( CNN ) -- As soon as he could , Kevin Ward Jr. got in a race car . As soon as he could , Kevin Ward Jr. started winning races . Ward was just 4 years old , not even in school , when he got behind the wheel of a go-kart . In his first race , he took second . In the next eight years , he won 250 events and six championships , according to his racing website . Racing was his passion , people who knew him said . `` He loved it , '' his next-door neighbor , Robert Shue , told CNN affiliate WSYR . `` He 's just a good kid , a hard worker . He loved doing what he did , and he loved his family , '' Vicki Shue told the station . Ward died Saturday night from injuries suffered when he was hit on a small dirt track by the race car of NASCAR star Tony Stewart . The 20-year-old had gotten out of his car after a tangle with Stewart caused him to spin out , and he appeared to want to vent his anger at the three-time NASCAR champion . Police are investigating to see if criminal charges are warranted . When Ward was little he would hop in a go-kart and drive it until it ran out of gas . Then he would put some more fuel in and go so more , family friend Steven Mooney told CNN affiliate WHAM . People could see him riding his bicycle as fast as he could up and down the streets of Port Leyden , a village in upstate New York . `` He was always polite . He always said , 'Hi , ' when he rode by , '' Larry Loomis recalled . As he grew bigger , Ward raced bigger cars . He moved from go-karts to Micro Sprints ( and won 30 more times ) then moved to Sprint cars . He was the Empire Super Sprints series rookie of the year in 2010 when he finished seventh in the points standings . This year he was going to try to squeeze 31 races into a six-month schedule . Mooney said Ward , who was brought into racing by his father , was an above-average driver . Chuck Miller , the director of the Empire Super Sprints series , told USA Today the young driver had potential . He showed a lot of promise and talent , '' Miller said . `` On the track , you could n't tell him apart from a veteran . He had that kind of talent . '' But there is n't a lot of money in sprint car racing , even for the winners . After high school , Ward followed his dad again , going into the family painting business . His father was there to support his son 's racing career . `` His dad was right there with him every time , '' the mayor of Lyons Falls , New York , Katie Liendecker , told the Charlotte Observer . The family released a statement Sunday thanking friends and fans for their support , but requesting time to grieve .
Kevin USA ##le finished second in his first race -- when he was 4 years old . He had a lot of potential , director of racing series , USA ##C . Four years ago , he was the rookie of the year in his class . I remember him as polite , a good guy .