NHRA, life & racing must move on.

After the tragedy following the GatorNationals in Gainsville, Fla. which saw Eric Medlin lose his life from injuries sustained during testing after the race, the NHRA circus was back in action for the O'Reilly Spring Nationals in Houston, TX. The 2 weeks between events were a roller coaster of emotions. Eric was injured testing Monday, 3/19/07, from "intense vibrations beyond anything recorded in Funny Car", he was in a coma and underwent brain surgery, but it was to no avail, he passed away on 3/23/07, never having regained consciousness. The entire drag racing world (and much of motorsports in general) was shaken by the loss of such a bright, likable, young star.

John Force racing, who Eric drove for, withdrew from the Houston event in Eric's honor and to give the team time to examine his car and try to understand what went wrong. Throughout the Houston event, there were reminders everywhere of Eric. Most team members wore commemorative shirts and every car and bike ran stickers in his honor. It was obvious in just about everyones voice what an impact Eric made on them and the sport with several drivers on the verge of tears or asking to be interviewed later as emotion got the best of them.

Weather played a big part in the weekend, rain Friday delayed qualifying day 1, and Saturdays qualifying was completely rained out, so Friday's session set the field. Racing was tight, with some great runs down the track. J.R. Todd took Top Fuel with a run of 4.603 @ 313.8 MPH. Ron Capps won his 2nd Funny Car race in a row with 4.868 @ 307.93 MPH, Jaon Line in Pro Stock ran to victory with 6.661 @ 207.75 MPH and Angelle Sampy clinched Pro Stock Bikes with 7.046 @ 188.91 MPH.

After the races were run, there was a feeling of "I'm glad this weekend is over" from everyone involved. There were some awesome, tight races, with cars less than 1/2 a length apart at the line in some classes. Pro Stock bikes must have set a record for the number of red lights, in final eliminations, there were 7 or 8 red lights in a row which led Angelle to be conservative and not try to win off the line!

Life is fragile, and no sport showcases this more than racing. But in the end, it's the sport we love, and we know those who give their life doing it, die doing what they love, and would never want us to stop, they would want us to carry on, and carry on we must. God Speed Eric Medlin.