Eric Medlen dies after test crash.(Competition)

John Force Racing NHRA Funny Car driver Eric Medlen, 33, died March 23 following four days of treatment for a severe head injury suffered March 19 in a testing accident in Gainesville, Florida.

Medlen made a test pass at Gainesville Raceway the day after the 38th AC Delco Gatornationals, when he lost control of his Ford Mustang and crashed into a concrete retaining wall. He was unconscious when rescuers removed him from his demolished car; he was airlifted to Shands Hospital at the University of Florida Medical Center, where he was listed in critical condition with a closed head injury and a broken leg.

Doctors put Medlen into a medically induced coma, expected to last two weeks, to help reduce brain swelling and promote healing. On March 21, surgeons performed a three-hour craniotomy to reduce the danger of cerebral pressure caused by the head trauma. Doctors continued to monitor Medlen's injuries until March 23, when the popular driver was pronounced dead after his family asked doctors to remove life-support systems in accordance with his wishes for such a situation.

John Medlen, Eric's father, served as his son's crew chief from the time the former rodeo calf roper took the wheel of the Funny Car owned by 14-time Funny Car champion John ...