Courtesy of John Force Racing

RICHMOND, Va. – Drag racing champion John Force remained in the intensive care unit at a Virginia hospital Monday following a catastrophic engine failure that sent his Funny Car slamming into a concrete guardwall at 302 miles per hour during the first round of Sunday’s NHRA Virginia Nationals at Virginia Motorsports Park.

After NHRA Safety Safari personnel extricated and stabilized the 16-time champion, he was transported by medical helicopter to a trauma hospital where he still was being observed and evaluated on Monday.

Attending doctors purposely were moving slowly in assessing the extent of the injuries to the Hall of Fame owner and driver because of the intensity of the impact. Medical staff will not provide a treatment and recovery timetable until a total evaluation is completed.

Force’s daughter Brittany, a two-time World Champion, was joined at the hospital by her mother, Laurie, and sisters, Adria, Ashley, and Courtney. The family will maintain a presence while the team competes this weekend in Norwalk, Ohio

Updates on the 157-time tour winner’s condition will be released at the discretion of the medical staff.