|
Nick Wharton
|
|
« on: March 23, 2007, 06:03:44 pm » |
|
Eric Medlen, 33, who had emerged as one of the most popular young drivers in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series, succumbed Friday afternoon to injuries suffered when his race car crashed into a guardwall during a Monday test session at Gainesville Raceway.
The talented Funny Car driver never regained consciousness. After being treated at the track, he was transported by ShandsCair helicopter to Shands at the University of Florida medical center where medical staff treated him for four days for a severe closed head injury.
"Eric suffered from severe traumatic brain injury with diffuse axonal injury, or DAI," said Dr. Joseph Layon, Professor of Anesthesiology, Surgery and Medicine and the Chief of Critical Care Medicine at UF. "Survival rates associated with DAI are low.
"On Tuesday, UF and Shands neurosurgery team performed a cranjectomy and removed the front portion of the skull to relieve pressure and attempt to improve blood flow to the brain," Dr. Layon explained. "Despite receiving the most aggressive treatment, Eric continued to have uncontrollable intracranial pressure. His body lost the ability to manage it's salt and water levels and he began displaying the complicating factors associated with DAI.
"That is when Eric's family elected to honor Eric's wishes and remove him from the artificial life support systems. Our hearts go out to Eric's loved ones."
"On behalf of the family, I want to thank the medical staff at Shands not just for giving Eric the very best care he could have received, but for the compassion it showed for Eric and all those close to him," said his father, John Medlen. "I also want to thank the thousands of people who offered their prayers and support to us during this very difficult time."
As recently as Thursday night, more than 100 drivers and crew members representing every Indianapolis-based race team attended a prayer vigil organized by Kelly Bustos, team manager for Tuttle Motorsports, which fields Top Fuel dragsters for 2006 Rookie-of-the-Year J.R. Todd, one of Medlen's closest friends in the sport.
At Louisville, Ky., where BP/Castrol had set up booth space for the Mid-America Trucking Show, fans and well-wishers filled up two giant posters with get well wishes Thursday. Moreover, more than 4,500 individual messages of support were left at a special e-mail address on the first day it was activated.
"Eric Medlen was the son I never had," said team owner John Force. "He was the leader of my next generation of drivers. Robert Hight, my daughter Ashley and I were with the family throughout this very difficult time. This loss is a huge blow not only to the Medlen family, but to drag racing and to John Force Racing. I just want to thank everybody for their support, from Larry Smiley with Racers for Christ to the hospital staff to the whole drag racing community. Our prayers go out to the family."
Little more than three years ago, Medlen took over driving responsibilities in the Funny Car in which Tony Pedregon won the 2003 championship. He had distinguished himself as one of the brightest young stars on the circuit, winning six times in his first three seasons and never finishing outside the top-five in driver points.
A graduate of Oakdale (Calif.) High School, where he was a high school rodeo champion in calf roping, Medlen trained under the watchful eye of two-time PRCA World Champion Jerold Camarillo and had contemplated a career in pro rodeo before his father called in 1996 to offer him a mechanic's job at John Force Racing, Inc.
After spending one season on the team on which his father was crew chief, he moved over one pit stall in 1997 to work on the car driven by 14-time NHRA champion John Force. Serving first as the supercharger technician and later as a clutch specialist, he was a member of a team the crewed Force to 50 tour victories and six championships in seven seasons.
When Tony Pedregon left after the 2003 season to form his own team, Medlen was Force's surprise pick to fill the seat, a move that re-united him with his father on the No. 2 team at JFR.
He was the sport's top Funny Car rookie in 2004, winning at Brainerd, Minn. He won three races in 2005 and two in 2006 including the race contested closest to his hometown -- the Fram/Autolite Nationals at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif.
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
Eric T
|
|
« Reply #1 on: March 23, 2007, 06:23:23 pm » |
|
WOW, SORRY TO HEAR
RIP ERIC..
Condolences to the JFR Family
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
AJ SIMS HEADS
KCR
7.01@98 1/8
11.39@114 1/4
|
|
|
|
bk63rag
|
|
« Reply #2 on: March 23, 2007, 06:41:46 pm » |
|
Bummer  Brian |
|
|
|
« Last Edit: March 23, 2007, 06:43:44 pm by bk63rag »
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
jersey joe
|
|
« Reply #3 on: March 23, 2007, 07:15:47 pm » |
|
Godspeed Eric.
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
PILL IT TO KILL IT !!
|
|
|
|
Mitch Pullen
|
|
« Reply #4 on: March 23, 2007, 07:29:31 pm » |
|
watching ESPN2.....just heard.......J.Force will be devistated......all those guys are like family to John Force...GODSPEED...ERIC.....R.I.P.
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
Hold The Line Racing...(TOTO 1978)
|
|
|
|
sickbug
|
|
« Reply #5 on: March 23, 2007, 07:34:45 pm » |
|
My condolences to the family.  |
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
my62ragtop
|
|
« Reply #6 on: March 23, 2007, 07:52:34 pm » |
|
Not much you can say. You gotta feel so bad for Eric's family to be taken away from them at such a young age. I turn 33 next week, the same age as Eric and it sure makes you sit back and think about how fragile life can be and nobody is guarenteed tomorrow. RIP ERIC!
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
Jason Culley
PRA Director of Media Relations
|
|
|
mohonker
Junior
 Offline
Posts: 114
|
|
« Reply #7 on: March 23, 2007, 07:58:00 pm » |
|
Rest in Peace Eric and my sympathies to the Medlen and Force Racing families.
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
Ron Campbell
|
|
|
|
BadDogRacing
|
|
« Reply #8 on: March 23, 2007, 08:06:10 pm » |
|
Rest peacefully Eric.
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
David Ward
|
|
« Reply #9 on: March 23, 2007, 08:14:13 pm » |
|
Whether you are a Medlen fan or not, this is a blow to the sport. RIP.
I wonder if with the impact JFR has on the sport that Medlen's passing will lead to safer tracks with perhaps soft walls. Sometimes it takes a big loss for folks to get serious and change. Earnhardt's passing led to head restraints and soft walls in NASCAR. Hopefully Medlen's passing will lead people to make drag racing safer too.
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
Cornpanzers
62 Beetle
63 Single Cab
73 Thing
|
|
|
|
JCquick
|
|
« Reply #10 on: March 23, 2007, 08:16:22 pm » |
|
man I just saw it on the ticker thats ashame RIP Eric God speed
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
silverbugget
|
|
« Reply #11 on: March 23, 2007, 09:01:28 pm » |
|
That is terrible news.
At least he went doing what he loved.
RIP Eric.
Condolences to the Medlen family and the JFR racing family.
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
TRM
|
|
« Reply #12 on: March 23, 2007, 11:03:15 pm » |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
First Round runnerup!
..trm
|
|
|
|
Marty
|
|
« Reply #13 on: March 26, 2007, 04:07:18 pm » |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
Marty
staggsracing.com
m-specmotorsports.com
|
|
|
|
my62ragtop
|
|
« Reply #14 on: March 26, 2007, 05:14:46 pm » |
|
Probably one of the best ones I have seen.
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
Jason Culley
PRA Director of Media Relations
|
|
|
|
Austin Larsen
|
|
« Reply #15 on: March 27, 2007, 01:26:01 am » |
|
so im watching fox news and some celebrity racing at irwindale speedway in his enzo ferari hits a wall at like 50 and just walks away from the car unscaved earning him headline news. however eric hits the wall at over 300 and loses his life and doesnt even get mentioned how F-ED is that
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
MyTurboManx
|
|
« Reply #16 on: March 27, 2007, 01:38:58 am » |
|
A sad day for the entire Medlen family....
Godspeed...
|
|
|
|
« Last Edit: March 27, 2007, 02:23:03 am by MyTurboManx »
|
Logged
|
Vw Paradise
Costello Racing.net
Dave@Proformance
|
|
|
|
Kathy Lachance Post
|
|
« Reply #17 on: March 27, 2007, 01:49:45 am » |
|
The tribute was well done, but so sad to watch!
|
|
|
|
« Last Edit: March 27, 2007, 01:52:50 am by Kathy Lachance »
|
Logged
|
I like your approach...let's see your departure!
|
|
|
|
MyTurboManx
|
|
« Reply #18 on: March 27, 2007, 02:24:24 am » |
|
very well said Kathy.....  |
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
Vw Paradise
Costello Racing.net
Dave@Proformance
|
|
|
|
flatfour64
|
|
« Reply #19 on: March 27, 2007, 01:02:01 pm » |
|
God bless his family that is left behind, and all those who he worked so closely with, and my God have mercy on his soul. Thanks for the post and the clip, I'll say a prayer.
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
64 T1 1915 na
13.79 @ 97.7 mph
Family cruiser
|
|
|
|
scott dees
|
|
« Reply #20 on: March 27, 2007, 04:45:52 pm » |
|
yea i was out of town in vegas for the wekend and bought a paper so i could read about it and nothing- friday- sat or sunday  Not even a one or two liner in the sports section. I never write to newspapers but this prompted a response. Why is it that drag racing gets zip for coverage? |
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
Hippies smell.
|
|
|
|
werksberg
|
|
« Reply #21 on: March 28, 2007, 01:23:41 am » |
|
On tonight's Driving Force was stated " This year is for Eric Medlen" .....  |
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
SOS: Support Our Shops....with this bad economy!
|
|
|
|
Austin Larsen
|
|
« Reply #22 on: March 28, 2007, 09:09:41 pm » |
|
On tonight's Driving Force was stated " This year is for Eric Medlen" ..... I saw that too i wonder if any of it will be on the show |
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
David Ward
|
|
« Reply #23 on: March 28, 2007, 11:14:13 pm » |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
Cornpanzers
62 Beetle
63 Single Cab
73 Thing
|
|
|
|
gangforward
|
|
« Reply #24 on: March 28, 2007, 11:31:34 pm » |
|
Eric was a personal friend of mine - we both grew up the cowboy way - I used to tease him about being a California Cowboy - and that real cowboys weren't from Hollywood. I've been numb since this happened - the video finally brought it home. My buddy has passed on - and all I could think about was the candy still on his pillow at the hotel.
I'm glad to see John Force and his sponsors are skipping the Houston event - and starting the focus on what happened, and hopefully now the proper focus will be brought to bear on this exploding tire issue. We've lost two in part to tires - Darrell Russell and Eric.
Good Speed Buddy - say hi to Darrell for all of us.
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
