Crash & Death at the NOLA Wannagofast 1/2 mile today (RIP Jeff Hagaman)

[Curt@injected]

I expect to see you guys in 45 days in Valdosta

Love sgmp and haven't been in a while. I'd love to bring the black s550 down if it works out. Plan was to go 200 at nola and then change the converter and car up for 1/4 mile by sct and keep it that way. He just wanted to do 200 in the half once but that didn't quite work out. I'll see what our plans are.

 

[Blk04L]

RIP. That was a nasty wreck.

What shot up in the air? People were speculating anything from possible nitrous to turbos.

 

[Turbo98GT]

Love sgmp and haven't been in a while. I'd love to bring the black s550 down if it works out. Plan was to go 200 at nola and then change the converter and car up for 1/4 mile by sct and keep it that way. He just wanted to do 200 in the half once but that didn't quite work out. I'll see what our plans are.

We literally got a class for everyone, even roll racing. Cash payouts over $48k total. Definitely need GA shop support.

We'll be at SCT this weekend. I'll be with Sai Li and Brett LaSala camp. We can talk then

 

[My94GT]

Rough to see, honestly I put a lot of the responsibility on the driver to take all safety precautions they can.

I get not wanting to cage a street car but it’s a bit different when we’re talking 200+ mph.

 

[BlckBox04]

I didn't know that the 1/2 mile and the roll racing stuff became such a big thing honestly

 

[Turbo98GT]

Rough to see, honestly I put a lot of the responsibility on the driver to take all safety precautions they can.

I get not wanting to cage a street car but it’s a bit different when we’re talking 200+ mph.

A lot of these ultra rich guys have a children's mentality with safety. If there aren't rules in place or enforced, they'll do what they want cause the can. Rules/laws ultimately get made because of situations like this. If everyone acted responsibly we wouldnt be talking about this, event promoter too. If they acted in their racers best interest, we also wouldnt be talking about this

 

[Kiohtee]

I had the pleasure of meeting Jeff several times on track as well as at SCT Charlotte. Cool dude and amazing driver. Could definitely wheel a car.

However I do not believe the addition of a cage, no matter the points, would have single-handedly saved Jeff's life. I will even argue it wouldn't make the difference of death and being a vegetable at that point. A lot of you keep pointing to landspeed and other mile cars that have wrecked where the driver survived, but there's a problem with that logic... Those cars are practically full out custom builds. Not a thing in common with the cars they imitate in silhouette (i.e. a NASCAR stock car). They have full cages, fixed seat backs, HANS devices, etc. This was essentially a showroom GT-R with 2,000whp. Because it was truly a street car. It seen street action and casual street cruising. All that added safety equipment, if it were equipped as such, would have actually made for a deadlier experience on the street for Jeff and his family.

Pick and choose I suppose, but I question if this should have happened in the first place. As in, should we ever have to discuss his safety list (or lack thereof).

 

[Turbo98GT]

I had the pleasure of meeting Jeff several times on track as well as at SCT Charlotte. Cool dude and amazing driver. Could definitely wheel a car.

However I do not believe the addition of a cage, no matter the points, would have single-handedly saved Jeff's life. I will even argue it wouldn't make the difference of death and being a vegetable at that point. A lot of you keep pointing to landspeed and other mile cars that have wrecked where the driver survived, but there's a problem with that logic... Those cars are practically full out custom builds. Not a thing in common with the cars they imitate in silhouette (i.e. a NASCAR stock car). They have full cages, fixed seat backs, HANS devices, etc. This was essentially a showroom GT-R with 2,000whp. Because it was truly a street car. It seen street action and casual street cruising. All that added safety equipment, if it were equipped as such, would have actually made for a deadlier experience on the street for Jeff and his family.

Pick and choose I suppose, but I question if this should have happened in the first place. As in, should we ever have to discuss his safety list (or lack thereof).

That Mustang I posted was a normal Mustang with a 25.3 cage. A 25.3 or even a 10pt with 25.3 thickness bars along with a racing seat and HANS wouldve done really good. I love street cars with a ton of power but 2200whp @ 4000lbs with a 4pt harness brace is not safe and puts event promoters in a bad situation as seen. Either don't race it or cage it.

 

[Curt@injected]

I didn't know that the 1/2 mile and the roll racing stuff became such a big thing honestly

It blew up in like 5 years. When I went to my first ga event it was nothing compared to the last couple of years.

 

[black99lightnin]

I don't understand your question, Richard. They re-routed the track so you use the straight as the 1/2 mile.



Jesus. So shitty no one got to run....BUT. I'd rather lose the money in this scenario than worse...….Dustin's car has the safety precautions, but losing control at 200mph+ is still a ride no one wants to take, and it's almost a guarantee.....Yikes.

On a normal road course we’d already be braking before those bumps for turn 1. During this event the used the straightaway run off for shutdown. Where he wrecked almost looks like he was trying to make the turn?



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[Turbo98GT]

I built my GT500 for 1/2mile racing specifically

 

[csvt98]

See you boys at SCT ATL.

All this makes me want to put a chute on my car and mine is not fast. I definitely think they should up the cage standards on the cars and event organizers be more aware of the track surface. Heaven's Landing is great and I hope to make that one. WGF has been under scrutiny for a while.

 

[Kiohtee]

That Mustang I posted was a normal Mustang with a 25.3 cage. A 25.3 or even a 10pt with 25.3 thickness bars along with a racing seat and HANS wouldve done really good. I love street cars with a ton of power but 2200whp @ 4000lbs with a 4pt harness brace is not safe and puts event promoters in a bad situation as seen. Either don't race it or cage it.

Unless I'm oblivious you're agreeing with me. And that Mustang you posted had a 25.3 cage, fixed seat, helmet and what looked to be a HANS device, but I'm not 100% on that. The camera isn't that clear. But again, Jeff's car seen a lot more action than 1/2 mile events, which is why it wasn't built specifically to compete at 1/2 mile events. It just happened to be good at those too.

Regardless, it's a true loss as he was a humble, funny, driving guy. Just bad circumstances all around.

 

[SirShaun]

Kind of odd, no pictures of the car have been released. The 4 point cage statement might be bull shit to save Wannagofast. I'm sure all those guys signed waivers, regardless.

 

[jeffh81]

Kind of odd, no pictures of the car have been released. The 4 point cage statement might be bull shit to save Wannagofast. I'm sure all those guys signed waivers, regardless.

It got confirmed on another forum I frequent. It was a 4 point cage in there

 

[Revvv]

We literally got a class for everyone, even roll racing. Cash payouts over $48k total. Definitely need GA shop support.

We'll be at SCT this weekend. I'll be with Sai Li and Brett LaSala camp. We can talk then

Do you have a link for the event?

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[Turbo98GT]

It got confirmed on another forum I frequent. It was a 4 point cage in there

People are confusing a 4pt harness bar with a 4pt roll bar. There is a big distinction. I'm aware of it only having a 4pt harness bar

 

[Turbo98GT]

Kind of odd, no pictures of the car have been released. The 4 point cage statement might be bull shit to save Wannagofast. I'm sure all those guys signed waivers, regardless.

Waiver wont save them from negligence.

 

[jeffh81]

People are confusing a 4pt harness bar with a 4pt roll bar. There is a big distinction. I'm aware of it only having a 4pt harness bar View attachment 1517755

Yeah your right. I misread it

 

[earico]

Waiver wont save them from negligence.

Bingo. There looks to be a very strong case for it.