Horrible NHRA accident = UPDATE: There is a Superman!
We need a prayer for John Force.
He was just in a severe accident on the track at Dallas.
"Drag racings biggest star, 14-time champion John Force, was alert and conscious after suffering two broken legs and a broken arm in a nasty top-end collision Sunday with fellow straight-line legend Kenny Bernstein in the second round of eliminations at the O'Reilly NHRA Fall Nationals at Texas Motorplex outside of Dallas. Force has been airlifted to Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas for further treatment. Their Funny Cars got together just as they crossed the finish line with Bernstein drifting over into Force's lane after clipping the final timing cone. The numbers, although unofficial, showed Force crossing with a 4.863 at 315.34 mph to Bernstein's 4.904 at 312.06 mph."
"'John has very, very serious injuries to his hands, his legs, and his feet that will require extensive work-up and treatment,' said NHRA doctor Dwight Shewchuk, who was first on the scene with the Safety Safari. 'Nothing appears life-threatening at this time but he certainly has significant injuries so he's been taking to Baylor Hospital where he'll be further evaluated.'"
I am not sure how much more this team can take....
Just this past March, the team lost Eric...
Here's to a full and quick recovery John!
Update: 7:20 p.m. Sunday: Doctors updated John Force's family and team following a thorough evaluation of his multiple injuries and the prognosis for a full recovery is very good.
Force sustained a broken left ankle and severe abrasion on his right knee. Force's left wrist also was dislocated and broken and he sustained some severe abrasions and slight fractures on a number of fingers on his right hand.
Throughout all procedures Force was alert and responsive. CAT scans performed came back negative and showed no damage other than the injuries to his legs and hands. Surgeons will begin cleaning a number of his injuries tonight and possibly setting his fractures if the swelling is at an acceptable level.
-----Looking at the video of the crash - Eric was DEFINATELY with John in that car. His legs were out in the open, unprotected. They should have been cut right off. What a strong man. PLUS, as he is being put into the chopper, he is asking Robert Height "Where's my interview? I want my interview." What an incredible human being!-----
Update: 10:30 p.m. Sunday: Fourteen-time NHRA POWERade Funny Car champion John Force is undergoing surgery at Baylor University Medical Center to repair damage to his knee, ankle, and wrist sustained in a high-speed collision with fellow competitor Kenny Bernstein in the second round of eliminations at the O'Reilly NHRA Fall Nationals at Texas Motorplex.
Force entered surgery at 10 p.m. for what is expected to be a four-hour surgery, according to team publicist Dave Densmore.
Update: 2:30 a.m. Monday: Good news from Baylor University Medical Center where doctors operating on 14-time NHRA Funny Car champ John Force were able to set his broken left ankle and determined that his wrist was not broken but just severely dislocated.
According to teamspokesman Elon Werner, doctors inserted three pins into Force's ankle to set it, and also inserted three temporary pins to stabilize his wrist.
Update: Monday: John Force is on his feet at Baylor University Medical Center, just one day after his horrifying accident with Kenny Bernstein at the Texas Motorplex. Under the direction of his team of doctors, Force is out of his bed and seeing how much weight he can bear on his repaired left ankle and right knee.
"He isn't happy about standing up, but he is standing up," Force's longtime public relations director Dave Densmore told me from the hospital. "I wouldn't believe it if I didn't see it with my own eyes. It's an incredible recovery.
"He was asking earlier this morning what it would take to race in Richmond (Va.) in two weeks but the doctors are having none of it. He'll be out for the year, I would certainly guess at this point. But you know John; he's very hard to keep down."
I think it's safe to say John will attend all of the remaining races this year, even if he's on crutches or in a wheelchair.
Update: 7: 45 p.m. Monday: Force speaks!
"We don't really know what went wrong," Force said Monday after viewing the video of the crash for the first time. "I don't remember much. I remember thinking that I had to cut a light to beat (rival) Kenny Bernstein. The next thing I remember is them trying to get me out of the car."
Force's race car broke in half just beyond the finish line at the end of a victorious second round. The front half of the car then shot across the center line, crashing into Bernstein's Dodge, separating the carbon fiber body from the chassis. Meanwhile, the back half of Force's car, with the 58-year-old driver still strapped in the seat, came to rest on its side against the leftside guardwall.
"I was worried about Bernstein," Force said, "because I knew he was in the other lane. I didn't want to hurt anybody, especially Kenny. He's a good friend and a great competitor - and he did nothing wrong. In fact, he did a great driving job."
"I'm just lucky to have my legs. I gnawed off some fingers and toes, but they had me up trying to stand today. They're great people here at Baylor and I know they'll get me up and around as soon as they can.
"The car pulled in half and I've never seen that, ever. A tire came off the car just as I put the parachutes out and it literally pulled the car apart. I just feel so helpless and vulnerable. I've been on fire from here to Australia. I've had some burns, but I've gotten out of every crash and never had a scratch. I've never had a broken bone (before) so this is all new to me."
Update: 6: 00 p.m. Tuesday: Fourteen-time NHRA Powerade Funny Car world champ John Force, seriously injured in a high-speed accident Sept. 23 in Dallas, hopes to be released from Baylor University Medical Center Friday and return to his Southern California base to continue his recovery.
Force has been undergoing daily physical therapy in a walker to begin to rehabilitate his broken left ankle and deeply lacerated right knee.
The challenges of getting ambulatory are incredibly difficult because he has a cast on his left foor and his right leg is bandaged from below the knee up his thigh. His left hand and wrist are in a cast, and the fingers onhis right hand are heavily swollen.
Although Force still insists he would love to compete at the Torco Racing Fuels NHRA Nationals in Virginia to protect his hard-won spot in the Countdown to Four, it's highly unlikely given his medical condition and approvals that would need to be obtained from his doctors and NHRA officials. "I'm not trying to be no hero," He insists, "just trying to keep the dream of a 15th championship alive."
This man is absolutely incredible!
