John Force’s retirement announcement on social media sent ripples throughout the motorsports world, and NASCAR veterans Kenny Wallace and Ken Schrader were quick to weigh in.

Force’s long career in the NHRA set the benchmark for many, as he continued to deliver maximum performance despite his age. However, a major crash in June last year kept him out of racing for a long time, and retirement seemed to be the best option as he aimed to spend more time with his grandchildren. But as Ken Schrader revealed, age was just a number for Force.

NASCAR veterans celebrate John Force’s impressive NHRA career

Force’s racing career couldn’t be defined by a few words. His quick reaction times, resilience, adaptability, and car control kept him at the top for a long time. In his long tenure of five decades, he garnered 157 event wins and 16 championships. Safe to say, it was difficult for even the youngest drivers to compete with his experience behind the wheel. And with his growing age, he only seemed to be getting sharper. Ken Schrader, speaking on the Herm & Schrader podcast, highlighted this.

“What a career, you know,” he said. “He was still winning when he got hurt, you know. So, I mean, he was he was on top of his stuff till the very end.”

Kenny Wallace further claimed that Force was open to returning for a few burnouts if the fans wanted it. Craig Moore, special guest on the podcast, had a positive reaction to it.

“I think that’d be freaking awesome” Moore exclaimed. “Who doesn’t want to see John Force do a burnout? Yeah, absolutely. I’m all for it.”

Force seemingly never wanted to retire from racing. Even at 76 years old, the only thing that kept him from racing was his massive crash last year at the Virginia Motorsports Park. He suffered a traumatic brain injury and is still under treatment for it. While he is seemingly no longer fit for racing, he is looking forward to jumping back in the seat for the fans sometime in the future.

John Force looks forward to putting on a final show as a NASCAR veteran reflects on his condition

John Force didn’t just dominate and win races; he put on a show for the fans. He was extremely famous for his excessively long and impressive burnouts after winning races. Although his injury might have made him unfit for racing, he might still have a few burnouts left in him, as he remarked in his retirement video:

“I’m done,” Force said. “I won’t say I won’t ever get in the car and warm it up, or maybe even make a burnout. Don’t know, I guess it’ll be the response from the fans. You cheer loud enough, I’ll hear you.”

Understandably, the crash put Force in a difficult position, both physically and mentally. Performing a burnout in his condition is seemingly a challenge, as Kenny Wallace explained.

“Let me just say this. He’s not ripe. You know, he got roughed up. So just doing a burnout is a big deal, you know,” he said.

Whether Force jumps back into the car in the future or not is a question waiting to be answered. But his long career did set a completely new benchmark for drag racing. Driving or not, John Force will continue to be a legend in the motorsports world.