Why did my U-joint fall apart?

[team39763]

What up guys? I had a driveline failure last weekend at the track. I'm not 100% sure what the cause was. The track itself was very bumpy and had huge hills. A few bystanders told me the driveline came apart when I hit one of the dips. All I know was that I was in 3rd gear, about halfway through the 1/4mile and I heard a loud BANG. After that I think I remember hearing my driveshaft dragging until I crossed the finish line. After looking at the driveshaft and then at the pinion yoke, some people told me the u-joint let go. All the caps were gone except one that was still stuck in the straps, but was partially out and at an angle. The caps in the driveshaft end were missing too. The u-joint itself was sitting in the straps still...just with no caps. All 4 of the bolts the secure the straps/caps were battered/smashed on the inner sides. The driveshaft was torn in half, but didn't look like it was twisted too much.
I'm just wondering if maybe the hitting the hills caused an extreme driveline angle and maybe put the u-joints in a bind or something? If that's the case, I just won't race at that tack anymore. Or if the Ujoints were just old and let the caps fall off and driveshaft just went flailing? I'm hoping to have pictures soon. If you guys need more info, let me know. I'm just trying to prevent this from happening again.