J richard

So sorry to hear.

Don't know the track, or anything about the circumstances, but as an instructor never felt so uneasy about a track session as a Hyperfest. For most the first time on a track at all, car or driver. Fast turnaround, quick intro, almost no time to preflight the car and student, you have one run session and hot swap to the next group. Most of your time us just keeping the student on the track and whoa'd up. Most of the instructors clamor to the hottest cars, I looked for the ones with the most airbags...

In combination with a marginal track a recipe for disaster. Condolences to family and friends.

85Gold

FYI

SUMMIT POINT, W.Va. — An instructor at Summit Point Motorsports Park in Jefferson County, W.Va., died over the weekend when a car on the track careened off a curve.
The instructor was a passenger in a 2006 Pontiac GTO driven by someone Saturday as part of the HyperFest event, according to Sgt. Robert Sell of the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department.
HyperFest allows amateur drivers to take their own vehicles onto the track with a National Auto Sport Association driver in the passenger seat, Sell said.


Peter

007DT

Sad News.

Anyone know the details on the Lightning crash that happened earlier in the day? I understand one of the drivers had to be airlifted? Hopefully that person(s) condition is improving.

docwyte

As it was a Hyperdrive I'd wager the car was a street car with no additional safety equipment over stock...

Mikelly

Guys, let's remember that this was a NASA Hyperdrive, which is supposed to be just like any other "INTRO TO DE" that most clubs *including PCA hold at their events.

The car in question was a street car and the driver was an introductory student. Generally that means street car with no tech inspection and no past experience. The "general" assumption is that you're going to get a GREEN zero experience student and you are going to go relatively slow. I was not there at the event, and do not know anything more than I just posted. I don't think we need to be speculating beyond that.

Godspeed to the driver and prayors for all involved for their loss.

magnetic1

Todd Reid is doing better: Not from me:

Circuit Motorsports

Both guys had been racing hard all race. Was just before the bridge. Car with driver airlifted went deep into the woods. Other car rolled several times.

Car just ahead of them hit by beer can as it passed bridge.

Gary R.

Wonderful, I hope whoever threw it was caught and arrested for attempted murder.. I've seen videos of "Hyperstupidity" antics, I wouldn't get within 500 miles of it.

cardsrule

R.I.P brother.

I instructed in a Hyperdrive years ago and it was the worse time ever in a right seat. I pulled the "I am going to puke so you better pull in" line.

Veloce Raptor

+1

Or just taken deep into the woods and dismembered slowly.

RickBetterley

You have got to be kidding...what kind of event organizers allow that type of environment.
Memo to self - never instruct at a Hyperfest, which appears aptly named.

consolidated

This is horrible news, very sad loss. It very literally could have been almost anyone here.

Gary R.

Every bit of video I have seen shows it to be a hillbilly free for all in the stands, bunch of drunken idiots fighting, ripping their shirts off, spraying each other with cheap beer, etc.. You know, what Nascar would be without proper supervision..

I'm sure most entrants are just people wanting to have a good time but if you have to worry about some drunk doing something to endanger your life? Time to end it.

gums

Tragic news in any case.
Reaffirms my decision NOT to get into instructing.
I'm not a very good passenger anyway.
always saddens to to hear this happens.

baddogz28

This is awful to hear... At my first DE in the Miata a couple months back with NASA, I remember thinking "there's no efffing way I would wanna be shotgun in a car with a total noob." I have great appreciation for the instructors of all these major clubs, they really do a lot of good teaching car control to people so they can be quick on a track, but more importantly, safer on the street.

Riding to work a couple saturdays ago in the Miata, I had one of those 'sick' feelings as I passed a bunch of big rigs on I35 north of Austin: How have I not been hurt driving a car like this, amongst so many clueless drivers?

An hour later, I had just taken my food from the lady at the McD's drive through... Let the clutch out to pull forward and stopped... Must have gotten a bad feeling, as the pull out to the drive through is blind.

An ******* in a Tahoe ripped just past my bumper through the parking lot at something like 30mph, and I was very close to being in the hospital if not the morgue. I caught up to him and let him know that he almost killed me- he hadn't even noticed. Didn't apologize either.

Whether it helps me in that type of crash or not, I'm putting a full Spec cage in the car ASAP, and I'm not gonna drive it much on the street until that happens.

RIP to this instructor and the instructors that have died before him, and prayers going out to all involved, including the drivers who might need them most.