John Force Injured in PlayNHRA Virginia Nationals Crash – UPDATED June 27

While there were winners in this week’s PlayNHRA Virginia Nationals on the Virginia Motorsports Park drag strip, anything that occurred after the first round of Funny Car competition may take awhile to register with race fans. In the run between 16-time champion John Force’s Chevrolet Camaro SS driving in the right lane against Terry Haddock’s Ford Mustang, Force suffered an extreme engine implosion as he reached the timing lights to claim his win.

There were signs of trouble even before the 1,000-foot mark, as a cylinder dropped midway in his run. After first hitting the left side concrete wall and then tumbling back to the right, Force’s Funny Car finally stopped. The car was junk, as expected, and Force was hurt. The Safety Safari carefully extracted him – as he spoke with them – he was taken by gurney and then by helicopter to a medical facility in the area. It is not known why Force’s parachutes did not deploy.

After teammate Austin Prock, driving in relief of Robert Hight, claimed the Funny Car win at this race, John Force Racing released the following statement:

“John Force, drag racing’s most prolific winner and a contender this year for an unprecedented 17th NHRA Funny Car championship, was injured Sunday in the 300-mile-an-hour crash of his PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant Chevrolet Camaro in the first round of the 14th PlayNHRA Virginia Nationals.

“The Hall of Fame driver and car owner crossed the finish line at Virginia Motorsports Park in 4.100 seconds at a speed of 302.62 miles per hour, after winning his first round race, when his car suffered a catastrophic engine failure that sent it, on fire, careening across the track and into the concrete guardwall bordering the left side of the track.

“That impact sent it back across the track into the right guardrail before it came to rest in the middle of the track.

“The 75-year-old Hall of Fame, who won two of the season’s first eight races and is in second place in points behind teammate Austin Prock, was conscious and talking to NHRA Safety Safari personnel immediately following the crash. He was transported to a nearby medical center for further evaluation in the ICU.”

UPDATE JUNE 27:  John Force Racing stated today that Force has been moved from trauma intensive care to neurological intensive care, in order to have his medical team focus on the head injury, their primary concern at this time. As a result of this accident and her concern for her father’s care, Brittany Force will not be competing in her Top Fuel dragster this weekend; she remains at her father’s side. Austin Prock, points leader in Funny Car will be competing and hoping to add to his formidable lead in the class.

UPDATE JUNE 24:

Late Monday night, John Force Racing released further information on the legend’s condition:

John Force remains in intensive care at a Virginia trauma hospital, where he is being observed and evaluated. Physicians are deliberately moving slowly to assess the extent of the injuries Force sustained, their lack of speed in this process being due, primarily, to the intensity of his impacts. The medical staff is not providing a timetable for Force’s treatment and recovery from his injuries until a total evaluation has been completed.

Two-time Top Fuel champion Brittany Force, who joined her father at the hospital after the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Saturday winner sustained a second round loss to Tony Stewart, has her mother, Laurie, and sisters Adria, Ashley and Courtney on-hand, all giving support to the 16-time champion. The family, John Force Racing’s release said, will maintain a presence while the team competes this weekend in Norwalk, OH.

Further updates will be released at the discretion of the hospital’s medical staff.