John force (3 Viewers)

[65 Goatboy]

Racing is indeed his life. If he recovers to the point where he can come to the track, hang with the fans and assume the position of team owner and mentor I will be both amazed and nd happy for him. I think he would be pretty happy with that too.

John great post. That is excatly what I wish also, a perfect scenario for the all time icon of Funny Car who's 75 and won 16 Nhra championships and one other for a total of 17. Maybe kind of happy but it will be a difficult adjustment. Hope he can come to terms with where he's at in life and can do it. I will be amazed and happy for him too.

 

[stoppro]

I just hope he gets healthy,mentally and physically.

 

[ironpony]

IMO
As cool as it would be to have one of the above suggestions come true, John has been on fire, upside down, bounced off walls and seen Elvis at 1000 foot.
Now he has had his bell rung one too many times, the last thing in the world the GOAT should do is make any kind of pass in a funny car.
If he recovers to the point it is even possible, he needs to accept he should not get in a FC again.

 

[n/a]

Great post.

If John is unable to drive/make competitive runs but has recovered enough to do something spectacular, I'm wondering if he could be approved for a final retirement full track burnout or something dramatic like that, that would not subject him to the g-forces of a run or tire shake.

Lite it up, put the body down, set the rpm limiter up 800 rpm higher than normal and wave him through to do a gigantic burnout, triping the win light in his lane as he goes through the finish line. He's a showman and a racer. Back him up, wave him up to the starting line, shut it off, lift the body, have him get out, take off his helmet, have Alan right there with the Mic, and give him whatever time he needs to thank his fans and sponsors for one heck of a ride. There wouldn't be a dry eye in the house.

Doing that would allow Force to retire on his own terms, with grace and dignity, in the firesuit of his choice.

Yea, that would leave a mark.

Randy, you forgot the dry hops.

 

[Cliff]

Head injuries can be quite severe. I hope John recovers fully but would not want to see him drive again.

 

[65 Goatboy]

"IMO
As cool as it would be to have one of the above suggestions come true, John has been on fire, upside down, bounced off walls and seen Elvis at 1000 foot.
Now he has had his bell rung one too many times, the last thing in the world the GOAT should do is make any kind of pass in a funny car.
If he recovers to the point it is even possible, he needs to accept he should not get in a FC again."

"Head injuries can be quite severe. I hope John recovers fully but would not want to see him drive again."

Don't know if I totally agree, after all he is still John "Brute" Force. Why not a nostalgia FC wrapped like one of his early one's. Of course only if he is truly able.

 

[twostep]

After reading Beckman's statement, to me it sounds like John is still the same John in many ways but his condition as to whether he'll return to driving is 'guarded'. Sometimes you learn more from someone from what they didn't say than what they did say.

Remember when John had an emotional track-end interview several races back when he mentioned Prock was going to be his replacement? Like many others, I saw the writing on the wall right there and of course, he was physically fine at that time. Just my opinion, of course.

And you know what? Whatever the man, his family and his doctors decide is the right path for him, that'll be just fine and I believe everyone will give that opinion a big thumbs up. I realize there's been extensive talk and speculation on the subject but hey, it's John Force and a hell of a lot of people care deeply about the old boy.

 

[J. S.]

I am hoping John is doing well enough that we might see him in the pits at Pomona in early November. Boy, would he draw a crowd if that happens. And maybe Robert will make an appearance as well. That would sure be a good way to end the season.

 

[Chili]

I am hoping John is in doing well enough that we might see him in the pits at Pomona in early November. Boy, would he draw a crowd if that happens. And maybe Robert will make an appearance as well. That would sure be a good way to end the season.

Brittany mentioned on a nhra.tv interview that they were working on getting John to the track at Pomona.

 

[65 Goatboy]

After reading Beckman's statement, to me it sounds like John is still the same John in many ways but his condition as to whether he'll return to driving is 'guarded'. Sometimes you learn more from someone from what they didn't say than what they did say.

Remember when John had an emotional track-end interview several races back when he mentioned Prock was going to be his replacement? Like many others, I saw the writing on the wall right there and of course, he was physically fine at that time. Just my opinion, of course.

And you know what? Whatever the man, his family and his doctors decide is the right path for him, that'll be just fine and I believe everyone will give that opinion a big thumbs up. I realize there's been extensive talk and speculation on the subject but hey, it's John Force and a hell of a lot of people care deeply about the old boy.

Assuming Robert will be back in 2025, which I think he will I predict that Austin will be driving John's car. And hopefully John will continue to be the ambassador of the sport and he will be at some races.

 

[Rat]

I am glad John is closer to the John we are used to and the change in statements from now to back when it happened and what was said days later. The first drag race of mine he ran 323.89 and at etown in 98 it was unheard of that FC's were the king of speed's. Now look? I got to shake his hand in the winners circle and at my 14, he seemed untouchable then and to think he only has 7 titles and 72 wins at that point. Crazy to think how he added almost 10 more and 100 to that that.

I do not see John driving again in the way we are used to. He also does not need to, let alone being cleared to with what just happend. I cannot say I would be shocked if John didnt at least run 1 or 2 final events, but again will we never see him run a full season. Maybe an Indy a season, who knows? The only way I see him being cleared to come back is on a very limited scale. Possibly a final 6 race 2025 countdown blocker? I could see that being the final tour.

 

[z28]

came across this video on youtube. Somewhat detailed explanation of concussions and TBI in athletes from 2013:

Science has come a long way in causes and effects. Scary stuff if you have kids in sports.

 

[Nunz]

For those that want to see Force make it back and do some kind of limited farewell deal, be it 1 long burnout, 1 more Indy, abbreviated schedule, etc., I don't think any of these are good ideas. Isn't that kind of like playing roulette? So many things can go wrong, even on a burnout. Everybody here knows what I mean. If his injuries are bad enough that he is yet to speak publicly (something that he loves to do), I think we should all 1) be thankful he survived the crash 2) pray that he makes a good enough recovery that he can enjoy his family and get back to running his teams while continuing to build for the future of JFR. Just my 2 cents.

 

[DanTheFan]

Or could it be that he’s progressing just fine and staying out of the spotlight to give Jack the stage for now?

 

[Randy]

Anything he does (if he does it), like i said, would have to be done with appropriate clearance. I'm sure that would come through his Dr's, and he and his family.

 

[65 Goatboy]

came across this video on youtube. Somewhat detailed explanation of concussions and TBI in athletes from 2013:

Science has come a long way in causes and effects. Scary stuff if you have kids in sports.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Boy did he have a horrible time.

 

[Professional Fan]

Spoke to Brittany at the Fanfest last night. She indicated plan is to have the whole family at the Pomona finals.

 

[Tim]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1848040223428714732

 

[DragFan2]

For those that want to see Force make it back and do some kind of limited farewell deal, be it 1 long burnout, 1 more Indy, abbreviated schedule, etc., I don't think any of these are good ideas. Isn't that kind of like playing roulette? So many things can go wrong, even on a burnout. Everybody here knows what I mean. If his injuries are bad enough that he is yet to speak publicly (something that he loves to do), I think we should all 1) be thankful he survived the crash 2) pray that he makes a good enough recovery that he can enjoy his family and get back to running his teams while continuing to build for the future of JFR. Just my 2 cents.

I'm with you Nunzio. John has nothing left to prove. A farewell tour would just be for show, and it's not like he won't be at the track if he has his teams still out there running. NHRA will still be interviewing him as much as ever I would think, just from a team owner perspective.

 

[Nunz]

I'm with you Nunzio. John has nothing left to prove. A farewell tour would just be for show, and it's not like he won't be at the track if he has his teams still out there running. NHRA will still be interviewing him as much as ever I would think, just from a team owner perspective.

My wish for John is first and foremost he gets 100% healthy, so he can enjoy his family. After that, I'm hoping he can get back to building the future of his organization. Having a John Force not concerned about driving but able to focus on bringing in new partners would be great for JFR, and the sport as a whole.