John Force, a 16-time National Hot Rod Association champion from Yorba Linda, was to a neurological care unit and out of neuro-intensive care Friday at a hospital in Virginia and will continue treatment for the traumatic brain injury he suffered when he crashed during a race in Virginia last month.
Force fractured his sternum and injured his right wrist in the crash at the Virginia National at Virginia Motorsports Park on June 23 during the first round of eliminations. He was taken to a trauma center by helicopter in Virginia following the crash and was later transferred to a neurological intensive care unit for brain injury treatment.
Doctors acknowledged Force’s positive response to treatment. He has been able to talk to medical staff, family members and John Force Racing president Robert Hight, who flew to Virginia this week to be with Force and his family at the hospital.
Force is having difficulty with cognitive and behavioral symptoms, according to a report from the team Friday. He has experienced periods of confusion, which doctors say will require time and patience to treat.
Force has also regained his equilibrium and has been able to walk with assistance from medical staff members.
“According to family, the next step for the man whose career has spanned six decades likely will be a move to a long-term facility specializing in TBI and associated symptoms. A time frame for that move has not yet been determined,” the team said in a prepared statement.
The 75-year-old Force, who was born in Bell Gardens and attended Cerritos College, hit the concrete guard wall at the dragstrip in Virginia at 302 mph. He was taken by helicopter to a trauma hospital in Virginia where he was observed and evaluated for his injuries.
He was moved from an intensive care unit to a neuro care unit on Saturday. Doctors are focusing on the immediate concern of injuries to Force’s head.
His wife, Laurie, daughters Brittany, Adria, Ashley and Courtney and other family members have been with Force during his hospital treatments.
Brittany Force is a two-time NHRA Top Fuel champion and races for her father’s team, John Force Racing, which is based in Yorba Linda. Ashley Force Hood and Courtney Force have competed in NHRA events in the past for John Force Racing. Adria Force is the CFO of John Force Racing.
“Attending doctors purposely were moving slowly in assessing the extent of the injuries to the Hall of Fame owner and driver because of the intensity of the impact. Medical staff will not provide a treatment and recovery timetable until a total evaluation is completed,” according to a statement released by the team on June 24.
John Force started his NHRA Funny Car racing career in 1978 and won his first NHRA championship in 1990. He won 10 NHRA Funny Car championships from 1990 to 2000 and 10 in a row from 1993 to 2002.
He survived a violent crash in September 2007 at the O’Reilly Auto Parts Fall Nationals in Ennis, Texas that sidelined him for the remainder of the season. He broke his ankle, dislocated his wrist, and his fingers and toes were badly mangled in the crash.
According to reports from the track in Virginia last week, following the crash, Force was coherent and communicating with safety crews before being taken to a trauma center and ultimately to a neuro care unit for treatment.
“The move was a welcome positive for his family members, who have maintained a daily presence at the hospital all week,” the team said in a statement released June 27.
He won his 16th NHRA Funny Car championship in 2013. He won the season-opening event in 2014 at the In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip.
Force won the 157th NHRA Funny Car race of his career at New England Dragway in New Hampshire on June 2.