Tune into ESPN at 7:00 eastern for the update on Forces crash with Bernstein. At last report he was alert, two broken legs, and a broken arm!:(
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Tune into ESPN at 7:00 eastern for the update on Forces crash with Bernstein. At last report he was alert, two broken legs, and a broken arm!:(
Yup, they just announced it during the NASCAR race, too... Way big ouch!!!!
http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/...goryId=2378529
It was a bad crash for sure. Prayers go out for his recovery.
Nasty wreck! All things considered, John is in pretty good shape!!!!
Latest is broken left ankle, broken left wrist, broken fingers on right hand, and possible damaged ligaments right knee. Not bad considering..............but looking at a fairly long recovery I'd guess.
Yup, that was about the nastiest funny car wreck I've seen! Right up there with Schumacker's dragster wreck a couple years back.
First thing i thought about was Eric.
Been a tough year for team Force. Bet they'll all be glad when this one is over.....
Wonder what blew. I didn't see the blower hop. Maybe the clutch cut the car in half. KB was concerned about crossing the centerline. It looks like he did, but didn't cause the wreck. Something in Force's car let loose big time.
Almost looked like a tire went first...no idea how that would result in a car broke in half though...?
I think Henry is on the right track. Clutch explosion. I'm sure they will go over everything in the next few days to find exactly what happened.
I've heard stories of the cone causing the problem but KB in his report said he hit the cone with his back tire, and John won the race. So, that cone would have had to fly forward into a 315 mph breeze to hit john's car. I think the cone went behind john's car. I've watched that clip many times and everything happened very fast, but I think John's car is coming apart before the cone flies into his lane? I could be wrong.
Well, the funny cars are designed to break at the engine plate...Maybe when he got into the wall the car just did what it was supposed to????
Got a kick out of it when they interviewed Robert Hight, he said John was in the helicopter giving orders, and asked if he'd won!!!!!! A real racer's racer, huh???
looks to me it cut one of those POS goodyear slicks that goodyear keeps pushing off on the nhra fuel guys
Just watched several replays on ESPN2 and the car actually came apart when the chute deployed, before the car turned right.
The front of the car(from the motor forward) was all that hit the wall, the cockpit stayed in the left lane with John onboard.
That is what we saw in the posted footage too. Just haven't heard what actually cut the chassis in half?
Do you think we have a repeat of swamprat 13?
I guess my weekend was not as bad... that was HAIRY. I'm happy to hear he escaped with as few injuries... when I first heard about it over the PA at the track, it sounded like he was in much worse shape... it's a wonder Bernstein came through that mess okay
my jaw hit the floor when the wife & I seen it. Just glad eveyone will come out ok when the healing is done..
If you watch the video close, the body at top started sucking down before that tire went, like the car came apart. I think the chutes help slow the back half down and saved him. Frame fatigue maybe...
From the video, that wasn't a fatigue failure. It was catastrophic. Something blew and sawed the frame in half.
I've been a JF fan for a long time and is terrible thing to watch. Probably saw the accident from every conceivable angle and it was clear that nothing KB did caused the accident. The cause was right there in Jf's car, what exactly caused it, I can't say. Hopefully there are no complications with the injuries that could result in them being careering ending. John is approaching the age when recovery won't be quick or simple. Hopefully he will be able to rejoin the effort sometime next year. Ashely was having a good run this weekend, it's also a shame that her efforts had to be cut short. A shame, but fully understandable.
Watching the clip several times last night, I think that the possibility exists that when Kenny hit the light box on the top end, the box flew over and hit John's right slick causing it to explode. Even in slow motion that box went across there at an extremely high rate of speed. Kenny was ahead of John going across the finish, but he was over the centerline. I think John may have already pulled the chutes and the timing of it all was a perfect storm sort of thing. The chute impact coupled with the tire explosion blew everything apart and the car seperated just as it is supposed to. Hopefully they will find out what did happen through investigation. It was too bad that Ashley had to pull out, but in addition to the stress she was under, they need to check if it was a flaw in the car that caused it.
I thought it was neat that Greg Anderson stated "John's our Dale Ernhardt." Not meaning that he is gone, but that he is the symbol of NHRA drag racing.
I do wonder if this will be John's exit from driving and if he will settle for being an active team owner ala Schumacher and Prudhomme. Wishing him well and a good recovery
Pat
Tivo is great, i just spent some time watching it frame by frame, the car started coming apart long before the stuff flew by his car, lots of smoke started coming out , then little pieces started flying, by the time the chute came out it was already coming apart. I think it was mechanical, clutch cut it in halve, or something, if you guys have a DVR watch it frame by frame, it shows alot more.
Good point, Pat.... With the driver pool John currently has, sure wouldn't be hard for him to come up with one more young-un, then he could sit back and be the driver coach, head cheerleader, team manager, chief PR man, and all those other functions....Quote:
Originally Posted by Stu Cool
I think McCulloch and Prudhomme both are far better running a team then they ever were driving. Both were fantastic drivers, but IMO they are even better as managers, motivators, and talent scouts...
With all the experience guys like this have in Pro Racing, they know what it takes to run a competitive team, how to keep the $pon$or$ happy, and the entire crew motivated.... Force Racing could go from awesome to unbelievable!!!! Bet that would make the rest of the funny car teams happy!!!!!:LOL: :LOL: :LOL: :LOL:
I dunno' I think John wants to get back in the seat A.S.A.P.
http://video.nbc5i.com/player/?id=160083#videoid=160083
Thanks for the link, Pro!!!! John wants to be back in the car the 3rd week in October!!!!!!:LOL: :LOL: :LOL: :LOL: Like I said, he is surely a racer's racer!!!!!!
And I betcha he gave Ashley a thorough butt chewing for not running in the semi's!!!!!!!! What a stud!!!!!!:LOL: :LOL: :LOL:
Yeah, he ain't gettin' off the horse until it's on his terms!
Like his PR guy said in an interview................."John doesn't know how to do anything else!" :3dSMILE:
Johh will return. Funny car without John Force, naw!!, no way..
I don't watch much drag racing, although I am a fan of drag racing, especially John Force, even though I am a MoPar guy all the way, you have to love John Force. He is such a down to earth guy.
Don't bash me too bad, but maybe they should look at making some changes, dare I say, cut it back to 1/8 track?
Looks like John is going to be back, and it would be so cool to see him race again this year, though not likely.
Jack
http://cbs11tv.com/topstories/local_...267193435.html
John sounds like a little thing like a car splittin' in half is no reason to give up on the season. Guy the is one tough racecar driver.
Quote:
Originally Posted by moparjack44
Was that the burn out or did I miss the run :confused: 2.4sec runs, are tickets going to be half price? :HMMM:
Real racers go all the way :D to the end of the track.
My vote is NO!
Pat
Maybe they should do like NASCAR.... put restrictor plates on them and mess with the aerodynamics until they will only do about 220 or so....Quote:
Don't bash me too bad, but maybe they should look at making some changes, dare I say, cut it back to 1/8 track?
Yeah that will make it safer....
No build a better cage around the driver and his legs and not cut back on the wall thickness on the molly tubbing ????????Quote:
Originally Posted by ceh383
Any word on the guy?
Quote:
Originally Posted by moparjack44
I always root for the underdogs, so I am not a big Force fan.....but it is clear to see what made him succeed, and people are important to him, so I admire those traits.
I have thought for a long time that the best way to slow these cars is a shorter track. I used to go to the 1/8 th mile tracks when I was a kid, but the problem was that if you cut a good light, and ran fairly good, a stronger car did not have time to run you down, so the racing lacked that possibility.
I would like to see them use a 1,000 to 1,100 foot track, or about 3/4s of the quarter. The cars would still top 300, and the show would last longer, with a chance to catch a slower car, but they would not reach that point of exploding engines, and tire failures nearly as often. That would mean less cost for teams, and less risk for drivers, with very little lost entertainment for spectators......and longer shut off areas!
What am I missing a stronger car is "stronger" no matter what track its on, right?