Eric Medlen
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Eric Medlen (b. August 13, 1973, Oakdale, CA – d. March 23, 2007) was an NHRA Top Fuel Funny Car driver who drove for John Force Racing in 2004, 2005 and 2006 campaigning in the Castrol Syntec Ford Mustang Top Fuel Funny Car.
In 2007, Medlen began the year campaigning in the Auto Club/Pleasant Holiday Ford Mustang Top Fuel Funny Car, co-owned by John Force. He had a total of 6 career wins. His first win came during his Rookie season in 2004 at Brainerd International Raceway.
In 2004 he was named NHRA Road to the Future Funny Car Rookie of the Year. He followed with 3 wins in 2005 and 2 wins in 2006. Each year he raced, he placed in the top five or higher in NHRA Championship Points. Prior to 2004, Eric Medlen was a crewmember for John Force's Funny Car team for 8 years. His fastest elapsed time was 4.681 seconds. His fastest speed was 328.54 MPH. He had 8 #1 qualifers and a 94-65 win-loss record.
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[edit] Career Highlights
National Event Wins
*2004 Brainerd *2005 Seattle *2005 Brainerd *2005 Memphis *2006 Sonoma *2006 Richmond *
*Earned three 2005 tour victories, equaling the total of series champion Gary Scelzi.
*Became the fourth different driver to win an NHRA national event in a John Force Racing Ford Mustang when he prevailed at Brainerd, Minn., in 2004.
*Has 55 total victories with John Force Racing – six as driver of the Castrol Syntec Ford, one as a crewmember on the Syntec Ford (1996) and 48 as a crewmember on John Force's championship-winning Fords (1997-2003).
YEAR-BY-YEAR HIGHLIGHTS
*2006: Was perfect 2-for-2 in final round appearances; Matched career-best finish of fourth place in POWERade standings; Advanced out of the first round at 17 of 23 events
*2005: Collected three wins in five final round appearances; Vaulted over teammate Robert Hight with runner-up finish at season-ending race to earn career-best fourth place finish in POWERade Series standings; Earned three No. 1 qualifiers
*2004: Earned first career victory (Brainerd); Was the top qualifier at Englishtown and Reading; Finished fifth in the final POWERade point standings in his first season of Funny Car competition; Qualified for all 23 events; With a 29-22 won-loss record in elimination rounds, he was one of seven full-time Funny Car drivers to have a winning percentage over .500; was a finalist for the Automobile Club of Southern California Road to the Future Award identifying the top rookie in the NHRA POWERade Series and the top rookie in the Funny Car division
[edit] Highlights by Year
[edit] 2005:
- Finished a career-best fourth in NHRA POWERade points.
- Won three times in a four-race period (Seattle, Brainerd, and Memphis) in mid-season to thrust himself prominently into a five-way battle for the POWERade Championship.
- Became just the sixth driver to break the 4.70 second barrier with a career best 4.698 in qualifying for the O'Reilly Fall Nationals at Dallas.
- Earned his first repeat victory when he won for the second straight year at Brainerd, Minnesota.
[edit] 2004
- Was a finalist for the Automobile Club of Southern California Road to the Future Award naming the top rookies in the NHRA POWERade Series and the Funny Car division.
- Finished fifth in driver points.
- Earned breakthrough victory at Brainerd, beating three-time former NHRA Top Fuel Champion Gary Scelzi in the final.
- Runner-up to Whit Bazemore at Topeka.
- No. 1 qualifier at Englishtown, New Jersey, and Reading, Pennsylvania.
- Four-time winner of the Motel 6 "Who Got the Light?" award presented at each event to the winning driver of the pro race decided by the narrowest margin.
[edit] Testing accident and death
On March 19, 2007 during a test session at Gainesville Raceway in Gainesville, Florida, Medlen was critically injured when his Funny Car went out of control and struck the guardwall due to a rear tire blowing. The tire blew due to extreme vibrations. It was the most severe tire shake ever reported in a funny car. After being cut free from the car by the NHRA Safety Safari and receiving emergency treatment at the track, Eric was transferred by Alachua County Fire Rescue to Shands at the University of Florida where he was treated for four days for what doctors characterized as a severe closed head injury. It wasn't hitting the wall that killed him it was the extreme vibrations that led to the brain injury which put him in the coma.
Medlen survived a delicate, three-hour craniotomy procedure to relieve pressure and hemorrhaging on March 20, 2007 but succumbed to complications of diffuse axonal injury three days later [1] after being removed from life support in accordance with his own previously stated wishes.
[edit] Background in calf roping
Medlen was a champion calf roper when he was in high school. He owned a dude ranch in California.
