Tony Stewart's Insurance Company Claims Policy Won't Cover Wrongful Death Suit

Axis Insurance Company, which covers automobiles under the Tony Stewart Racing umbrella, has filed a motion asking a judge to rule it is not responsible to pay fees in the wrongful death suit filed against Stewart by Kevin Ward Jr.'s parents.

Bob Pockrass of ESPN.com reported on the motion filed last Friday, in which Axis Insurance claims "its policy covers neither the race Stewart was participating in nor claims brought by one driver against another."

The parents of Ward filed a lawsuit against the former Sprint Cup champion last month, claiming Stewart “wrongfully caused Mr. Ward’s death by acting with wanton, reckless and malicious intent and negligence” (h/t USA Today's Brant James).    

Ward, 20, died Aug. 9, 2014, when Stewart struck him with his car at Canandaigua (New York) Motorsports Park. The young driver had approached Stewart's vehicle after the two collided on the race track, and Stewart struck him with the backside of his car, causing trauma that would lead to Ward's death.

A New York grand jury decided in September 2014 that Stewart would not be charged with a crime related to the incident. That decision would have little to no bearing on any civil case, which carries a lower burden of proof than criminal charges. Ward's family said Stewart could have avoided their son as the other drivers had.

“Our son was truly the light of our lives and we miss him terribly every day,” the Wards said in a statement, per Brant James of USA Today. “Our hope is that this lawsuit will hold Tony Stewart responsible for killing our son and show him there are real consequences when someone recklessly takes another person’s life.”

Stewart, who sat out three races following the incident and has been publicly apologetic, said via his attorney that he did not see Ward at the time of the accident.

"Stewart was not aware that anyone had exited their vehicle," Stewart's attorney, Brian Gwitt, wrote, per Michael Balsamo of the Associated Press, saying his client "did not see Ward Jr. or anyone else walking on foot on the track until just prior to contact, and did not know the identity of the person walking on the track until afterward."

Stewart has not publicly commented on the lawsuit or Axis Insurance's claims.

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