NHRA Funny Car icon John Force was taken to a Richmond-area hospital Sunday afternoon following his fiery, wall-smashing, high-speed crash during the first round of the PlayNHRA Virginia Nationals.
And his daughter, two-time Top Fuel champion Brittany Force, said following her second-round loss to Tony Stewart that her 16-time champion father will recover from his 302.62-mph accident.
Racing in Virginia Motorsports Park’s right lane against Terry Haddock, Force clocked a 302.62-mph elapsed time before his engine let go in a massive fireball and sent him across the track and hard into the left-side wall. The car came completely off the pavement as it shot back across the track back into the right lane and made contact with that wall, as well.
Force was able to exit his car and was alert and talking with the Safety Safari workers on site before he entered an ambulance. The extent of his injuries is unknown. The only information is that John Force was transported to the hospital "for evaluation and observation."
Brittany Force, who upset higher-qualified Jasmine Salinas in Top Fuel's Round 1, stayed at the track to face Tony Stewart in the quarterfinals. She lost to Stewart but said when she climbed from her dragster, “My dad’s going to be all right. I was in the ambulance with him, holding his hand. And he’s one of the toughest people I know. So he’ll bounce back, like he always does.”
She said of returning to the track after witnessing a traumatic incident, “It’s something that’s tough. We know that’s a part of the drill. That’s how this sport goes. I wouldn’t be his daughter if I wasn’t back up here in that car, trying to win this thing with this team for him.”
John Force's teammate, Austin Prock, also made a second-round pass, and after eliminating Ron Capps, he said, “We’re race-car drivers, and we have to flip the switch. You got 'at-home Austin Prock,' and you got 'race-car driver Austin Prock.' You got to flip the switch and get the job done. I know John wants us to be out here, going rounds. Maybe we can get him a Wally.”
When Force crashed, Prock had been waiting for him at the top end of the track following his own first-round match-up.
“He’s one tough son of a #$%*, I know that. He’ll be back,” an emotional Prock said. “It’s just tough to see somebody go through that. I hope he’s all right. Keep him in your thoughts and prayers. I know he’ll be back.”
While he waited through the hour delay, Capps said that “the old man having that accident was tough to watch.” He said he sat in his tow vehicle and “you start thinking, ‘Man, what are we doing?’ We don’t know how he is.”
And reigning Funny Car champion Matt Hagan said, “My main thought is I hope John’s OK. You hate to see him go through that. Send prayers up for him. He’s a legend of the sport, the GOAT. The car looked pretty burned up.” Hagan said, “I’ve always been an advocate of not trying these [car] bodies down, and that’s a direct result of why we shouldn’t tie the bodies down.”
Top Fuel No. 1 qualifier Shawn Langdon said, "We love what we do, but we're all thinking about John at this point."
