In a shocking incident at a dirt track event in 2013, NASCAR legend Tony Stewart was at the heart of a collision that led to a violent wreck. The massive crash that year had left a 19-year-old female racer seriously injured and in need of medical attention.
During a winged-sprint car race at Canandaigua Motorsports Park in 2013, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Stewart triggered a chaotic accident involving 15 cars. The incident occurred on Lap 7 of the 25-lap feature race, held on the half-mile oval dirt track in New York. Stewart had later acknowledged his role in triggering the multi-car pileup and took the blame for the wreck over the track’s public address system.
Tony Stewart Takes Accountability for Massive 15-Car Wreck
Among those affected by the wreck was Alysha Ruggles, a 19-year-old local driver from Canandaigua. She was rushed to Thompson Hospital due to severe pain in her lower back after reportedly having her car tossed up 20 to 30 feet into the air before it came to rest 50 to 60 feet away.
Following the crash, Stewart was seen talking with crew members from other teams. In a rare show of humility from the driver, Stewart claimed full responsibility for causing the accident back then.
The Sprint car driver, Paul Habeck of Fairport, who had managed to get away unscathed, shared, “It was a melee of stuff going on there. A lot of dirt flying, cars going every which way, upside down. I came into Turn 1 and saw a car flipping towards me. It was pretty crazy. We came through it unscathed. I had to do a lot of weaving to get through it.”
Talking about the horrific crash, Sportsman division driver Karl Comfort of Dundee had said, “Once you are a racer, you’ve got that bug. Like I said, racing is a disease. Once you have it, there’s no stopping it. A guy like that, who has the funds, he’s going to come out and race and he’s going to have fun, because racing is fun to a racer. They don’t think about getting hurt. Most people don’t think about the money until after you crash. And you go out there and give it everything you got.”
Despite the chaotic situation at that time, Stewart’s honesty over the PA system helped defuse some of the tension and showed his ability to accept his mistake at the very least.
“I have never seen anything this bad in a sprint car race, I don’t think, or this many cars being taken out in one wreck,” added sprint car driver Mike Stelter of Webster. “At least Tony Stewart manned up and said he caused the wreck. He tried to put the car where it didn’t belong. He said it was his fault for trying to force the issue, I guess is a good way to say it.”