Jason Johnson

[a25rjr]

On another note, the safety of those sprint cars has to looked at!

Theres a video on youtube, where they put a sprint car on a crash simulator. The drivers head actually extends past the halo bar a good 6 inches. The video is probly a couple years old but those cars don't seem safe at all!

[KAOS]

On another note, the safety of those sprint cars has to looked at!

Theres a video on youtube, where they put a sprint car on a crash simulator. The drivers head actually extends past the halo bar a good 6 inches. The video is probly a couple years old but those cars don't seem safe at all!

I was at a USAC race about 5 years ago where a guy flipped and his helmet hit the track and made an depression in the track surface . They took him off in helicopter fortunately he was able to recover and is still racing sprints today (just not the wingless ones)

RIP Jason Johnson.... I also feel bad for Daryn Pittman It has to be hard to strap in racecar and be the same after something like that.

[gjohnston]

I’ll watch any video where a fatality or serious injury occurred. Not out of some sick morbid curiosity but to learn things that could make the drivers I’ve worked with safer. If you watch them with that twisted bloodlust then you need help.

The Earnhardt crash was seen by everyone. When it came down to it that was relatively straightforward. The Sachs/Macdonald incident at Indy in ‘64 is beyond fascinating. The safety improvements tat occurred after that one are still felt today. If that accident would not have been examined from every angle the way it was out of respect for the families, all forms of racing would not be as safe as they are now.

Yes, these things are not easy to view but if watching it can make the sport safer for the guys and gals I work with then you better believe I’m going to do it. Watch them as an educational tool. Don’t watch them to get your jollies.

[Loobs_07]

So what exactly happened? did part of the fencing penetrate the (not a nice word)(not a nice word)(not a nice word)(not a nice word)pit? watched the video wasn't a great view, but didn't seem to be an out of the ordinary sprint car wreck. I was at the world few years ago when Shane Unger passed, sitting between 3n4, still got a mental picture of him getting turned right.

[Raceready]

I wonder what some of these guys with a weak stomach would if they were at a bachelors party where the movie [ Faces of Death ] was shown. It featured real people being killed in real time in a variety of ways. How about in deer hunting season when one comes across a young or city hunter that has one laying there all gut shot to hell ?

[PRCKartRacer9]

How many people watched the video of Smoke?

[Zonks32x]

So what exactly happened? did part of the fencing penetrate the (not a nice word)(not a nice word)(not a nice word)(not a nice word)pit? watched the video wasn't a great view, but didn't seem to be an out of the ordinary sprint car wreck.

It was far from an ordinary...and I'll leave it at that.

Seeing it, in person, was difficult enough.

Not being able to sleep because the event keeps replaying in your mind, terrible.

Taking your nephew (who is the same age as Jason Johnson's son) to his first sprint car race and trying to explain, without having to fully explain, what he just witnessed and why there's a helicopter circling the track...horrible.

And for every fan there, our experience pales in comparison to what a widow now has to tell her young son about why his HERO, his Daddy, will not be there to tuck him in, give him a hug, ride bikes, play catch, fish, or just hang out.

Continued thoughts and prayers for Bobbi and Jaxx Johnson, their family and friends.

If your a Dad, hug your kids and tell them you love them.
If your a son, call your Dad, say Thanks, and tell him you love him.

I will NEVER forget what I saw Saturday night. As long as God gives me breath in my lungs, I will stop and take a few minutes each day to say a prayer for Jaxx Johnson.

I know one day he will see his Daddy again in heaven.

[chupp n bloomer fan]

It was far from an ordinary...and I'll leave it at that.

Seeing it, in person, was difficult enough.

Not being able to sleep because the event keeps replaying in your mind, terrible.

Taking your nephew (who is the same age as Jason Johnson's son) to his first sprint car race and trying to explain, without having to fully explain, what he just witnessed and why there's a helicopter circling the track...horrible.

And for every fan there, our experience pales in comparison to what a widow now has to tell her young son about why his HERO, his Daddy, will not be there to tuck him in, give him a hug, ride bikes, play catch, fish, or just hang out.

Continued thoughts and prayers for Bobbi and Jaxx Johnson, their family and friends.

If your a Dad, hug your kids and tell them you love them.
If your a son, call your Dad, say Thanks, and tell him you love him.

I will NEVER forget what I saw Saturday night. As long as God gives me breath in my lungs, I will stop and take a few minutes each day to say a prayer for Jaxx Johnson.

I know one day he will see his Daddy again in heaven.

Dam you man, very well said. Trying to explain that to a young kid, definitely a hard one. My youngest daughter is 6, and I dunno how you could make it any less tragic without lying. Them pictures of Jaxx n JJ on Facebook, you don’t need Facebook to view them, heart wrenching.

Every night, every morning, I love you, those are my last words, whether they are sleeping or not.

[WisWildManFan]

So what exactly happened? did part of the fencing penetrate the (not a nice word)(not a nice word)(not a nice word)(not a nice word)pit? watched the video wasn't a great view, but didn't seem to be an out of the ordinary sprint car wreck. I was at the world few years ago when Shane Unger passed, sitting between 3n4, still got a mental picture of him getting turned right.

From what I saw in a video he went up into the billboards and then landed on the concrete wall. Some say the steel beams holding billboards was what penetrated cage while others say it was when he came down cage first on concrete wall. My opinion it's time to strengthen these (not a nice word)(not a nice word)(not a nice word)(not a nice word)pits up tremendously.

[#49superman!]

my thoughts with his family

[#49superman!]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZ2hAyqKaG4

[brsteg]

You can watch or not. I was watching live on dirtvison, and that footage will never see the light of day but to their insiders. Not morbid video, just how they operate and that's fine.

What I thought I saw in the better shot when it happened was the top of the cage hit the wall before ever launching into the billboard. I do not know, but I don't think the billboard did anything. When it landed on the concrete or hard ground which ever it was it was likely that the cage was very compromised already.
The first hit, may have done the damage to Jason, or it may have been the 2nd coming back to earth; but I doubt heavily the billboard had anything to do with it. I highly doubt a catch fence would have changed the outcome.

I don't have anymore details than what I saw visually; but I've seen enough bent cages lately that we need to strengthen these cars up and add at least some height to top of the cages to give drivers at least a better shot if they got cage first into anything. We need to be looking heavily at halos as a mean of keeping things away from drivers even in wing cars and even in late models. But we have to be careful that we don't actually create a piece that can be crushed and come down onto the driver.

[Illtsate32]

brsteg looks like he got pinched between Pittman and the backstretch wall that immediately sent him into a roll, and you can see where the car cleaned the mud off the turn 3 wall what looks like cage first, im thinking that did the damage...it shed the wing right away if it could of just stayed on for the impact...RIP JJ 41

[waaac77]

Looking at the video and slowing it down it looks like the top of the roll cage hits the wall after flipping at a high rate. Then the car flips up into the billboards and it appears the top of the roll cage once again takes the most of the impact. Can’t really tell exactly how it landed but it may have landed upside down and the cage took a heavy impact for a third time. It’s hard to tell exactly which hit was the fatal one but I think a catch fence certainly would help. I’ve seen so many bad looking wrecks in all of racing but in sprints when they crash, they really seem to crash hard or at least it always looks insane and I am always surprised when they walk away. They usually do walk away. I’ve seen some where I’ve said to myself if that guy ain’t dead he’s got a long road of recovery ahead of him. But then there he is brushing off his helmet and waving to the crowd. That is what happens 99% of the time. Then you have this. Where everything is all lined up for something like this to happen. He drifts up coming out of turn 2. Not sure why. Did he block? I’ve seen sprints make contact a billion times. Most of the time they just rub and rubbins racing. Sometimes one or both of the cars go into a massive flip. Most of the time they walk away. This time that didn’t happen. It’s going to happen again. Probably not this year. Probably not next year but it certainly will happen again. We can put a catch fence around every wall and put bubble wrap everywhere but if you leave your house you are risking your life.

“I’d rather live than exist”
-Davey Allison

Jason Johnson was living a dream. He may have lived a short life but he certainly was alive.

RIP #41 Jason Johnson

[brsteg]

brsteg looks like he got pinched between Pittman and the backstretch wall that immediately sent him into a roll, and you can see where the car cleaned the mud off the turn 3 wall what looks like cage first, im thinking that did the damage...it shed the wing right away if it could of just stayed on for the impact...RIP JJ 41

Pittman came up on Jason and made contact RR to LF and it folded Jason's suspension under, causing him to flip wildly, and shed the wing. Everything else you said I agree with.