How old is too old in racing? ‘It’s their call. No one else’s’

How old is too old?

As John Force fights for his life in a Richmond intensive care unit, that is one of two harsh-reality questions that are being asked by fans of auto racing and even the racers themselves. The other, of course: Is Force going to be OK? His condition has improved significantly since his frightening, fiery June 23 crash at Virginia Motorsports Park, when his Funny Car’s engine exploded as it crossed the finish line at 302 mph, the Chevy crossing the centerline, slamming into the left concrete guard wall and then careening back across to also hit the right wall.

On Sunday, one week after the crash, John Force Racing posted an update that, after days of struggling to respond to commands, Force had begun communicating, albeit rudimentarily, but had improved enough that he was being moved from a trauma intensive care unit to the neuro ICU.

https://t.co/BCAfVDPXJO pic.twitter.com/PHV056HwbO

— John Force Racing (@JFR_Racing) June 30, 2024

The road to recovery will be long, but he is indeed on that road. Now, as that trip begins, so has a conversation that is nothing new to the motorsports world. How old is too old to be piloting a racing machine at triple-digit speeds, whether it be in a straight line, turning left or weaving its way around a road course?

“Racers can’t be held to the same calendars as others, whether you are talking about other athletes in other sports or someone who works in another industry, finance, a doctor, whatever,” Mario Andretti explained at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in May. The conversation was about another very fast senior on the circuit, Helio Castroneves, the four-time Indy 500 winner who turned 49 on May 10 and then made his 21st start in the Greatest Spectacle in Racing two weeks later. “Your timeline is your timeline. No one else’s. And along that timeline there are signs that tell you to either keep going or it is time to stop. The question is whether or not you are willing to listen to those signs. I did. Then I didn’t. Then I did again.”

The irresistible Force

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