NASCAR driver Tony Stewart, who was recently cleared of criminal wrongdoing for killing another driver, is in trouble again.
Stewart was fined $25,000 Tuesday for a retaliation hit against Brad Keselowski at the Bank of America 500 in Charlotte Motor Speedway on Saturday.
Keselowski had accidentally rear-ended Stewart while trading paint with another driver, Denny Hamlin. Stewart stopped and then backed into Keselowski’s car. The impact caused the hood to pop up.
On Sept. 24, Stewart was cleared by a grand jury in the death of racer Kevin Ward Jr., who was struck by Stewart’s car in an Aug. 9 sprint car race. Ward had exited his car to confront Stewart.
The potential charges against Stewart were second degree manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide. He returned to NASCAR racing on Aug. 31.
In addition to Stewart’s fine, Keselowski was fined $50,000. He fought with Hamlin and another driver off the track after the race.
Gavin Stern is a national digital producer for the Scripps National Desk. Follow him on twitter at@GavinStern or email him at gavin.stern@scripps.com
