DRAG RACING ’ S BIGGEST PERSONALITY IS ON THE MEND FOLLOWING DEVASTATING CRASH
Going into the NHRA Virginia Nationals at Virginia Motorsports Park , 16-time NHRA Funny Car world champion John Force was feeling as motivated as ever . At 75 , just a few days away from the 37th anniversary of his first NHRA national event victory at Montreal in 1987 , Force was seeking his third win of the season and the 158th of his esteemed career . He was also looking to add to his Richmond history , as he ’ s won four times in 12 appearances at Virginia .
“ This is the best car I ’ ve had in a long time ,” Force said before the race , “ and I want to give credit to [ crew chief ] Daniel Hood , [ Chris ] Cunningham , [ Tim ] Fabrisi and all the kids on the PEAK team that keep me motivated to keep going .
“ I love driving and I love winning , and I ’ ve got a car that can compete ,” he continued , “[ but ] I ’ ve
BY NATE VAN WAGNEN
PHOTOGRAPHS BY DAVID HILNER , DAVID BEITLER , RICK BELDEN , AND NHRA
got to get myself together . I got to the semis at Bristol [ Tennessee , in the last race on the tour ], but I should have been to the finals . All I had to do was be a little bit better on the light , but I wasn ’ t .”
Force was being a little hard on himself . After all , his . 052 light against J . R . Todd in the semifinals at Bristol put him ahead of Todd and his . 056 out of the gate , and his lights in the prior rounds weren ’ t that far off from teammate and Funny Car rookie phenom Austin Prock or any of the other frontrunners in the class . Even at 75 , he ’ s proven he still has what it takes to compete in Funny Car with titans like Matt Hagan , Ron
Capps , Bob Tasca III , and now Prock . He won at the Winternationals in Pomona , California , and the New England Nationals in Epping , New Hampshire . He left New England second in the Mission Foods Series points standings and held that position going into Virginia .
“ I beat myself up when things go wrong ,” he added , “ because I ’ m racing with these kids for a title , and I ’ ve got to stay in fight mode .”
A few days later , Force would be fighting a different fight . As Force approached the 1,000-foot finish line in the opening round of Funny Car eliminations at the Virginia Nationals , a violent engine explosion blew apart the Chevrolet Camaro SS body on his PEAK Performance Funny Car , which then slammed into the left retaining wall at a high rate of speed . He actually turned on the win light over Terry Haddock , posting a 4.10-second E . T . at 302.62 MPH . After slamming into the left
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