Brittany Force claimed her father John has a “long road ahead” when sharing a photo of her family after his devastating NHRA Funny Car incident two weeks ago.
John Force, 75, suffered a traumatic brain injury when his engine exploded and his car collided with two concrete retaining walls during the first round of the Virginia Nationals. Brittany shared the photo on Instagram on Sunday, confirming a team statement from earlier in the weekend that her father would be admitted to a rehabilitation facility.
“My dad has made some great progress here in Virginia, but he still has a long road ahead,” Brittany wrote. “The next step is getting him moved to a rehabilitation center.”
Force, the most successful NHRA driver of all time, was released from intensive care earlier this week after spending time in the trauma and neurological ICU. According to John Force Racing, the team’s namesake can now walk “with the assistance of medical staff members.”
“Although Force is still dealing with cognitive and behavioral symptoms from his TBI, the fact that the Hall of Fame driver can converse with medical staff, family members, and John Force Racing president Robert Hight, who flew in this week, is an encouraging sign. However, there have also been periods of confusion, which doctors say require time and patience to treat.”
Information also available here: https://t.co/x3Zxoba1bP pic.twitter.com/rEpv1tUdrT
— John Force Racing (@JFR_Racing) July 5, 2024
According to the team’s statement, the “likely” next step is “a move to a long-term facility specializing in TBI and associated symptoms.”
John Force has won 157 races and 16 NHRA championships over his illustrious career. He won nine championships in the 1990s, followed by six Funny Car titles in the first seven years of the 2000s, and his most recent two in 2010 and 2013. He was second in the 2024 points standings when he crashed.
Brittany Force presently competes in the NHRA’s Top Fuel class but missed last week’s event in Ohio to be with her father in the hospital.