Skip to main content
Join Now
NASCAR Logo

John Force, NHRA legend, announces retirement at 76

Brian Jones Profile Picby: Brian Jones11/13/25brianjones_93
John Force
Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

John Force, NHRA legend and 16-time Funny Car champion, announced his retirement at the age of 76 on Thursday. Force went to social media to announce the news.

“It’s been over a year, but I’ve been under doctors’ care and I still am, so if I say anything wrong, please excuse me,” Force said. “But it’s time for me to retire. It all made sense to me, even though I knew I had medical stuff that I had to address, that do I want to get back in the car and get hit in the head? And I don’t.”

In June 2024, Force suffered a traumatic brain injury in a fiery crash at Virginia Motorsports Park after his engine exploded at the end of a run. He spent 15 days at the VCU Medical Center, and he also spent time at the Barrow Neurological Institute.

More on John Force and his career

“After spending 15 days in varying levels of intensive care at VCU Medical Center, drag racing champion John Force was released Tuesday in time to board an AirMed ambulance for a three-hour flight to a neurological rehab center at which treatment for the Traumatic Brain Injury he suffered in a June 23 crash will continue,” John Force Racing said in a statement at the time. “The 16-time NHRA Funny Car Champion’s departure from the facility to which he was airlifted after crashing at more than 300 miles per hour was considered by family members to be a major step forward in the recovery process.”

In his video, Force said he didn’t “want to get hurt,” and he was “going to stay in the car until my race car gets me.” He now plans to “grow my operation,” and “I’m excited where it’s going.”

Force won his first Funny Car championship in 1990, and his last came in 2013. In 2008, Force was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America.

Force is the founder of John Force Racing, and his daughter, Brittany Force, drives for the organization. In September, Brittany announced she’s stepping away from full-time competition to start a family.