900HP 997 Turbo Crashes During a Drag Race

"SolitudeTM" (solitudetm) 11/25/2014 at 11:17 • Filed to: Drag Racing Accident, 911 Turbo Crash, Porsche Crash

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This happened during an organized drag race event in Korea. The owner, Geun Chang Jang, is a famous used car dealer(he even made appearances in TV shows), buying and selling mostly exotics such as Ferrari, Lambo, Zonda, SLR, Rolls Royce, etc. He is very active on SNS, always posting pictures of the cars he buy and sell, his house, basically showing off how rich he is. He has a huge following of teenagers who want to be like him, as he is perceived to be very rich and as the one who built his own success starting from zero.

About 10 days ago, he posted that he will be driving his 997.1 Turbo tuned to 900HP at a drag racing event in Korea.

The race was held at a automotive testing facility in Daegu City, South Korea. It was not a proper drag strip, but a temporary one set up on a straightaway on the test course.

During a race, one car left a long trail of oil so the safety crew covered the leakage with diatomite. 3 cars raced on that right lane after that without any incident. Then it was turn for the owner of the 997 Turbo to run. Since he was aware that the his lane was covered with diatomite powder, he requested to change his lane to left but was denied. He decided to do his run anyway, and lined up on the right lane.

Then the above crash happened. Right after the crash, thankfully he stepped out of the car without any major injury. But then he did not leave the track as he was supposed to, but started taking pictures and blaming the organizers for the crash. I heard from the people who attended the event that he was smoking on the track while he was going crazy at organizers, and his friends also stepped into the track to gang up on the organizers (which is completely against rules in any racing event). He was demanding they compensate him for the car because the condition of the surface was unsafe yet the organizers let him out on the track.

When the organizers denied any responsibility on the spot, he brought his Maybach(it looks like he trailered his 997.1 to the track and drove to the event in Maybach) and blocked the staging lane, preventing the race from restarting saying he needs to collect evidence from the scene of the accident before his car was removed from the track. He even got on the microphone to ask everyone at the event to be witnesses. It was already past 4 PM so the rest of the race had to be cancelled as the sun set while he was blocking the staging lanes.

He later posted on internet forums and facebook, asking for support to get the compensation for his damaged(maybe totaled) car, and it backfired hugely. He is taking heavy criticism for blocking the staging lanes and simply going crazy out there, preventing everyone else from racing after his accident. He is saying he will sue those who who are making fun of him on the internet for libel (I have to say.... what a douchebag move on his part). So far, the only backing he is getting from teenagers that idolize him and don't have a clue about driving and racing. Anyway, leaving the part about this guy being a complete asshole and a douche for blocking the staging lanes and threatening to sue everyone, and my thinking that he can't drive for shit from watching the video, do you guys think the organizers should be held liable for anything?

I think since he knew the dangers, singed the waivers, was aware of the road surface condition since he requested to switch to the left lane, he has nobody but himself to blame. But I would like to hear your opinion about this.

R Saldana [|Oo|======|oO|] - BTC/ETH/LTC Prophet > SolitudeTM 11/25/2014 at 11:24

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I was with him until the whole, "I'm gonna sue the interwebz" part. I do agree that the race organizers are at fault, and that dictates that their own insurance should cover his damage repairs to OEM spec.

SolitudeTM > R Saldana [|Oo|======|oO|] - BTC/ETH/LTC Prophet 11/25/2014 at 11:27

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Really? Even though he was already aware of the surface condition, and still he decided to run? I'm curious to hear why you think so. Is it because you think organizers did not prepare the surface properly?

R Saldana [|Oo|======|oO|] - BTC/ETH/LTC Prophet > SolitudeTM 11/25/2014 at 11:39

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Mind you, this is just an opinion and the only fact I have to go by was going to the NHRA nationals in Memphis, TN several times as a kid. Do you know how often top fuel/pro-street/etc cars blow up on the track and dump fluids of all kinds all over the place? I would say 1 of 5 cars that runs has some kind of major malfunction at some point and dumps oil and/or fluid on the track. When that happens the track crew not only pick up any pieces that may be on the track, but they also brush the majority of the liquids off to the side gutters, then run a fresh coat of that sticky tar-oil stuff they put on the track surface (to improve grip and also reduce damage to the track surface) and finish it off by running a jet engine dryer over both lanes.

I realize that this was not a NHRA event; but I feel, based on my limited knowledge of both drag racing and insurance law, that the track management should be held liable for repair costs to OEM spec.

SolitudeTM > R Saldana [|Oo|======|oO|] - BTC/ETH/LTC Prophet 11/25/2014 at 11:43

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I was not saying that you were wrong. I was curious to hear why you thought so. Yes, I do know the track surface was in less than ideal conditions, and how NHRA prepares the surface. If you can, can you please point me towards where I can find the NHRA rules and insurance law regarding similar incidents? There is a huge debate going on in Korean car community regarding this accident so if I can find any regulations or laws regarding this in NHRA or any other racing organization, it would help to draw conclusions. Thanks.

R Saldana [|Oo|======|oO|] - BTC/ETH/LTC Prophet > SolitudeTM 11/25/2014 at 12:30

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Dude, that is way out of my depth. Honestly, all I could go is Google it for you.

Rock Bottom > R Saldana [|Oo|======|oO|] - BTC/ETH/LTC Prophet 11/25/2014 at 13:08

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This is not a standard practice at amateur track days. The track and sanctioning body will pull out all the stops for professional-level events, but outside of that you run at your own risk. And even then, the pro teams will pay to repair their own cars, not the track or sanctioning body. In addition, every time I've tracked I was required to sign a waiver that clearly states that the risk is being assumed by the car owners and drivers, not by the track. I've been drag racing and autocrossing for about 15 years (and have had a little road-course play time too) and it's always been the same deal. Hell, the waiver form seems to be exactly the same at every track in every state, too!

R Saldana [|Oo|======|oO|] - BTC/ETH/LTC Prophet > Rock Bottom 11/25/2014 at 13:14

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Solitude, there's your guy right there.

Rock Bottom > SolitudeTM 11/25/2014 at 13:25

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Does NASCAR or Daytona Raceway pay to fix Jimmie Johnson's car when he hits a little oil and spins into the wall? Nope. Jimmy's team fixes it. It's part of the game.

Same is true of NHRA, IHRA, SCCA, NASA, TUSC, etc. Everyone signs a waiver that says "We'll provide the track, some emergency essentials, and a crowd, you provide the racing and everything that goes along with it. Good luck."

Crashing is a part of racing and everyone that puts a tire on the track knows that. If they don't, then they'll figure it out quick. Furthermore, many old racers will tell you that if you can't afford to dump it in a lake and never see it again, then you shouldn't race it. There's a decent chance that you will lose your car racing and that's just the way it's always been. If someone don't like that, then they should take up swimming or board games or something less risky!

briannutter1 > SolitudeTM 11/25/2014 at 13:41

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Whata Douche. If a guy wants to race, they need to take responsibility for wrecking the car and breaking parts. No one forces someone to race. This goes for any form of racing...drag, rally, roadrace, autocross, etc . People race on bad/wet/oily surfaces all the time and that's just part of it. Hell, if some guy runs into you at a wheel to wheel event and totals your car -its STILL your insurance that pays for it. That guy should stick to the sidelines and video games.

SolitudeTM > Rock Bottom 11/25/2014 at 13:59

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I thought so. I've also been in AutoXs and track days, but never on a drag. You do have to sign a waiver and the guy in question has. I've never heard of any racing organization being responsible for any crash caused by surface condition, so that was why I wanted to see any backing info about what Saldana has said since maybe I thought there was a chance that I was wrong since I never drag raced before. Thanks.

SolitudeTM > briannutter1 11/25/2014 at 14:01

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Hahaha. A bit harsh but I totally agree with you. Nobody ever pays for your crash that happens during a race but yourself. That's what I always thought was the rule.

Rock Bottom > SolitudeTM 11/25/2014 at 14:03

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Yeah, the waiver is pretty much the same one you've seen. Hell, they probably just print them all off from the same website! RacingWaivers.com! Ha ha!

SolitudeTM > Rock Bottom 11/25/2014 at 14:06

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LOL. The tracks all around the world might as well should just sum it up in one line: "We are not responsible for anything." and I think that would be good enough because that's what all waivers basically say! haha.

briannutter1 > SolitudeTM 11/25/2014 at 14:32

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Yeah, sorry stuff like that bugs me. I build race pistons for a living. We take good care of our customers, but there's always that one self-entitled whiner that melted/detonated the crap out of his mal-tuned race engine and wants us to pay for a new engine and installation. My reply to those guys is : The minute you put a K&N filter on your car and made 2 more horsepower than what the factory intended was the same minute you needed to take responsibility for your own actions going forward.

SolitudeTM > briannutter1 11/25/2014 at 16:03

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No need to apologize, as I did call him a douche and many other things as well in Korean websites. LOL. But yeah, there are people who think they deserve to get everything that has gone wrong fixed for them and they bug the hell out of me, too.