NHRA Funny Car legend John Force has been transferred to a neurological intensive care unit following his fiery crash at the Virginia Nationals on Sunday.
Force’s engine exploded at the end of his race on the first lap and his car subsequently crashed into two different retaining walls before coming to a stop. Force was helped out of his car after the crash by members of the NHRA safety staff, and the team said Sunday evening that the 75-year-old was conscious and communicating with safety workers after the crash.
John Force Racing said in a statement Thursday that Force has previously been in a trauma intensive care unit and that his head injury is the “primary concern” of doctors. The team did not provide any other details about Force’s injuries, but said in the statement that Force has a “long road ahead of him.”
“The Force family [is] I am grateful for the team of medical professionals caring for John, and for the overwhelming number of heartfelt messages of prayer, support and concern,” JFR said in a statement. “Thank you for continuing to respect the privacy of the family and team members of John Force Racing.”
Force’s daughter Brittany competes in the Top Fuel division for her father’s team. She will not participate in this weekend’s event in Norwalk, Ohio, and will instead stay with her father at the hospital. The team’s other Funny Car driver, Austin Prock, will race in Ohio. Prock is the Funny Car points leader, ahead of John Force in second place.
Force is the winningest driver in NHRA history. He has amassed 157 race victories and won 16 Funny Car titles. Force was the most dominant driver in American motorsports during the 1990s, winning thirteen championships from 1990 to 2004.
