Legendary nitro Funny Car driver John Force had not been heard from since he suffered a traumatic brain injury in a June 23 racing crash near Richmond, Va.

That was until Oct. 24 when the 16-time NHRA world champion posted a video message on YouTube to update his fans and supporters on his recovery.

“Hi, I’m John Force, 16-time Funny Car champ and boy am I glad to be here after that crash I had in Richmond,” said Force, 75. “But, at the end of the day, I’m going to recover. I’m getting better already. I was in the hospital for four months. I’m still working every day to get my body back in shape, but I have to get my mind back in shape. I took a pretty big hit in that crash at Richmond.”

Force, who has won an NHRA-record 157 national events, suffered his horrific crash moments after he beat Terry Haddock in the first round of eliminations at the PlayNHRA Virginia Nationals in Richmond.

Force’s car had a catastrophic engine failure at the finish line, with the Funny Car going across the center line and slamming into the left concrete guard wall, then careening back across into the right wall. When he first smashed into the wall, he was going 302 mph.

In addition to the traumatic brain injury, Force had other injuries, including a fractured sternum.

“I was in the hospital there in Richmond, I have been in Phoenix, Ariz., going through rehab and I’m out here now and I’m working at it every day. This is about what I love the most. It is racing. It is NHRA. I love my sponsors, and I love all the fans. I love your letters and all the things you have written and all your support. You have really been good to me in a hard time.  I have four to five months that I have been laying in hospitals and going through rehab. I’m going to get better.”

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“I’m under doctor’s orders, they tell me where I can go. I think they are going to tell me this week that I can go to the Las Vegas race. I want to watch (Austin) Prock driving Robert Hight’s Funny Car. Brittany (Force) is running for the (Top Fuel) championship and she is back in points, but she has a fight ahead of her. (Jack) Beckman is a doing a great job. I love the guy. He’s a great talker and he’s full of it more than me. Trust me.”

Beckman, who won the 2012 Funny Car championship, was named as the replacement driver for John Force on July 30.

Beckman won the Midwest Nationals in St, Louis Sept. 29. After missing the NHRA FallNationals in Dallas, Oct. 13 with vertigo-like symptoms, Beckman has put John Force second in the points standings – 147 points behind JFR’s Prock. Brittany Force is eighth in the points – 190 points behind leader Justin Ashley.

By NHRA rules, when a driver is unable to compete, the race team may employ a substitute who can earn points for the original driver in a maximum of eight tour events. That meant that when Beckman rolled to the starting line for qualifying in Brainerd, Minn., on Aug. 16, he was continuing Force’s pursuit of a 17th title.

The 2024 NHRA season concludes with races in Las Vegas Oct. 31 through Nov. 3 and Pomona, Calif., Nov. 14-17.

“I felt I owed to tell you guys that I’m OK,” John said. “I want to take a minute and thank you and I want to tell you I love you for the cards and the gifts and everything because you showed me that you cared in a time when I needed help,” Force said.

“Before I go, I have thanked all of you, but I want to take a minute to thank my wife, Laurie and all of my daughters and I want to thank Robert Hight. They were there in Richmond and they were the ones who setup everything that I do, every appointment, they were just trying to get me well. It was a scary time for them, not for me I didn’t have a clue where I was at. We are going to be OK and right now I’m going to do what I’m always told to do and that is go back to my office and go to work.”

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