"I put my family through a lot of pain": John Force makes feeling known on possible NHRA return as driver

John Force, the 16-time NHRA Funny Car champion and one of drag racing's greatest ever names, has opened up about his future in the sport following his near-fatal crash in 2024. Speaking on the Out of Bounds podcast (via KTLA 5 News), the 75-year-old admitted he may never climb back into the cockpit, acknowledging both the toll his injuries have taken and the fear his accident caused his family.

Force's career, spanning over four decades with 157 national event wins, was interrupted last season in a violent accident. The incident came during a first-round matchup against Terry Haddock. Recalling the crash, Force said:

"I was racing a young kid, a new up-and-coming driver, Terry Haddock and I really like the guy… I won the race, I got through the lights, but that's when it dropped cylinders and made a right or a left turn and it was over the wall. It was ugly. But I didn't remember nothing." (2:29 onwards)

John Force's No. 7 Funny Car reached over 300 mph on the crossing line, but an engine failure forced him into the wall. Though the 75-year-old was able to climb from the wreck, he suffered significant injuries and was taken off the track on a stretcher.

The recovery has been grueling, and Force has not raced since. He admitted his family bore the brunt of the emotional fallout:

"I got a career out here seventy years and probably too old to be driving and I don't know if the doctors will ever let me drive again, don't know if I want to. (I) put my family through a lot of pain and my daughters that drove they knew the drill and my wife, and it was like you got to get well, and that's what I'm striving on. But I'm telling you maybe the head never gets well." (3:36 onwards)

With doctors uncertain whether he should race again, Force's return appears unlikely. Still, he remains present in the NHRA garage, supporting his drivers and overseeing John Force Racing as it competes in multiple categories.

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"I think they're better than me": John Force backs his JFR drivers

Austin Prock (R) with team owner John Force after winning the NHRA Virginia Nationals. Source: Imagn

Although sidelined from the driver's seat, John Force is not walking away from drag racing. Instead, he has shifted his energy into mentoring the drivers within John Force Racing.

"I don't know if a doctor will take me off, but I'm good now. I've got some young drivers that I think they're better than me," Force admitted in an episode of the Out of Bounds podcast.

JFR's current lineup includes Brittany Force competing in Top Fuel, while Austin Prock and Jack Beckman carry the torch in Funny Car. Both Prock and Beckman have made strong showings in 2025, currently leading the NHRA Funny Car All-Star Callout standings. Brittany Force, a former Top Fuel champion herself, sits -227 in the Mission Foods Drag Racing Series standings, firmly in contention.

For Force, it is a continuation of the dynasty he built from the ground up. His own career set records that may never be matched. He won 10 straight titles from 1993 to 2002, has over 1,000 elimination-round wins, and the honor of being the first driver to get 100 national event wins.

Now, while his own driving future hangs in doubt, John Force is content to place faith in the next generation.