The Hit: An Investigative Documentary

Tony “Smoke” Stewart is in the NASCAR Hall of Fame and listed as one of the top ten most popular racers of all time.And he killed someone. He killed a fellow racing competitor by running him over with a winged-race car in front of a bleacher full of stunned fans.Of course, there was an investigation. The real question is what kind? Who determines unavoidable collision versus manslaughter or accidental versus intentional?Award-winning journalists re-investigate the accident and discover previously unavailable documents, pictures, video, and witness testimony that shines new light on the fatality. Hear Stewart’s side of the story for the first time as he explains why he accelerated his #14 car under caution.Cooperating with filmmakers, some of the world’s leading forensic engineers reconstructed the fatal accident using the science of videogrammetry. The 3-D video images, created with up to a billion data points from the dirt track and videos of the crash, untangle some of the most controversial aspects of this case. The experts ask and answer why Stewart’s vehicle acted differently from the rest of the field.This film not only documents a dark day in sports history but tackles the failures of a small-town justice system.20-year-old Kevin Ward Jr. and NASCAR legend Tony Stewart had plenty in common. Ward was one of the winningest young race car drivers in New York history – a kid looking to climb the very mountain Stewart had already summited.Ward’s mom. dad and sisters are devastated by Kevin’s death. Now, a least once a week, the Ward family takes a short drive, across their farm road, to a private cemetery plot to visit Junior’s grave. They’ve asked out loud over the years why the man who put their son there has never taken responsibility. The Ward family has tried putting the notion of justice for Kevin Jr’s death to rest. To put it candidly, they think Tony Stewart (officially cleared of any crimes by a secret Grand Jury) should have gone to jail for the fatal collision.