Austin Prock has provided an encouraging update on drag racing legend John Force’s recovery following his impressive win at the Carolina Nationals on Sunday.
After capturing his third consecutive NHRA Funny Car victory, Prock announced the news fans had been waiting for: John Force is doing well and remains closely involved in his team’s success.
Speaking to the media after his recent win, Prock said as quoted by Autoweek:
“Everything is good at John Force Racing.
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“He sounds great. I’m excited to hear from him. I know he’s really proud of everything that’s happening and he thinks it’s really cool that our family can work together and that we’re so successful.”
In his victory in Concord, Prock defeated Matt Hagan, the four-time and current champion, in the final round.
John Force’s health has been the focus of attention since his horrific accident on June 23 in Richmond that resulted in a traumatic brain injury. Since then, there has been little news about Force.
After the accident, Force was in intensive care before being transferred to a neurological intensive care unit. At the beginning of July, the drag racer was transferred to a rehabilitation facility from which he was released a few weeks later.
Force has continued his recovery at home since then. The last update from his family was a post from his daughter Brittany, who wrote on July 23:
“Peace out Phoenix! After 30 days, my dad is finally going home where we will continue outpatient therapy. These next steps to recovery will definitely be a family effort! Here are some pictures from our time in Phoenix.”
The last update directly from John Force Racing was on the same date and read:
“One month after an engine explosion caused his race car to crash into a concrete barrier at Virginia Motorsports Park at over 300 miles per hour, drag racing champion John Force was released Tuesday from Barrow Neurological Institute, where he was undergoing rehabilitation for a traumatic brain injury (TBI).”
“According to family members, the 16-time Funny Car champion will continue to work with therapists who specialize in such injuries, but this will now be done on an outpatient basis in California.
“‘He can finally sleep in his own bed,’ said daughter Ashley Hood, who, along with her sisters Brittany, Courtney and Adria and her mother Laurie, were constantly present during the Hall of Fame driver and car owner’s hospital stays in Virginia and Arizona.
“The next phase of the recovery process will be outpatient speech therapy and OTPT (occupational and physical therapy) to address ongoing short-term memory and cognitive issues.”
