What's Next in the Tony Stewart Saga After Grand Jury Does Not Press Charges?

It appears that after a thorough and impartial investigation of the Aug. 9 incident when the sprint car being driven by Tony Stewart struck and killed Kevin Ward Jr., the grand jury got it right in deciding no criminal charges would be filed against Stewart.

That decision was handed down Tuesday afternoon when, according to The Associated Press, Ontario County District Attorney Michael Tantillo said Ward was under the influence of marijuana the night of the accident "enough to impair judgment." Tantillo also told reporters, via the AP, that two videos examined by investigators showed "no aberrational driving by Tony Stewart" during the incident that took place at a dirt track in Canandaigua, New York.

The verdict was the result of an exhaustive process that extensively reviewed the evidence at hand and it's a difficult decision to argue with. But now, what's next?

As much as Stewart would like to put the matter behind him, it apparently is not going away just yet, as evidenced by a statement from Ward's family read over the phone by Kevin's sister Kayla Herring to the AP and distributed on Twitter by AP reporter Jenna Fryer less than three hours after Tuesday's grand jury announcement.

The statement read by Ms. Herring to the AP was as follows:

"

Our son got out of his car during caution when the race was suspended. All the other vehicles were reducing speed and not accelerating except for Stewart, who intentionally tried to intimidate Kevin by accelerating and sliding his car toward him, causing the tragedy. The focus should be on the actions of Mr. Stewart. This matter is not at rest and we will pursue all remedies in fairness to Kevin.

"

Nonetheless, Ward's behavior after getting wrecked by Stewart was unusual and arguably unreasonable, with the 20-year-old driver placing himself in immediate danger when he got out of his car and started walking down the track toward the racing groove even as Stewart and other cars circled the track under caution. 

Until the news that Ward was under the influence of marijuana came down, it seemed certain that regardless of the grand jury's decision on whether or not to bring criminal charges, the family of the deceased Ward would be filing a civil suit against Stewart. That seemed to be thrown into question after the toxicology report was released.

But now, with the statement from the family, it's obvious that it almost certainly intends to move forward in filing a civil suit anyway.

Chris Trotman/Getty Images

For his part, Stewart has said he is devastated by the tragedy and has expressed concern for Ward's grieving family.

But after sitting out three Sprint Cup races immediately following the Aug. 9 incident, Stewart returned to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series circuit at Atlanta on Aug. 31.

"This is a sadness and a pain that I hope no one ever has to experience in their life," said an emotional Stewart then, according to FoxSports.com. "With that being said, I know that the pain and the mourning that Kevin Ward's family and friends are experiencing is something that I can't possibly imagine."

He also stated that he wanted, even needed, to return to the track to accelerate his own healing process.

With the announcement earlier Tuesday that no criminal charges would be filed against Stewart, there was for the briefest of moments a glimmer of hope that the news cycle had just about run its course on this tragic incident.

Maybe, just maybe, a move away from the national media's spotlight could have helped the healing process for Kevin Ward Jr.'s family and Stewart. There seemed to be at least the sliver of a chance that Stewart would be given an opportunity to make peace with himself and what happened—and perhaps, over time, with the Ward family—without much further public scrutiny. 

But now, even though it doesn't seem that more probing will serve much, if any, purpose for either side, it looks as if all parties involved are going to continue to wrestle with each other—and their emotions—in the public arena for the foreseeable future.

Unless otherwise noted, all information was obtained firsthand.

Joe Menzer has written six books, including two about NASCAR, and now writes about it and other sports for Bleacher Report while also serving as a NASCAR writer/editor for FoxSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @OneMenz.