A race car dramatically burst into flames and then crasheed into a wall during a race on Sunday — and its legendary driver, 75-year-old John Force, somehow survived.
"John Force has suffered one of the most significant crashes of his entire legendary career, passing the finish line at 302 mph, making contact with a concrete guard rail at nearly that speed," the sports announcer says from Virginia Motorsports Park in dramatic footage that shows the crash (see below, posted by TennesseeSportsNet).
Force, who was conscious and able to speak after the crash, had crossed the finish line during his first round of Funny Car eliminations when his engine exploded, according to ESPN. His car then skidded and crashed into the barrier, as mentioned above. He was rushed to a hospital by helicopter, and "perhaps miraculously, was not seriously injured in the incident," according to the Daily Beast.
From Daily Beast:
His team blamed the crash on "catastrophic engine failure" in a statement after the incident. NRHA said Force was alert in a statement afterwards but he was still taken to hospital and evaluated. Despite his age, Force is among the world's greatest drag racers and won his 157th competition in New Hampshire just three weeks ago. Sunday's crash is the second significant one in his decades-long career, with the other taking place in Texas in 2007.
Previously: Super expensive race car blows out a tire at very high speed on famous track
