Force undaunted despite long recovery from crash

INDIANAPOLIS — John Force's flamboyant personality still shines brightly.The memories of a horrific crash 14 months ago have started to fade away, and Force's charisma and million-dollar smile — two features that played a role in his success on the track and on television — remain in place.He didn't stay away long, either.Force attended his first post-crash race in late October. He has been at most of this year's races, including last weekend for the one he calls "the grandaddy of races" — the U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis. He still meets regularly with team members, shows off cars and, of course, enjoys mingling with fans in a new role — the non-racing team owner of John Force Racing."I'm just really glad I'm standing. Walking is a little rough for me on the starting line," he said last week at a shop owned by his son-in-law, IndyCar driver Graham Rahal. "Sometimes, I've got to hang onto a pole, but I'm getting through it."Just arriving at this moment is a milestone for Force, especially considering his long, arduous journey since a catastrophic engine failure sent him crashing into a concrete wall in Virginia at roughly 300 mph. The rebound sent him careening across the center line and into another wall.He suffered a fractured sternum among other injuries, but it was the traumatic brain injury that forced the 76-year-old out of the car after winning 16 Funny Car titles and an NHRA-record 157 races. Force spent months working with specialized therapists on an outpatient basis in California as he tried to return to the sport that turned him and his family into national stars.While he would, naturally, prefer driving, Force is following doctors' orders and is using the positive vibes from interacting with fans to help fuel his rehab."I love the fans," Force said. "I ran other circuits but not like I've lived NHRA for the last 50, over 50, years. And I've got guys like (Jack) Beckman that taught my wife and my kids, they even snuck my name on the side of (Beckman's) car. But Beckman is a great talker, (Austin) Prock is a great talker, Brittany (Force) is, so we get the job done."Those are the team's three regular drivers, and they've done well.Prock and Beckman are first and second in the Funny Car points with six events remaining. Brittany Force, the latest of John Force's daughters to compete on drag strips, still ranks fifth in Top Fuel as she continues to race for her father.But as difficult as the crash and recovery were on John Force, it was equally challenging for his 39-year-old daughter."Last year was really tough, just watching everything he went through and then we spent months in the hospital with him and then watching him return," Brittany Force said. "His first race after his wreck was Las Vegas, which, ironically, Austin and I doubled up (winning) and that to me was just a higher power. His first race back, both his cars get into the winner's circle and it was my first win in two years to the date."Behind the scenes, Brittany Force says not much has changed. She says her father loves family time, being at the team shop, and talking racing."One of the biggest things he's taught me is how we interact with the fans, and that's why he's so loved by his fans," she said. "That's how he's always been."No, Force won't be climbing into or out of a car. But he's likely to be at whatever stop is next on the NHRA schedule. It's who he is. And after everything he's endured over all these months, he figures that's a pretty good place to be."There's nothing they can do to make me better, all they can do is teach me the things I'm off with," he said. "But I'm the luckiest guy in the world. I don't get to drive my hot rod. They want me to warm it up, but with the problems I've got, I just, you know, do what the doctors tell me to do and I'm getting better."