ProTree Posted March 20, 2007 Report Share Posted March 20, 2007 Eric Medlen,Funny Car driver for John Force Racing was put in an induced coma at Shands Memorial Hospital according to reports this morning after an horrific crash during testing at Gaineville Raceway in Florida Monday.Updates to be given later today.Thoughts and Prayers go out to the Medlen Family and JFR. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rebelracewriter Posted March 20, 2007 Report Share Posted March 20, 2007 link to NHRA site This was all I could find on it at this time. Bum deal, good kid! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProTree Posted March 20, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2007 Rebel,Update 3/20 at 12:09pm EST-According to Medlen's dad,John,Doctors are continuing to work to reduce pressure and swelling from what has been characterized as a severe closed head injury. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krusty_rusty Posted March 21, 2007 Report Share Posted March 21, 2007 everyone's prayers are with him and his family at this time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
REBELRACER Posted March 21, 2007 Report Share Posted March 21, 2007 taken from johnforceracing.com GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Injured NHRA Funny Car driver Eric Medlen survived a delicate, three-hour craniotomy procedure to relive pressure and hemorrhaging Tuesday evening but remained in critical condition Wednesday at Shands at the University of Florida medical center. Over the next two weeks, the 33-year-old will remain in a drug-induced coma designed to promote healing. “We consider ourselves fortunate that Eric is in one of the top hospitals in the world for this type of injury and is getting absolutely the best treatment possible,” said John Medlen, Eric’s father and crew chief. “We want to thank Eric’s friends, fans, sponsors and the entire NHRA drag racing community for their support in this very difficult time for our family,” he said. “We would ask that they continue to remember Eric in their prayers. He’s a fighter, but he has a long battle ahead of him.” The elder Medlen also asked, for Eric’s sake and the sake of the family, that fans refrain from speculation, especially on the internet, where erroneous information already has been a source of considerable anguish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh42 Posted March 21, 2007 Report Share Posted March 21, 2007 Awesome driver to me hes like a mini Force the way he acts and talks. An he used to be a bullrider before he became a crew guy, then a a driver. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tqj3 Posted March 21, 2007 Report Share Posted March 21, 2007 He's a fighter, and it sounds as if they are doing everything they can. Angels on the way... Get well soon, buddy. At a time like this, motorsports is all one family... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwracingmom Posted March 21, 2007 Report Share Posted March 21, 2007 You are in our prayers. May God Bless and take care of Eric. Prayer is a wonderful power. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh42 Posted March 22, 2007 Report Share Posted March 22, 2007 While medical personnel at Shands at the University of Florida medical center continue to monitor the progress of injured Funny Car driver Eric Medlen, team sponsor BP/Castrol announced Thursday the creation of a special e-mail address at which well-wishers can leave messages of encouragement for the 33-year-old drag racer. Medlen, injured last Monday in a testing accident at Gainesville Raceway, still was in critical condition Thursday after enduring a delicate craniotomy procedure on Tuesday. For at least two more weeks, he will remain in a drug-induced coma designed to promote healing. Castrol Syntec, Medlen's primary sponsor in his first three seasons on the NHRA POWERade tour, has announced that it will print and assemble all messages left at the e-mail address getwelleric@castrol.com and present them later to the driver and his family. Castrol also will make available at NHRA national events and at the upcoming Mid-America Trucking Show (Louisville, Ky.) posters bearing a likeness of the popular driver on which fans can print personal messages. Those posters also will be presented to the Medlen family according to Lori Anne Gola, assistant sponsorship manager for Castrol. “There are so many people who care about Eric,” Gola said, “and we wanted to find a tangible way to show him all of that love and support. We thought that, through this e-mail address, we could capture the prayers, kind thoughts, and well-wishes of all those who empathize with Eric and his family.” courtesy of NHRA.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie Posted March 22, 2007 Report Share Posted March 22, 2007 Tried to link to the e-mail address, but it wouldn't for some reason... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh42 Posted March 22, 2007 Report Share Posted March 22, 2007 oh sorry i just copied the stpry from nhra.com if you go there they have a link on this story that works. Im tryin to fill in for pops today since he is down at San Antonio Raceway doin parking for the Nationals this weekend. He'll be on the line most of this weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarge Posted March 23, 2007 Report Share Posted March 23, 2007 I just got a call from J. M. Hallas, who is at San Antonio Raceway for the IHRA Texas Nationals, and has no internet access, so he asked me to post this. He said that it has been announced at the the track that Eric Medlan has succumbed to his injuries and passed away. May the Lord be with the Medlan family, his friends and fans. Rest in Peace. Bill "Sarge" Masom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
REBELRACER Posted March 23, 2007 Report Share Posted March 23, 2007 from johnforceracing.com DRIVER MEDLEN SUCCUMBS TO INJURIES SUFFERED IN TESTING ACCIDENT GAINESVILLE, Fla. – 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 5 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickHolt Posted March 26, 2007 Report Share Posted March 26, 2007 Dan Davis, Director, Ford Racing Technology, issued the following statement regarding the passing of Eric Medlen: "This is really tough to take. We are just heartbroken for Eric's family. He was such a great person and a tremendous competitor. Eric had an energy about him that was totally contagious. He was the type of guy who lit up the room the minute he walked into it. And if you knew him, you couldn't help but root for him because of how he came up through the sport and his absolute commitment to his work. The loss we feel at Ford is indescribable. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family, to John Force Racing, and to his fans. The sport lost one of its best people today." ### Ford Racing Media Contact Kevin Kennedy Contact: Judy Stropus STATEMENT FROM DON SCHUMACHER RACING REGARDING ERIC MEDLEN March 23, 2007 All of us at Don Schumacher Racing are deeply saddened by the passing of Eric Medlen. Eric was a rival on 23 Sunday afternoons at NHRA races but a great friend to all of us at DSR. We shared many laughs and stories along the way with Eric, his dad John and his teammates. His smile was easy and genuine. He knew he was a lucky guy to drive one of the four John Force Mustang Funny Cars and to have his dad as his crew chief. He respected his responsibilities as a young ambassador for John Force Racing, his sponsors and for NHRA POWERade Drag Racing. Our hearts go out to the Medlen Family, the John Force Racing organization and everyone who knew and loved Eric Medlen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rebelracewriter Posted March 26, 2007 Report Share Posted March 26, 2007 At the Amalie Oil Tx. Nationals, IHRA had a special moment of silence for Medlin and one of their own Funny Car drivers, Vinnie Arcadi, who lost a battle with cancer recently. My thoughts go out to the families of both along with the Cannon's who lost their mother/grandma last week. Sad time in the racing community. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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