American motorsport has many famous family names, and two of its most formidable dynasties in recent years have been the Rahals in IndyCar and the Forces in drag racing.
Graham Rahal, the 35-year-old son of 1986 Indy 500 winner Bobby, married Courtney Force, the now-retired (but highly successful) drag racing daughter of NHRA great John.
The Force family’s world was rocked recently when John – the 16-time NHRA Funny Car champion – suffered a traumatic brain injury in a horrendous 300mph fiery crash at Virginia Motorsports Park on 23 June.
After being airlifted to hospital, having also suffered a broken sternum and a right wrist injury, 75-year-old Force spent several days under heavy sedation in intensive care before being moved to an acute neuro care unit.
Following 15 days in hospital in Virginia, Force was released to fly to a neurological rehab center. A statement from his team revealed that he continues to deal with “cognitive and behavioural symptoms” of his injury, and that he is now conversing with staff and his family but is “still prone to periods of confusion”.
After 15 days in a Virginia hospital, Force was released to fly to a neurological rehabilitation institute. According to his team, he is still dealing with “cognitive and behavioural symptoms” of his injuries, and while he is now speaking with staff and his family, he is “still prone to periods of confusion”. There is no clear timeframe for his rehabilitation, and he is still in the facility as of this writing. Of course, racing drivers are well aware of the perils of their business, and six-time IndyCar race winner Graham was very close to Justin Wilson, his former teammate who was killed when hit by debris in a Pocono collision in 2015.
Rahal, who has two children with Courtney, spoke candidly this week about the repercussions of Force’s crash on their extended family group.
He is improving, and that’s all we can ask for,” said Rahal, who revealed he watched the crash live on TV while his wife was napping. “It was early morning out in California. My girls were running her ragged.
“When I saw it, I immediately went to her and said, ‘hey, you should probably wake up. You should probably look and see what’s going on here.’”
Force’s accident was terrifying, as his car exploded in flames just after completing a 302mph run before slamming into concrete barriers on either side of the track.
