1 I really enjoy watching funny cars, but they are more dangerous than other kinds of cars in a crash. With the current rules, a top fuel dragster always has the engine behind the driver, and there's a firewall and a piece of armor plate in between them. So if the engine flames (which is common) the flame goes away from the driver, and if the engine blows up, the armor plate will stop most fragments. As long as the car is moving, the wind protects the driver from fire.

In funny cars, the engine is in front of the driver. They're burning essentially the same fuel as top fuel dragsters (I think it's 94% nitromethane, 6% gasoline) and the engine just isn't all that far from the driver, because the cars are not all that large. And if the engine blows, the flames stay inside the body and blow straight back at the driver. Plus, in a crash, the engine is in front of the driver.

Those things are also true for super-stock, but superstock isn't anything like the same. They don't run as fast, and they run on gasoline. You don't get engine blowups in superstock like you get in funny cars and top fuel.

I'm really, really glad that Force's injuries were so minor. It could have been a hell of a lot worse. He'll be back, and that's a good thing. John Force is an institution. The sport will be poorer once he stops racing.

2 That was one hellacious accident. Force is my favorite funny car driver and it was a relief to hear that he'd survived relatively unscathed--all things considered.