Drag racing icon John Force was rushed to the hospital after his car went up in flames during a race at Virginia Motorsports Park.
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Reportedly, the 75-year-old's car suffered a "catastrophic engine failure," which caused his vehicle to slam into the concrete guardwall at 302 mph.
When viewing the video footage of Force's race, his blue Chevrolet Camaro SS went to pieces after crossing the finish line, while important to note, he still won the race.
Just now seeing John Force's crash. One of the biggest of his career. He was alert and NHRA says he's at hospital for further evaluation. Not as bad as his Dallas crash of '07, but super scary. He was 58 then. He's 75 now. Get well, champ. pic.twitter.com/1gwZN4jb52
— Ryan McGee (@ESPNMcGee) June 23, 2024
Force was conscious after medical officials examined him on-site, however the injuries at this time are unknown.
The John Force Racing team issued a statement, stating that the 16-time champion was airlifted by a medical helicopter to a trauma hospital, where he will continue to be observed and monitored in the coming days.
— John Force Racing (@JFR_Racing) June 25, 2024
In the sport of drag racing, there is no one who can compare to Force, as he has won 16 Funny Car titles and has 157 NHRA race wins throughout his storied 46-year career. To emphasize his sheer dominance, Force won 10 straight titles from 1993-2002.
When looking at the current rankings, with nine of 21 events completed so far this season, the veteran currently ranks second in the 2024 NHRA funny car standings, as he has won two races this year.
Notably, racing runs in the family as Force, who began his drag racing career in 1978, has had three of his daughters drive top levels at NHRA. To note, two of his daughters, Ashley Force Hood, 41, and Courtney Force, 36, retired before he did. Yet, his second-born Brittany Force is still competing, as she is a two-time NHRA Top Fuel dragster champion at 37 years old.
Brittany remains optimistic about her dad's current condition.
"He's going to be fine. I was in the ambulance with him. He's the toughest person I know. He'll bounce back like he always does."
To point out, this is not the first time that Force was involved in a serious violent car crash, as he had an accident during a 2007 Fall Nationals race in Texas, in which he came away with a broken ankle and dislocated wrist, among more injuries.
Many are wondering if this will be enough to force the racing legend into retirement, as he previously hinted at stepping away after his 156th win in April.
"I'm just facing the truth in life, that, you know, time's running out, and I'm trying to hang on," Force stated about his career. "This morning, I was talking about, 'You know, maybe this is it, maybe I should just walk out the gate and go to the casino.'"
Force went on to say at the time, "And then all of sudden you win and your weight and your personality just changes. Things went right, and I got the win, so I'm excited."
Related: 'My Kid Kicked Your A**': John Force Nearly Fought A Rival After His Daughter's Big NHRA Win
