BURKART WILL DRIVE FORCE'S CAR DURING LAS VEGAS TEST SESSION
14-Time Champion Could Leave Dallas Rehab Facility by Week's End
DALLAS, Texas -- After consulting with crew chiefs, sponsors and
other key team members, 14-time NHRA Funny Car Champion John Force
announced Monday that Phil Burkart Jr. will be in the cockpit of the
Castrol GTX High Mileage Ford Mustang for three days of open testing
beginning Tuesday at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Burkart will join Countdown to One qualifier Robert Hight,
Rookie-of-the-Year contender Ashley Force and rookie-to-be Mike Neff in
John Force Racing Ford Mustangs during three days of open testing on the
same track that next week will play host to the ACDelco Las Vegas
Nationals.
"For right now, with the approval of Castrol and our other sponsors,
Phil Burkart will be driving my car in testing only," Force said from
his room at Baylor University Rehabilitation Center, where he continues
to recover from hand, leg and foot injuries suffered in a Sept. 23 crash
at the Texas Motorplex.
"Burkart was the best fit for us," Force said. "He's
about my size, he's experienced and he was available (but) no
decisions will be made about which (of our) teams will be running the Las
Vegas Nationals until after testing. We'll make that call after I
talk to the crew chiefs."
Force also confirmed that if he continues to progress at his present
rate, his doctors plan to release him for travel home to Southern
California this Saturday.
"My brother Walker is trying to find a place in Orange County where
I can continue to do my physical therapy," Force said. "I told
him I want to work with some young people who'll push me. That's
what I need to do to get back in my race car and nothing's more
important to me right now than that. If everything goes well, I'll
come back to Dallas in four to six weeks for them to remove the pins from
my (left) hand.
"I want to apologize to the fans. I know I said I was gonna drive
at Richmond, but that was mainly the drugs talking. I know now that
I'm not going to drive the rest of this year. My real goal the last
two weeks was to make it to Vegas," Force said, "and that's
what I'm gong to do. All my cars have been re-done at Murf
McKinney's with the latest changes and I want to thank Murf and his
staff for all their extra work. I can't wait to get back to the
races. That'll be the best therapy."
-credit: -www.johnforceracing.com-
