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Four months ago, drag racing fans weren’t sure if they’d ever hear from legendary driver John Force after a fiery accident that left the 75-year-old in the ICU.
Force suffered a traumatic brain injury and struggled to respond to commands, leaving him in the hospital for several months.
Thankfully, Force seems to be on the road to recovery. He released a message to fans on Thursday where he stated that he intends to make a full recovery and is in rehab for both physical and mental 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,” Force began. “But at the end of the day, I’m going to recover, and 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 got to get my mind back in shape. I took a pretty big hit in that crash at Richmond, so I’ve been in the hospital there in Richmond. I’ve been in Phoenix, Arizona, going through rehab, and I’m out here now, and I’m working at it every day.”
Perhaps surprisingly, Force said that he intends to return to racing. He also stated that he’ll attend next weekend’s NHRA event in Las Vegas.
“This is about what I love the most, and it’s racing. It’s NHRA. I love my sponsors, and I love all the fans, and I love your letters and all the things that you’ve written and all your support. You’ve really been good to me in a hard time.
“I mean, I’ve had four or five months that I’ve been laying in hospitals, going through rehab, and I’m going to get better. I’m under doctor’s orders. They tell me where I can go. I think they’re going to tell me this week that I can go to the Las Vegas race.”
It’s great to see Force on his feet and sounding strong. His crash was terrifying for anybody, but especially for a 75-year-old man.
And his recovery is just yet another example of why he’s considered by many to be the drag racing GOAT.