Definition: In this task, you will be presented with a passage and have to answer a question based on your understanding of the events inferred from the passage. Try to find the best answer that is most likely to fill in "_". Note that the URLs in the text have been replaced with [Link].
Input: (CNN) -- Tony Stewart, who hasn't raced since his car struck and killed a fellow driver during a dirt track race earlier this month, will return to NASCAR racing at Atlanta, his team announced on its Twitter feed. Stewart opted out of three races after his car hit Kevin Ward Jr., who was walking on the track during an Empire Super Sprints series race August 9 in New York. "NASCAR has remained in constant contact with his race team, and we will stay very close to this situation as Stewart returns to competition," said NASACR Executive Vice President Steve O'Donnell.Racer was driving in a dirt-track race when he hit a competitor who was walkingKevin Ward Jr. died of his injuries received at NY trackAuthorities are investigatingStewart expected to return to the track Friday during a practice session 
 Question:_ has only released a statement shortly after Ward's death.

Tony Stewart