Sammy Hagar Recalls Dangerous Night Race with Eddie Van Halen

Sammy Hagar once had an incredibly dangerous three-car night race with Eddie Van Halen and Mick Jones while working on Van Halen’s 5150 album in the mid-'80s.

Already known for his 1984 hit “I Can’t Drive 55,” Hagar says the 2 a.m. adventure happened as they traveled from the recording studio to their Malibu homes. He admitted that the stunt could have led to their arrest, emphasizing that it should never have happened. He did, however, say it was as memorable as the first time he’d had sex in a car – although that was “a whole 'nother story.”

They all were driving flashy sports cars. “On 5150, Eddie Van Halen had a Lamborghini Countach, I had my 512 Ferrari Boxer," Hagar says in the video below. “Mick Jones, our producer, from Foreigner, he had a Corvette he rented.”

The trio left the studio “at about two o’clock in the morning, after we finished recording – I think it was ‘Best of Both Worlds,’ to be honest. We drove back, the three of us, up Mulholland Drive, all through the backroads to Highway 1, racing three cars – because there was no traffic, there was nobody, nothing. We should have been in jail.”

Watch Sammy Hagar Discuss His Night Race with Eddie Van Halen

Sammy Hagar Would Never Repeat Dangerous Race

Current models of Van Halen’s Lamborghini LP500 S twin turbo Countach back then had a top speed of 208mph (335km), Hagar’s 1984 Ferrari 512 Berlinetta Boxer could reach 173mph (278km) and Jones’ rented 1983 Chevrolet Corvette C4 was capable of 179mph (288km). The distance between 5150 Studios in Studio City and Malibu is around 30 miles, and recording took place between November 1985 and February 1986.

“It was unbelievable – we just raced the whole time,” Hagar said. “Whee-ow, you get somebody on a turn, three abreast on a two-lane road – so friggin’ dangerous! But we did it; we survived it.” He then quickly added: “I’d never do it again and I don’t recommend it.”

Watch Sammy Hagar's ‘I Can’t Drive 55’ Video