Brittany Force: Racecar Driver, 31, Involved In Terrifying Crash At 150 MPH — Will She Be OK?
February 12, 2018
Brittany Force: Racecar Driver, 31, Involved In Terrifying Crash At 150 MPH — Will She Be OK?
Oh no. While competing in a high-speed drag race, Brittany Force, a NHRA champion, lost control of her car. After crashing into a wall, her dragster was left a flaming wreck!
Thankfully, Brittany Force, 31, came out of that crash in one piece. She was conscious, alert and responsive following her wreck on Feb. 11. The National Hot Rod Association Top Fuel dragster champion was racing Terry Haddock at the 58th Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals at Pomoa’s Auto Club Raceway when her Monster Energy Dragster went sideways. The racecar veered over the center line, first crashing in the far left wall before flying back to the right. Brittany was going about 150 mph during both collisions, and many feared the worst.
She was taken to a local hospital following the crash but her father, NHRA drag racer and 16-time Funny Car champ John Force, 68, gave an update, according to Yahoo Sports. “They said that head injuries, the scans were good. They’re doing the body stuff right now to check her back. I know she hurt her shoulder. It was a heck of an impact,” he said. “Her name is Force, she’s tough.”
“Want to thank Simpson safety for building helmets, equipment and everything to keep our drivers safe,” John Force said later, according to USA Today. “The car giving way when it hit the wall head on allowed it to take the impact and fold up (as it was designed to do). I want to thank Schumacher Racing for creating the canopy (over the driver’s seat). Want to personally thank Don Schumacher for his investment (in the canopy program). Very important. Thanks, Don. Safety Safari was right on top of it, as always, that’s why they’re the best in the business.”
Nasty wreck today at @NHRA Winter Nationals. Latest is @BrittanyForce no serious injuries. pic.twitter.com/1cIPZ25L82
— Chuck Howard (@chowardFox46) February 12, 2018
"Her name is Force, she's tough." @JohnForce_FC shared an update on @BrittanyForce on #NHRAonFOX. #Winternats pic.twitter.com/mutoiCW9mj
— #NHRA (@NHRA) February 11, 2018
Brittany followed her father’s footsteps (or, in this case, tire tracks) in 2013. She began racing Top Fuel dragsters, known as the quickest accelerating racecars in the world. In 2016, she became the first woman to win the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals and she became the second woman in history to win the NHRA Top Fuel championship in 2017.
“Any race weekend,” Brittany told Racer in 2017, “it’s tough going into race day, because it’s not like other sports where if you screw up, you have time to fix your fault and make up for it. In drag racing, whether it’s the clutch guy, whether it’s the tire guy, whether it’s the driver, you have one little mistake, you’re done. It’s game over. You’re done right there. You have to lay everything out there on the line. You have to be ready. Nobody can screw up. No one can make mistakes.”
HollywoodLifers, are you amazed that Brittany was okay after that crash?