When the NAPA Auto Parts Dodge Funny Car driven by Ron Capps goes testing at the Palm Beach International Raceway’s inaugural Pro Winter Warm-up Feb.

1-5, John Medlen will be the crew chief; the same Medlen, who team owner Don Schumacher reassigned from his position as the NAPA car crew chief shortly after the NHRA Finals in Pomona, Calif., Nov. 14.

“That’s how it stands right now that I will be the crew chief of the NAPA car at the Palm Beach test,” said Medlen in an interview Friday evening.

Medlen said Schumacher re-assigned him as the crew chief of the NAPA car around the last week of November.

When the NAPA Auto Parts Dodge Funny Car driven by Ron Capps goes testing at the Palm Beach International Raceway’s inaugural Pro Winter Warm-up Feb.

1-5, John Medlen will be the crew chief; the same Medlen, who team owner Don Schumacher reassigned from his position as the NAPA car crew chief shortly after the NHRA Finals in Pomona, Calif., Nov. 14.

“That’s how it stands right now that I will be the crew chief of the NAPA car at the Palm Beach test,” said Medlen in an interview Friday evening.

Medlen said Schumacher re-assigned him as the crew chief of the NAPA car around the last week of November.

“I’m hoping to stay on as the crew chief of the NAPA car for the rest of the year, and I have no indication right now that will change,” Medlen said. “I communicate with Don (Schumacher) almost on a daily basis, and Don has always been straightforward with me, and I have no indication that I will not be the crew chief (of the NAPA car).”

Schumacher removed Ed “Ace” McCulloch as the crew chief of the NAPA Funny Car last season on June 21, and replaced him with Medlen.

Schumacher’s change to Medlen came after Capps lost in the first round at three races in a row - Chicago, Englishtown, N.J., and Bristol, Tenn.

Capps was seventh in the point standings when Medlen became crew chief and Capps finished seventh. Medlen did wrench Capps to his lone win of the season at Sonoma in July.

Medlen said Schumacher reassigned him after the NHRA Finals and put him in a position to finish machine shop projects at DSR.

“My focus was on helping finish the in-house projects we had going on with cylinder heads and connecting rods,” Medlen said. “I’m still working in the machine shop, but those projects have progressed along and that gave me more time to focus on the NAPA car.”

Medlen says he has been taking inventory of the NAPA Funny Car and its crew for the last several weeks.

“Last year when I joined the NAPA team, I didn’t have time to disassemble the car and look at all of its components and I also didn’t have time to talk to the crew members,” Medlen said. “I have spent the last six weeks meeting 1-on-1 with every crew member on the NAPA team. We have the same crew as we did last year and they are an outstanding crew. I feel we’re a lot further along as a crew right now than we were when I joined the team last year.”

Medlen spent 15 years at John Force Racing before joining DSR in mid-March to serve as co-crew chief with Tommy Delago on the Diehard Funny Car driven by Matt Hagan. Medlen was the crew chief for former JFR driver Tony Pedregon when he won the 2003 world championship.

Following the test at Palm Beach, Medlen says the NAPA car doesn’t have any other test sessions planned.

“If things go well or reasonably well, that probably will be all the testing we will do until we get to Pomona,” Medlen said.

The NHRA season opens Feb. 24-27 at the Winternationals in Pomona.

 

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