped Ward Jr.'s car at the halfway point. This caused the latter to hit the outside wall of the dirt track, eventually ending his race. Seemingly furious at Stewart's action, Ward Jr. stepped out of his race car and ventured on the track.

Although Stewart tried to avoid a visibly angry Ward Jr., the latter was impacted by the rear wheel of the former's race car, causing a fatal accident. Ward's family subsequently filed a manslaughter lawsuit against Stewart. After four years, the suit was settled out-of-court in 2018 for an undisclosed amount.

During an interview in January with the iconic TV and radio personality Dan Patrick on the Undeniable Show podcast, the $90-million-worth Cup Series champion (per Celebrity Net Worth) said about the incident:

"I remember passing Kevin and I remember half lap later the caution comes out and we come around and I see his car and I was looking because I'm like, that's the guy I just passed. And I'm like, we didn't touch each other. And I was trying to figure out what happened and trying to figure out how bad it was....I'm like, I was looking at his car trying to see if, you know, he was gonna be able to get it fixed and look up and there he is on the racetrack. I had no idea he was out of his race car." (0:26)

"I wouldn't want anybody to have to go through that. It's, you can't replace a life. And if I'd have known that was gonna be the outcome of that night, I'd have stayed in Watkins Glen and raced the cup race the next day and skipped that night of racing," he added. (3:10)

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"I have zero setup sheets and zero knowledge" - NASCAR Cup Series champion Tony Stewart on preparing to be a father

Tony Stewart is one of the most successful race car drivers in the US and has experience in multiple racing formats. However, the three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion claims he has zero knowledge about how to be a father.

Stewart and his wife Leah Pruett are expecting their first child in November this year. Ahead of the baby's arrival, the NASCAR Hall of Famer spoke about this new aspect of his life with Forbes. He said:

"Absolutely not. With everything we’ve done in motorsports, I can walk up to a racecar I’ve never driven and I can look at it and understand the majority of it before I ever make a lap in it. (Having a child) is a side that I have zero setup sheets and zero knowledge about. My wife laughs at me because I have a ‘Daddy App’ that gives me hints and tips every day."

Apart from this news on the personal front, Stewart is in the final stages of the closure of his and Gene Haas' NASCAR Cup Series team, Stewart-Haas Racing.