YORBA LINDA, Calif. (AP) — John Force, a 16-time Funny Car champion and the face of NHRA drag racing for nearly four decades, formally retired Thursday night.

The 76-year-old Force's announcement came 17 months after he sustained a traumatic brain injury in a fiery wreck at Virginia Motorsports Park . A catastrophic engine failure sent him crashing into a concrete wall at roughly 300 mph. The rebound sent him careening across the center line and into another wall.

He suffered a fractured sternum among other injuries, but it was the TBI that forced him out of the car for good after an NHRA-record 157 wins. Force spent months working with specialized therapists on an outpatient basis in California.

“I don’t want to go on forever, but I am officially done with driving," Force said in a v

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