Courtney Force has made a rapid recovery from a racing accident and plans to compete this weekend at the NHRA Lucas Oil Nationals in Brainerd, Minn.

Force, the youngest daughter of 16-time NHRA champion John Force, crashed two weeks ago during final eliminations at the Protect the Harvest NHRA Northwest Nationals outside of Seattle. The Traxxas-sponsored driver drifted out of the groove and struck the retaining wall.

Force impacted the retaining wall with enough intensity to knock two sections of the wall loose, breaking one.

Force, 28, from Yorba Linda, Calif., was transported by ambulance to Valley Medical Center in Renton, Wash., to be evaluated for knee and elbow injuries where she was treated and released.

There were concerns Force would miss this weekend's race but on Wednesday, she confirmed her participation.



“I am excited to get back in the seat," said Force. "After how I last left the track I am definitely ready to get back in the car and go down the race track. I have been going through physical therapy every day. I have been working with Dr. Ortmeyer who is the same doctor that worked with my dad after his crash.

"I am seeing huge progress every day with my knee. I have gone from being on crutches the first couple of days to getting comfortable walking on it to being able to bend it all the way now. We have gone through a crash course of rehab. I definitely feel good enough to be back in the race car. That’s my throttle leg, so I will be ready to pound on the throttle for sure.”



This weekend's Brainerd event marks the penultimate race in the regular season, before the six-race Countdown to the Championship begins in September.



“I didn’t want to lose out on racing Brainerd because this is the time to get everything in order for Indy and the Countdown," Force said. "We had planned on front halving my Traxxas Chevy after Seattle. If anything if you had to crash a car that was a good time to do it since we were already planning on doing a lot of work between races."

Force credits her crew with getting the car rebuilt and ready to go. Such an effort, she describes as above and beyond, deserves a reward.

Force did just that.

"You never want to crash, but thankfully I have great guys at the shop in Indy that were ready to go to work on it," Force explained. "Since my team had to do so much extra work I sent them a deal called a “Man-crate” full of beef jerky and different kinds of nuts to say I was sorry for crashing the car.”



Force will also unveil a new two-race paint scheme Friday in Brainerd.



“I am going to run a cool blue Traxxas Camaro for Brainerd and Indy. It is kind of an electric blue with lightning bolts running through it. It is a nice change from the multi-colored Funny Cars which I also loved. It gets people talking about what is coming next.”