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Dangerous Pyrotechnic Explosions
Filled The Air At Wayne County Speedway
Story by Craig Goley
Pictures by Brian Goley
7/24/2001
 What
is more dangerous? Lighting off pyrotechnic explosions
or jumping a truck 150 feet from ramp-to-ramp?
OK, so that
was a trick question. Actually, the most dangerous
is to combine these two into one wild stunt.
Who would be willing to do such a stunt?
None other than Mark Hager.
Who is Mark
Hager?
 Mark
Hager is an eleven-year professional stunt veteran,
former Hollywood stunt man, and pyrotechnician.
He is also the founder of Dangerous Moments.
Hager has coordinated and performed over three hundred
shows nationwide, including his 1995 record-breaking
213-foot bus jump at Charlotte Motor Speedway NASCAR
event. Mark has also been televised on The Learning
Channel displaying his Dangerous Moments Program.
At the recent
GNC Round 9 Racing event in Orrville, OH, Mark and
his crew put on his newly created stunt, the precision
ramp-to-ramp jump. The concept; jump a highly modified
truck from launch ramp to landing ramp.
 Mark
Hager has coined his jump truck the "The SRT Truck."
"SRT Trucks are explosive, high altitude, long distance,
physics-defying jump vehicles that fly from launch
ramp to landing ramp. These custom built trucks
were designed using years of stunt and racing data,
in addition to, pro-stock, off-road, and NASCAR
technologies -- Hence the name: SRT (Stunt Racing
Technology)." "SRT Trucks are more than just speeding
race cars -- These trucks fly! --- Literally!"
Event Time
Mark struggled
to get his SRT Truck up to speed at the short Wayne
County Speedway.
He had only about 150 yards of runway to
work with.
Hardly enough to get his truck up to speed
for a 150 foot jump. Therefore, he opted for a shorter jump, with more pyrotechnic
explosions.
 We
were looking forward to experiencing the fire explosions,
but what Mark and his crew had in store, was more
than we ever imagined. I was not more than 50 feet away from the hair-raising blast.
I was truly unprepared for the impact.
These blasts, which where actually only three,
but seemed like four or five, shocked and jarred
my body.
I could only imagine the impact Mark was
feeling as he flew his SRT Truck right through the
blasts. The explosions rocked the ground and filled
the air with huge balls of fire that rose out of
Wayne County Speedway like mushrooms. The cearing heat was so tremendous that it gave the feeling of
your skin melting away.
Mark made
the jump with ease, but during the landing, the
front of the truck punctured the landing ramp cutting
into an oil line.
Mark kidded around earlier in the day about
attempting the Quad Freestyle Jump. Now that would
have been a spectacular stunt.
If you ever
get a chance to see Mark and his Concussion Crew
in real life, we recommend you grab a seat and prepare
yourself for one fiery show.
To contact
Mark Hager:
Email:
hager@concussiongear.com
Web site:
http://www.concussiongear.com/
Phone: 407.384.0996
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