16-time NHRA champion, John Force has been what one would call the epitome of timelessness. When John drove his first-ever Night Crawler Mustang in a drag race back in 1971, most weren’t even born yet. However, as of June 2024, the collective motorsports community recites a silent prayer for the Brute Force of Drag Racing’s ‘first family’, still in the ICU recovering from his sustained injuries. And even if this update may not strike those who are sensible as worthy of any controversy, social media is often a cruel place. So much so that the NASCAR icon had to Rick Mast step in to shut down the toxicity surrounding John Force’s ongoing recovery from an ‘ageless’ racing accident.

As it all unfolds, it appears that a portion of the audience believes Force “got what he deserved.” But Mast was having none of that and rightfully shut down all the distasteful opinions and their bearers with a blunt & well-deserved tongue-lashing.

Rick Mast unleashes fury on trolls, criticizing injured John Force

Drag racing and John Force will forever be intertwined in motorsports history. While most people his age would struggle to handle a Toyota Prius with just 121 horsepower, John was piloting a monstrous 11,000-horsepower Funny Car until everything came to a halt with a devastating accident last Sunday.

In the first-round eliminators for the PLAYNHRA Virginia Nationals at Virginia Motorsports Park, John Force almost raised his attempts for his 158th victory to a 302.62 mph victory, beating Terry Haddock by 4.10 seconds to advance into the next round. But just as his John Force Racing PEAK Chevrolet crossed the finish line, the engine blew up, causing John to hit the barriers, bouncing off both sides at around those same speeds, eventually coming to an ominous halt.

Safety officials and medical personnel checked on John, and thankfully he was alert. After a closer inspection, he was airlifted to a nearby hospital for further evaluation. A video of the crash would leave any diehard cringing in its wake. And it is truly a miracle that the 46-year-old drag racing veteran emerged breathing from his situation at Dinwiddle County. But some contrary opinions would leave even John fuming once he makes his recovery safe and sound to get back to doing what he loves the most—racing.

As Rick Mast recently brought to light the unfiltered use of social media by a demographic of fans online spewing hatred toward John Force, who is in recovery, he did so with a vengeance quite uncharacteristic of his usual well-natured demeanor. Mast stated the context: “I’ve read on some social media platforms. ‘The guy (John Force) is 75 years old. He’s out there doing what he shouldn’t be doing, and what he got is what he deserved.’” 

Elaborating on its sensitive nature to clarify for those short-sighted commenters sharing such views, Mast would then explain, “Now folks, John Force. They haven’t put out a release. They’re keeping it very tight-knit. We don’t know if John’s sitting there just, getting healed up and everything’s going to be okay, we don’t know if John Force is fighting for his life.. if he’s got a serious career-ending injury that’ll maim him for the rest of his life. We don’t know any of those things at this point, right? Or at least, I don’t…”

Understandably frustrated by these developments, Mast then mentions his specific issue with a spine-chilling pretext that began, “So anyhow, you got a man laying there possibly fighting for his life, possibly fighting for his career. Possibly fighting for a good way of life, we don’t know. And you’ve got these a**holes on social media that are saying in essence that, a lot worded it differently, but basically: ‘He’s an old man, he’s 75 years old. He got what was coming to him.’ Now what does that mean? He got what was coming to him?” By this point, Rick Mast did not wish to hold any prisoners in his address to the commenters defiling the good name of John Force, currently fighting for every inch from a hospital bed in VA.

He warned those guilty of such shameful acts with “a very, very short message,” and it went something like: “All of you people who think that way and put it out that way. And I know on social media, there’s so many comments like this. It goes on all the time and you know 99.99% of the time I just pass them off. I look at them, I laugh at them. I’m like, ‘What sorry lives you must lead to have those kind of thought processes?’ But anyhow, to shorten this thing up and make it sweet. For those of you that think that John Force got what was coming to him, and you had to post that… Look Rick mass in this eye. And this is exactly for you okay? Kiss my sorry a*$ and take that statement and stick it up your sorry a*$. Case Closed. Peace out.”

67-year-old Virginia native, Rick Mast, who grew up only a couple of hours away from Virginia Motorsports Park, was not wrong at all to vent his frustrations at those who put across such sentiments for many to witness. After all, John Force is no ordinary “old” racer, contrary to what many would believe. If one must call him anything, John Force should be termed nothing short of a ‘certified American motorsports diamond in the rough.’ And his records and accolades only paint one part of the vibrant picture.

“Richard Petty of drag racing”: Dale Jr joins tributes among many others

John Force’s impact has been duly visible after his 300-mph crashout. To put some weight behind Rick Mast’s fairly accurate teardown of the online delinquents, fellow NASCAR icon, Dale Jr referred to the earlier part of Rick Mast’s video where he talked about John Force being the Richard Petty of the NHRA. He steered clear of the controversial aura emanating from the latter parts of Mast’s heavy mention to write, “Watched a previous post from Rick Mast and heard him call John Force the Richard Petty of drag racing. It is a perfect comparison. John Force has long been everything to drag racing. And for me, every moment I spent around him was as thrilling as watching him run the strip. Certainly wishing him comfort and a smooth recovery.”

But as fate would have it, John Force is already fighting his way to the dragstrips, albeit hopes go out for no rushed rehabilitation measures. In a statement from John Force Racing’s official social media earlier today they informed fans that, “Four days after his crash at more than 300 miles per hour, drag racing champion John Force has moved from the trauma intensive care unit to the neuro intensive care unit, where the medical team can focus on his head injury which is their primary concern.”

The release also states, “The move was a welcome positive for his family members, who have maintained a daily presence at the hospital all week.” That doesn’t necessarily mean his daughter Brittany will be racing the JFR Top Fuel Dragster at the NHRA Summit Racing Equipment Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio. She will instead be tending to her father alongside her other siblings, Ashley, Courtney, and Adria.

Brittany lost out in the quarterfinal rounds at the Virginia Nationals to Tony Stewart after witnessing her father go through these horrendous happenings on the dragstrip. She later told the media, “My dad’s going to be all right. I was in the ambulance with him, holding his hand. And he’s one of the toughest people I know. So he’ll bounce back like he always does.”

When it all finally unfolded in Virginia, John’s Funny Car teammate, Austin Prock, won the event, paying his due tribute to the injured racer. He currently leads everybody else in the points table, and John himself is running second in the standings. Here’s to hoping he gets well soon and recovers from his injuries to enthrall us in his Funny Car. Meanwhile, further updates on John Force’s conditions are yet to be released from his family’s race team.