John Medlen and co-crew chief Dean Antonelli rode each day to Gainesville Raceway last weekend for the Gatornationals.

“John always points out restaurants or somewhere he’d gone with Eric,” Dean said. “He has a lot of memories from there and after 11 years he finally has a good one.”

Every victory is emotional regardless of sport, but some stand above others.

It will be nearly impossible for anything, even a world championship, to reach the level of joy experienced Sunday by John, and throngs of those who continue to love and miss the late Eric Medlen, who died at the track in 2007 when he was 33 years old.

When Jack Beckman drove the Infinite Hero Funny car to the finish line ahead of Don Schumacher Racing teammate Matt Hagan the win light shined for John and Dean like a glowing beam from Heaven.

And it might have been.

The wild starting line celebration at the NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway in Florida concluded another tortuous weekend for Medlen, whose son Eric died four days after his John Force Racing Funny Car crashed in a post-event testing accident on March 19, 2007. 

“When that win light came on it was an emotional explosion in me because I realized the full effect of what happened. We really won the race,” said John, who was his son’s crew chief at JFR.

Dean added, “I was wanting this for John more than anything. Everyone always wants a win, but I kept asking God to get this for John.”

John didn’t need a two-way radio to Eric know at least some of the burden had been lifted.

“When the win light came on, he said, ‘Well Dad, you finally got it. What took so long?"

“The person I shared this life with is no longer on this earth, but his spirit is here. You can feel him, but you can’t touch him or see him.

“What happened Sunday took a 4,000-pound burden off my shoulders.”

Eric’s body left Earth 11 years ago today, and his father has never – and never will – let his spirit leave. Their love is obvious to all who have met them. But returning to Gainesville is the most difficult challenge John encounters each year.

“When we start going rounds I never try to think about the winner’s circle,” John said. “Going into the final I thought maybe luck will come our way.”

While there might have been a sliver of luck somewhere on Sunday, the success of the Infinite Hero Dodge with crew chiefs Antonelli, Medlen, Neal Strausbaugh and a stellar crew had a near perfect weekend.

“Everyone with this car feels Eric’s presence. It’s one heart on this team,” John said.

Beckman, who had never reached a Gatornationals final round or started as the No. 1 qualifier, was the quickest in both of Friday’s qualifying sessions. He capped the day with a best 3.911 (332.18) that held up through Saturday.

As the No. 1 qualifier, the Infinite Hero team could select which pair it wanted to be for Sunday’s first round of eliminations. Dean asked John if would be okay to be the fourth pair out to honor Eric as No. 4 was his last NHRA racecar number.

In the opening rounds, Beckman got past Jim Campbell and Del Worsham with solid 3.934- and 3.973-second runs. In the semifinals, his Dodge dropped a cylinder and slowed to a 4.478 (199.35 mph), but opponent Shawn Langdon was out of contention early after losing traction.

In the final, Beckman rolled as deep into the starting line beams that Medlen said he’d ever seen him go. Then his quicker reaction time (0.051 to 0.061) allowed him to hold on to beat Hagan by about 5 feet at the finishing line with a 4.035 at 323.58 to Hagan’s quicker 4.035 (323.58) to earn the Wally Trophy.

“I’ve been part of teams that won Indy (U.S. Nationals) a couple times and won the Shootout a couple times,” said Antonelli, whose wife Kelly is the marketing director at JFR and part of the organization on the fateful day 11 years ago.

“Those are big wins, but emotionally this was the biggest.

“Kelly and I talked with John (Medlen) a little at dinner Saturday night about a chance for winning. The car had been doing whatever we asked it to do in qualifying. If the weather came around and warmed up we thought we could do something for a happy moment instead of reliving the grief we’ve seen there before.”

Sunday started with cloudy skies and cooler than the previous two days but warmed as the day went on. 

Perhaps, the hopes and prayers of many led a spirit to let the sun begin to shine more brightly.

“It’s fantastic that there’s a degree of fans who kind of live your life with you,” John said. “It’s a tight-knit community out here that shares the celebrations and the grief.

“Gainesville hasn’t been a comfortable place for me since Eric passed away. You dread going there. There aren’t good anniversary dates. You try to put them aside and race.”

Beckman jumped from his car and held four fingers to signify Eric’s No. 4 car number that represented he was fourth in the final 2006 NHRA Mello Yello standings.

Beckman patted Eric’s tribute sticker that carries the No. 4 to represent where his team finished last year.

“It’s so cool,” Beckman said. “A lot goes on in your mind. I wasn’t dwelling on Eric the whole weekend because at times you need total focus on racing. 

“John coming to the Gators brings a lot of baggage, but he’s able to compartmentalize it so he can do the things he needs to do with the car.’

Beckman insisted the Gatornationals trophy went home with John.

On Monday, it rested proudly on his desk and Don Schumacher Racing along with photos of his best friend, Eric.