Over the weekend NASCAR driver Tony Stewart was involved in an on track incident in a race at a track in Canandaigua NY. I happened to be driving by that track right around the time the incident took place, so when I got home and saw the headline on the news I immediately freaked out.

The headline said “Tony Stewart kills drive at local track”. Obviously the headline was misleading, and I’m guessing on purpose. That headline is much more sensational that “Tony Stewart involved in on track accident” or something similar. 

Tony is a notorious bad boy on the racing circuit known for his temper and from what I’ve seen it looks like many news outlets decided to capitalize on his reputation, or at the very least his fame. 

Online there were some people complaining about the headline, that it was misleading and sensational and was using a tragedy to promote a new item. 

A 20 year old kid died. Only Tony and the deceased boy know for sure what happened. It makes me sick to see a few irresponsible people try to get extra ratings with misleading headlines. 

I guess that’s the internet age, the age if instant information. Sometimes news is reported incorrectly in the rush to be first. While that’s still no good, that’s better than proclaiming someone a killer in a grab for eyeballs. 

Eventually everything will be settled with Tony, and this week the 20 year old boy will be buried by his family. I wish the media would learn a lesson about responsible headlines, but I suspect that won’t happen. 

To be honest I feel guilty and dirty for rushing to read the article after reading the headline. I should have known better.