John Force health update: Brittany Force provides latest on recovery following horrific crash

Brittany Force, the daughter of NHRA legend John Force, provided an update Sunday on the traumatic brain injury he sustained during the first round of the NHRA Virginia Nationals at Virginia Motorsports Park in June.

Speaking with the media at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Brittany Force said her father is continuing outpatient therapy at home. The hope is that John Force will be able to attend the upcoming NHRA Las Vegas and Pomona events to be with his team.

“We’re pushing for it if he’s ready,” Brittany Force said, via Kelly Crandall of RACER.

The Ford Performance NHRA Nationals at Las Vegas are Oct. 31-Nov. 3, while the In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals at Pomona will take place Nov. 14-17.

Force, 75, suffered the injury in a crash which happened shortly after he won his qualifying heat. His engine exploded causing his car to burst into a ball of flames. He crossed the track and slammed the wall on his opponent’s side. Then he came back to hit the wall on his side of the track. Force was alert when the safety team got to him, and he was subsequently sent to the hospital. He was released from the VCU Medical Center 15 days later. Force spent time at the Barrow Neurological Institute, released in late July.

John Force continuing recovery from scary crash

“After spending 15 days in varying levels of intensive care at VCU Medical Center, drag racing champion John Force was released Tuesday in time to board an AirMed ambulance for a three-hour flight to a neurological rehab center at which treatment for the Traumatic Brain Injury he suffered in a June 23 crash will continue,” John Force Racing said in a statement. “The 16-time NHRA Funny Car Champion’s departure from the facility to which he was airlifted after crashing at more than 300 miles per hour was considered by family members to be a major step forward in the recovery process.

“However, medical staff cautioned that the road ahead still is a difficult one. Force is dealing with cognitive and behavioral symptoms from the TBI. And while he has been able to converse with family and staff, enjoy the company of grandsons Jacob and Noah Hood and celebrate a Monday birthday with daughter Brittany, he still is prone to periods of confusion. Family members said that no timetable had been established for the length of Force’s stay at the new facility which was selected because of its success in treating other race car drivers with similar issues.”

Force is regarded as one of the best drag racers of all-time with 157 career victories to his name. He holds the title as the winningest driver in NHRA history, winning a record 16 championships, all between 1990-2013.