16-time Funny Car champion John Force made his return to the NHRA scene this weekend in Las Vegas. His daughter, Brittany, who also drives for John Force Racing, shared an emotional message after she secured the provisional No. 1 spot.
Brittany Force, who competes in the Monster Energy / HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Top Fuel dragster, achieved impressive results during the Q1 session, with a 3.675-second elapsed time at a speed of 336.74 mph, earning her a provisional No. 1 spot through two sessions. In her words, being reunited with her father at the racetrack has been profoundly moving.
She explained to the media:
"Coming into this weekend, we knew it was going to be special because my dad had planned to come out, so he drove up with my mom (Friday morning) and I think everyone was looking forward to seeing him, especially me.
"I have grown up out here at these racetracks all over the country, but I have never been out here without him. So, it has definitely been strange since June to be out here without family, which is why my team and all these guys and everybody in John Force Racing – everyone in our pits – is family. They feel like brothers to me. I'm lucky to have them and their support.
"To have family back, have my dad back out here, I'm so excited for him. I think it is great for him. He has been pushing physical therapy and he has been focused, and he has been dedicated to it and we are really proud of him. But I think being out here with his old routine with the fans, with his teams, standing on a racetrack, that's where he should be.
"I'm happy to be out here with him and really proud to perform well and put a killer number on the board. I wish we could have got down there on that last run, but it was pretty cool to do that with him standing behind our car."
She continued:
"I wasn't nervous. It is just the normal nerves that come with ... I have been out of the seat for a couple of weeks, and my dad came over and wished me luck and it made me glad that he was out here. I definitely missed him. To have him come over and wish me good luck meant more than anything for me."
John Force suffered a horrific crash in Virginia in June 23 which left him with a traumatic brain injury, a fractured sternum, among others injuries and required extensive hospitalization and rehabilitation. Thankfully, he is now back at the track.
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