With quotes like that, it’s easy to compare Medlen’s rapid-fire wit and wisdom to that of his boss and teammate John Force. His Force-like stream of consciousness interviews and one-liners are quickly becoming legendary among fans and media alike.  

And it’s this reputation that has reporters making sure they have two 60-minute blank tapes and a package of new alkaline batteries for their cassette recorder when interviewing him.  

You could say that Eric Medlen is the son John Force never had.  

Excellent mentors bring success 

But this year Medlen has made more of an impression with his driving than his cowboy drawl. Building on a strong 2004 rookie season in which he won a race and finished fifth in points, in 2005 Medlen has three victories, has been as high in the standings as fourth, and has a legitimate shot at the POWERade championship.  

He credits Force for creating an atmosphere that’s conducive to winning.  

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"Everyone talks about driving for John Force racing and they say, ‘Man, isn’t that a lot of pressure?’ " Medlen said. "Well, it’s, but you don’t really feel it because Force takes the pressure off of you. He says, ‘Listen, you can crash five cars in a row, and the sixth car, I’m going to give you another one. So it doesn’t matter if you win, lose, draw, crash or catch on fire. I’m going to support you because I’m the one that is supposed to motivate you, not tear you down.’" 

The success Medlen has enjoyed in his first two seasons driving for Force is also largely due to his father, John Medlen. John, who was the crew chief for Tony Pedregon’s 2003 Funny Car championship team, has earned the respect and admiration of those working with him.  

Bernie Fedderly, the co-crew chief on Force’s car, says that John’s role as an innovative crew chief in drag racing is largely unknown. 

"Few people will ever know of the many engineering contributions that John Medlen has made to drag racing," Fedderly said. "He’s the real ‘mad scientist’ in our group. I don’t think there’s anything he can’t build."  

The elder Medlen — minus a white lab coat and a tesla coil — has already proven he can build a championship team. All he has to do is repeat the "experiment." 

Attempting to build from his freshman year as a driver, the younger Medlen has taken the lessons learned and carried them over into this season. While he admits that he’s still trying to learn about the nuances of his job, he often quotes a drag racing veteran to help put things into proper perspective.  

"I’m just trying to learn how to race," Medlen said. "Like Dick La Haie says, ‘A lot of guys are great race car drivers, but there are very few great racers.’ Force knows better than anyone out there how to dig himself out of a hole and get himself to the top. He knows what it takes to get himself ready mentally, physically, emotionally, and that’s what makes him a champion. That’s what I’m learning right now." 

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Learning a continuous process 

Although Medlen has been around racing for most of his life and worked as a mechanic on Force’s racing team for eight years before being chosen to drive the Castrol Syntec Funny Car, he admitted that all his experience couldn’t prepare him for his new undertaking.  

"I don’t care who you are, how much you’ve been around it [drag racing], how close you’ve been to it, and how much you’ve been involved, until you are one of the guys thrown into the fire, you don’t have a clue what it’s like," Medlen said. "I’m sure Robert (Hight) will tell you the same thing. We‘ve been around John, Tony, Gary (Densham), Austin (Coil) and Bernie, and all this experience, and you think, ‘I know what is going on. I’ll be fine.’ But you just don’t know. The first year was a learning year. But like John says, ‘The first five years are learning years.’ "

Medlen said he quickly realized that 2005 was going to be another learning year for him and his team. Encouraged by a strong points finish in 2004, he had realistic expectations for a championship year. But when the team didn’t win for the first half of the season, thoughts turned from winning a championship to just winning a race.

So why did Medlen and his team struggle early in the season?

"Last year, we had a real good season with a combination that was real friendly," Medlen said. "My dad was extremely comfortable with it. [However], the fact of the matter was that the thing probably wasn't ever going to run much better than 4.70 — and that's with its tongue hanging out. 

"At the same time, John's car and Robert's car were running mid-4.60s without hurting a thing. The reality was that we had to [make a] change or get left behind.

"We probably could have run the old combo this year and it would have been fine at a lot of tracks. But at others, especially the better ones, like Indy, it wouldn't have been fine. So we changed and, as it turned out, it was just a steep learning curve." 

Pinpointing the turnaround 

Medlen said he doesn’t remember when or where the team started to turn things around. He just remembers the feeling. 

"It was right around the middle of the season," Medlen said. "I can’t quite remember exactly when, but I remember getting out of the car and telling them, ‘I don’t what you guys have done, but this is a different race car. It feels like a Swiss watch.’ It didn’t really run any better -- it just felt better. In drag racing, fine-tuning is what it’s all about. It’s the guys that go that extra mile that are the ones that come out on top regularly. It sounds funny, but the car knows when you are thinking about it. It’s kind of like a woman: when you are paying attention to it, it responds."  

Without the benefit of tarot cards or an astrological forecast, Medlen’s hunch was surprisingly accurate. Soon after his premonition, the team won its first race at Seattle and then proceeded to win the next two out of three events, at Brainerd and Memphis.  

As with most things in life, however, they seldom just happen on their own. 

Speaking like a former crew member, Medlen said it was the work of his crew and teammates — and not the alignment of Earth and Mars — that is responsible for his midseason resurgence.  

"The biggest thing was that the tune-up started to come around," Medlen said. "My dad and the crew all worked together to get the tune up where we wanted it. And where a lot of that came from was Jimmy Prock’s [Robert Hight’s] car. That’s the big thing about having a three-car team is that you have the opportunity to do that. That’s where we have an advantage.  We can try a lot of different things because we have three cars — or four cars with Ashley — and we can try a lot of things. The crew guys, their hours, and their workload and dedication go unnoticed quite a bit, and I always like to bring that up because I’ve been there. The first thing is it’s hard to get good guys, but the hardest thing is to keep good guys. That’s what builds a championship team." 

But Medlen is careful not to flatter the crew for performing routine tasks, saying, "You can’t compliment them when they are just doing their job, because then it’s like sending your wife flowers every single day." 

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Family atmosphere at Force Racing 

Initially following in his father’s footsteps as a crew member and then following in the footsteps of John Force, Medlen says that one of the greatest rewards of his job is simply being able to work side-by-side with his father.  

"It has been unbelievable," Medlen said. "It’s an old cliché, but I’m telling you that he’s been my hero in life. The coolest thing is when you go up there to stage and he’s the last guy you see. He looks right in your eyes, and he gives the dashboard a couple of pounds with his fist, and he looks at you and has that look like, ‘Hey, we’re ready. Go get ’em.’ That’s unbelievable."  

The only thing that tops that is when you get out of the car at the other end and the look on his face and his smile. You just have that sense of pride and you think, ‘Man, I did something to make my dad proud.’ It’s like those MasterCard commercials: ‘Priceless.’ "  

Another "priceless" moment for Medlen would be seeing his father’s smile if they were to win the 2005 Funny Car championship. But the sophomore racer is keenly aware that playing it safe in order to win a championship will get you neither.  

"You can’t win a championship by saying ‘Okay, if we just go to the semi-finals every round, we will have it,’" Medlen said. "I’m not going there just to go to the semi-finals; I’m going there to win the race. 

"I don’t want to be at the hot dog stand during the finals . . . the hot dogs aren’t that great. I want to be in the car."  

Whether Medlen knows it, his rookie season in 2004 laid the ground work for the future of John Force Racing. When Tony Pedregon left the team at the end of 2003, Force found himself in the unenviable position of trying to find a new driver for his championship team. With pressure from sponsors and a large list to choose from, Force decided that promoting from within would be the best for all concerned.

"You look around, there aren’t any places to get experience, but everybody wants [to hire] experience," Force said. "We got resumes from everybody and the sponsors really wanted a name driver, but I thought it was worth taking a chance and giving a kid a shot. It was the first time I thought about the next generation, which is what we’re trying to build right now with Eric, Robert [Hight], Ashley and my two younger girls, Brittany and Courtney.  

"If Eric hadn’t succeeded [in 2004], Robert never would have had a chance and who knows what would have happened? Eric’s proved this year that he’s a driver and a talker. They say he talks more than me." 

Coming from someone who lists "storytelling" his only hobby, that’s saying a lot. 

Looking back, Force shouldn’t have been surprised that the former high school rodeo champ is comfortable around a stable of Mustangs. Whether reins or a steering wheel, Eric Medlen has proven that he is equally adept at both rodeo and racing. And much to the surprise of many — including his boss — he has shown that his gift for gab is no less proficient. 

When asked if he sees himself driving a Funny Car for as long as Force, Medlen replies emphatically, "I hope so; it’s a great lifestyle."