Crash & Death at the NOLA Wannagofast 1/2 mile today (RIP Jeff Hagaman)
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Sad to see anyone losing their life. Prayers to his family and friends. Please folks - be safe and control what you can by taking whatever precautions you can - helmet - cage - fire protection - whatever your speed dictates. Nobody is invincible. Shit can happen to anyone. Life is short and nobody gets a second chance.
RIP Jeff. Condolences to his family. Sad story. Nothing more to add than hasn't already been stated.
He had a 4 point cage and he failed to pull the chute. The shutdown area was a washboard and he lost it there. Word is he was at 217 MPH.
Dam tragic for sure. What does a 4 point even do though?, I don't think it even allows you to run a faster time at dragstrips I thought it started a 6 point -good to 10.00 at 135. 10 point to 8.50 at 150mph and then cage requirements go up from there.
No idea, that is what I read on FB from a guy who knew him. I do say if I were to even do one I would do a 10 point if my GTR was a 2k awhp car.
Everyone complaining about the cage issue....
That’s the whole point behind these events. Guys want to build fast street cars and take their super cars out and do super car stuff.
Car manufacturers constantly tote their cars can do 155, 175 and 200mph; this is where you finally get a chance to do that.
Racing on a certified NHRA drag strip has some major draw backs.
It’s only 1/4 mile
Launching is 80% of drag racing and is where shit breaks and goes wrong
Safety Regs. - Cages, DS Hoops, Cut Off, etc
Adding a monster cage, 5pt harness, fix back seat, external cut off... these things make a car less safe on the street and for some states means you won’t pass inspection.
People going to these events are well aware of he risks and the safeties they give up.
Let’s be Americans and embrace that rather then cry like babies and regulate shit to death.
To much risk for you? No one is asking you to race there.
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That’s the whole point behind these events. Guys want to build fast street cars and take their super cars out and do super car stuff.
Car manufacturers constantly tote their cars can do 155, 175 and 200mph; this is where you finally get a chance to do that.
Racing on a certified NHRA drag strip has some major draw backs.
It’s only 1/4 mile
Launching is 80% of drag racing and is where shit breaks and goes wrong
Safety Regs. - Cages, DS Hoops, Cut Off, etc
Adding a monster cage, 5pt harness, fix back seat, external cut off... these things make a car less safe on the street and for some states means you won’t pass inspection.
People going to these events are well aware of he risks and the safeties they give up.
Let’s be Americans and embrace that rather then cry like babies and regulate shit to death.
To much risk for you? No one is asking you to race there.
Sent from my iPhone using svtperformance.com
That's fine.
But if that is the case then,
I better not see people bitch about bumps in the shut down. (Which many knew were there)
AND I better not see a lawsuit from the family of anyone killed or my insurance go up because "They knew the risk"
I'll stop there for now.
You say you dont want to see lawsuits and legislation... Then dont go 217mph without a proper cage in a place that has crap runoff... The most American thing is lawsuits so what do you think will happen when people kill themselves doing stupid shit like that? I mean no disrespect to the dead but proper saftey is exactly how you avoid lawsuits and legislation, and well keeping yourself alive for your family's sake.
Failures all around. WGF for choosing that death trap road to do high speed runs on. WGF for knowing about it and telling racers to drive around the bumps at the big end. WGF for having a "honor policy" regarding safety. Sponsors for turning a blind eye to this inevitable event. The track for allowing this traveling lawsuit to come to town. And finally, the driver for not equipping his car with proper safety and not pulling the chute. Jeff's car had a 4pt harness bar. No roll bar. I hate this for his family as there were so many warning signs leading up to it. There needs to be a sanctioning body to enforce basic safety protocols regarding the driver and the event location. Completely unacceptable.
R.I.P. Jeff
Did WGF refuse to offer a refund if participates thought the track was too dangerous? Was there no ability to do shakedown laps? If they held the event in the rain or snow and you decided to go full out and you wrecked would it be their fault?
Sorry but WGF is not your daddy or mommy. When you sign up for shit like this you assume the possibility of things like this happening, no matter how unlikely and unfortunate.
There is no need for a governing body or a bunch of silly rules that would just put this shit on the street. No one is putting a 10 point cage in their Lambo or street car because Wally thinks it's prudent for the once or twice you might run.
In your world of Naderism you'd have to have a sanction inspected & approved cage. Fire suppression, Lexan, Hans, Belts, fuel cell,diapers, etc. You'd have to have $50k in equipment to run, and guess what, no one would show up so your points are pointless. It's why the NHRA is dying quickly. We might as well just use a simulator.
I'd rather have people run on a closed course than on the streets. That's how I see it. You play the game and sometimes you come up short. Motorsports are filled with 1000's of deaths, it happens and it'll happen again.
Sorry but WGF is not your daddy or mommy. When you sign up for shit like this you assume the possibility of things like this happening, no matter how unlikely and unfortunate.
There is no need for a governing body or a bunch of silly rules that would just put this shit on the street. No one is putting a 10 point cage in their Lambo or street car because Wally thinks it's prudent for the once or twice you might run.
In your world of Naderism you'd have to have a sanction inspected & approved cage. Fire suppression, Lexan, Hans, Belts, fuel cell,diapers, etc. You'd have to have $50k in equipment to run, and guess what, no one would show up so your points are pointless. It's why the NHRA is dying quickly. We might as well just use a simulator.
I'd rather have people run on a closed course than on the streets. That's how I see it. You play the game and sometimes you come up short. Motorsports are filled with 1000's of deaths, it happens and it'll happen again.
Curt@injected
Well-Known Member
Let's be totally honest here. An honest question for anyone who actually races regularly. When you go to your local track on a Friday night, do you walk the track and do a shakedown run before ever making a pass every time? Or are you trusting the track officials to make sure the track is suitable for racing? Do you inspect the track every time a guy in front of you drops something and there is clean up, or do you trust the track officials?
I'm not saying there isn't responsibility on the driver. Anybody going that fast should be aware of the risks and take the necessary steps to keep themselves safe but the track was not suitable for those kinds of speeds.
FFS. I've raced at NOLA, and this event's "shutdown" zone is the roadcourse braking zone for turn 1. It is bumpy as hell - the car literally surfs from asphalt peak to peak, and it throws the car side to side as you are trying to slow down because the grip is so variable as the tires lands after each bump. It's sketchy at 160 MPH in a high-aero GT car; I would absolutely not want to be going 210 in a street car there.
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Very well said. Errors made by all parties.
and likely when the suit happens, which you know it will....there will be responsibility found on both sides. the jury or if settled outside...either way, they will determine how much on each side.
Good to read comments from someone who's raced there.
Sounds like maybe the chute wasn't opened or mechanically failed? It sounds like without a chute it's a pure disaster at that point on a slow down area with that bad a surface when you doing 217 mph.
Ive never been to a 1/2 mile style event, do you get to observe the track before running? Like a track walk?
I probably would have been asking questions about that slowdown area even in a regular car let alone a car with 2000+hp.
RIP to the driver. Did he get ejected? I cant imagine the forces on a rollover at that speed in a street car.
I probably would have been asking questions about that slowdown area even in a regular car let alone a car with 2000+hp.
RIP to the driver. Did he get ejected? I cant imagine the forces on a rollover at that speed in a street car.
Supposedly semi ejected is what i saw on another forum and ripped limb from limb. Hopefully it was quick
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