Courtney Force walked away uninjured following a massive explosion of her Funny Car Friday during Friday’s opening round of qualifying for the NHRA New England Nationals in Epping, New Hampshire.
Force was in the left lane against “Fast Jack” Beckman and crossed the finish line first at a top qualifying speed of 331.53 mph, a new track record and an elapsed time of 3.842 seconds.
Suddenly, her car exploded (see video above) and ended up against the left wall. She hopped out of the car and was met quickly by NHRA’s safety crew.
The daughter of 16-time Funny Car champ John Force then returned to the track for a second round qualifying effort with a backup car and new motor. But she suffered more problems as her car shut off after leaving the starting line and coasted to a stop about 300 feet down the track.
Her car was pushed back to the pits, where her team will likely have a long night of repairs ahead of Saturday’s two final rounds of qualifying.
Didn't expect to be driving a @TeamChevy convertible at 330mph after my fuel line burst. 🔥But we stayed #1 qualifier for @AdvanceAuto team!
— Courtney Force (@courtneyforce) June 3, 2017