FORCE WON'T RACE AT RICHMOND, BUT VOWS TO BE THERE FOR THE TEAM
DALLAS, Texas -- Five days after the spectacular crash that landed
him in Baylor University Medical Center, John Force again credited fallen
teammate Eric Medlen with saving him from more serious injuries.
Force's crash last Sunday at the Texas Motorplex was eerily similar
to the one in which Medlen suffered fatal head injuries in a testing
accident last March at Gainesville, Fla. In both instances, for whatever
reason, a tire failed, setting up a chain reaction that culminated in a
chassis failure.
In last Sunday's incident, which occurred in the second round of the
22nd annual O'Reilly Auto Parts Fall Nationals, Force's Ford
Mustang broke in two with the front half veering across the center line
where it collided with the Dodge of Kenny Bernstein. The other half of
the car, with Force still strapped inside, his legs exposed, came to a
stop against the left guardwall.
"The work we've already done through The Eric Medlen Project
saved my head," Force said. "I'm all broken up in my arms
and legs, but my head's fine, my back and neck are fine. That was
what really excited John Medlen (who heads up the John Force Racing,
Inc., safety initiative begun after his son's death)."
Nevertheless, with his family around him, including oldest daughter
Adria Hight, who flew in Thursday night with his youngest daughters,
Brittany, 21, and Courtney, 19, Force acknowledged Friday that the
rehabilitation process is going to be long and arduous.
To underscore that reality, doctors concerned with swelling in his right
foot Friday ordered additional X-rays that may identify yet another
break.
The bigger right leg problem for the 58-year-old drag racing icon is the
deep laceration to the right knee, a knee weakened by childhood polio and
injured 18 years ago in a fall. Unfortunately, that's the foot with
which the 14-time series champion mashes the gas pedal on the Castrol GTX
High Mileage Ford Mustang.
Beginning to recover from the effects of anesthesia and pain medication,
the 125-time tour winner acknowledged for the first time Friday that he
won't be able to drive next week in the TORCO Racing Fuels Nationals
at Richmond, Va.
He is withholding judgement on his status for the last two races of the
season until he consults next week with Dr. Terry Trammell, a noted
orthopedic surgeon who specializes in motor racing injuries. It was
Trammell who repaired three-time former NHRA champion Shirley
Muldowney's badly mangled legs and got her back into a Top Fuel
dragster following her accident at Montreal in 1984. She returned to the
winners' circle at Phoenix in 1989.
"I couldn't have wound up in a better place than Baylor,"
Force said. "The doctors and nurses have been great to me and my
family and I'll always be grateful for that, but I'm a race car
driver and I need to talk to someone that understands racing. That's
why we're going to Indy."
As originally diagnosed, Force's injuries included a compound
fracture of the left ankle, broken and mangled fingers on his right hand,
a deep laceration in his right knee and a severely dislocated left wrist.
"As soon as they release me, my game plan is to go to Indy to get
updates from all my crew chiefs -- Austin Coil, Bernie Fedderly, Jimmy
Prock, Dean Antonelli and John Medlen -- on the changes we've made
to our race cars," Force said.
"After that, I'm going to meet with the doctors (Dr. Trammell
has offices in Indianapolis) and see about getting me back in my race
car.
"I want to thank all the fans," Force said. "I know a lot
of them wanted to come by (the hospital) to see me, but right now I just
need to focus on getting my strength back. I'll be in Richmond, but
I just won't be racing.
"I want to wish everyone good luck in the Countdown. I'll be
rooting for Robert Hight, my son-in-law, but I want everyone just to be
safe. I've seen all the footage (from the crash) and I don't
want anyone else to go through this. I'm really proud of John Medlen
and what he and his team are doing to make these cars better. We've
done some good work protecting the head. Now we need to focus on
protecting the arms and legs."
-credit: jfr
