Post by swamprat on Apr 9, 2015 8:40:26 GMT -6
CompetitionPlus
MEDLEN FACES THE CONFIRMATIONS OF LIFE AFTER DEATH
by Bobby Bennett
Member of the drag racing community clearly believes there is life after death.
John Medlen says he has experienced four confirmations in the last two years which prove what he has always believed in his heart. The crew chief for Don Schumacher Racing believes his son Eric is still alive in the afterlife and very much active in ensuring lives are saved through drag racing.
Medlen understands he there will be skeptics who downplay his beliefs as being a grieving father wanting some kind of connection with his deceased son.
His response is simple, “It doesn’t matter what others believe because it is real to me. If some see it as being crazy, goofy or grieving father, then so be it. I believe without a shadow of a doubt (Eric) is alive and well. You’d have to live the life, and walk in my shoes to understand the things which are viewed as unexplainable.”
Medlen’s first three confirmations have come from three different individuals, all with limited to no drag racing ties, who experienced life after death. These individuals all held pertinent information, Medlen says, to his son’s March 2007 accident which left Eric in a vegetative state before he passed away days later.
“There’s only a few of us who have looked at that data,” confirmed Medlen. “Myself, Austin Coil and Bernie [Federly] and that’s about it. We studied the car, the tire and know exactly what happened. Probably no one else on this earth really does. The things that these people have said, including the latest one, lined up exactly. They could not have known. And, if they guessed it, I’d like to get the lottery numbers from them.”
Medlen said the messages from the other side didn’t open old wounds.
“It wasn’t tough to hear, it was enlightening,” Medlen said.
The latest message, Medlen stated, came from a gentleman who died three times following an accident in the same lane as Eric’s accident.
Enter Thomas Stenftenagel, a fast bracket dragster racer, severely wounded in an accident on July 18, 2007 in the right lane during a test and tune at Gainesville Raceway.
Stenftenagel died three times in the weeks, for up to 30 total minutes, following his accident. He believes he was sent back to deliver a message from the afterlife.
Stenftenagel said it took six years for his mission to be accomplished.
“It was important for me to get to [Medlen],” Stenftenagel said.
Despite his lengthy medical incapacitation, Stenftenagel remembers in great detail the day his life’s mission became evident. No matter how many times he tells the story, his account of the details never waver.
On his fateful day, Stenftenagel was testing his new dragster in preparation for racing an NHRA divisional event in Indianapolis. This was his third run in the new car when he said the car before him oiled the track and delayed the run.
Stenftenagel believes leftover oil in the shutdown area sent him sideways, forcing the visor on his helmet to rip off from the force of the wind. He then lost control of the race car and made contact with the retaining wall, after flipping violently. The wrecked dragster came to a halt alongside the wall with a dazed Stenftenagel trapped inside. A broken fuel line sprayed racing gasoline inside the dragster, engulfing the vehicle in flames.
A first responder was also burned trying to extract Stenftenagel
Stenftenagel said his firesuit was reduced to ash, and the leaking fuel got inside adding to his injuries. He was extracted once the fire was extinguished.
Free from the vehicle the fire reignited once paramedics began to cut his fire suit open.
His injuries were severe, with third degree burns over 37 percent of his body. Because his helmet was open, Stenftenagel’s nose was burned completely off and he inhaled fire through his mouth paralyzing his vocal chords. His eyelids were burned off, leaving his eyeballs exposed.
Stenftenagel said his first death experience happened as paramedics worked to save his life.
“I didn’t know I had the accident,” Stenftenagel said. “It was as if I had continued driving my car and exited the track to the right, at the very end. The car shut off and I waited for my pit crew, and I waited and waited, and they never showed up. I finally got tired of waiting, so I took my helmet off and put it down in my seat. I walked back toward the staging lanes.”
Stenftenagel said he saw his race trailer, empty with the lights on but no one around. He also recalled seeing only one other team in the pits, an eighteen-wheeler hauling a much larger race operation.
“The lights were on at the track but no one was around,” Stenftenagel explained. “I went back to the starting line and I was standing there and I didn’t see anybody. All of a sudden, Eric Medlen appeared in the staging lanes. He came out and made a launch[in his Funny car]. He came back and appeared in the staging lanes. Eric asked me, “Did you see that?”
“I responded, ‘See what?”
“The sparks out of the left hand side,” Eric responded.
“I responded, ‘No sir, I did not.'”
Stenftenagel said he watched as Eric got back in the car and launch again. He then said he witnessed Eric’s car hitting the wall.
Stenftenagel then stated Medlen ended up back in the staging lanes again.
“He [Eric] asked me again, ‘Did you see that?” Stenftenagel said.
“See what?” Stenftenagel asked.
“The sparks out of the left-hand side,” Medlen responded.
Stenftenagel said he told Eric once again he didn’t see them.
Stenftenagel said Eric then removed the escape hatch on his Funny Car, and set it to the side.
It was at this point Stenftenagel recalled in his vision he was hovering above Medlen’s car.
“Next thing I know, I am in the car with him as he made the launch. I saw the sparks, like a one-inch pipe against a grinding wheel at the shop. Sparks went everywhere.”
Stenftenagel then remembers the two of them were both transported back to the starting line. In his vision, once again, Eric asked him if he saw it, and again responded, “See what?”
Eric once again said, “The sparks.”
Stenftenagel then told Medlen he had seen the sparks.
Medlen replied, “You have to go back and tell them.”
Stenftenagel said he pleaded, “Tell them what?”
READ MORE: www.competitionplus.com/drag-racing/news/medlen-faces-the-confirmations-of-life-after-death
MEDLEN FACES THE CONFIRMATIONS OF LIFE AFTER DEATH
by Bobby Bennett
Member of the drag racing community clearly believes there is life after death.
John Medlen says he has experienced four confirmations in the last two years which prove what he has always believed in his heart. The crew chief for Don Schumacher Racing believes his son Eric is still alive in the afterlife and very much active in ensuring lives are saved through drag racing.
Medlen understands he there will be skeptics who downplay his beliefs as being a grieving father wanting some kind of connection with his deceased son.
His response is simple, “It doesn’t matter what others believe because it is real to me. If some see it as being crazy, goofy or grieving father, then so be it. I believe without a shadow of a doubt (Eric) is alive and well. You’d have to live the life, and walk in my shoes to understand the things which are viewed as unexplainable.”
Medlen’s first three confirmations have come from three different individuals, all with limited to no drag racing ties, who experienced life after death. These individuals all held pertinent information, Medlen says, to his son’s March 2007 accident which left Eric in a vegetative state before he passed away days later.
“There’s only a few of us who have looked at that data,” confirmed Medlen. “Myself, Austin Coil and Bernie [Federly] and that’s about it. We studied the car, the tire and know exactly what happened. Probably no one else on this earth really does. The things that these people have said, including the latest one, lined up exactly. They could not have known. And, if they guessed it, I’d like to get the lottery numbers from them.”
Medlen said the messages from the other side didn’t open old wounds.
“It wasn’t tough to hear, it was enlightening,” Medlen said.
The latest message, Medlen stated, came from a gentleman who died three times following an accident in the same lane as Eric’s accident.
Enter Thomas Stenftenagel, a fast bracket dragster racer, severely wounded in an accident on July 18, 2007 in the right lane during a test and tune at Gainesville Raceway.
Stenftenagel died three times in the weeks, for up to 30 total minutes, following his accident. He believes he was sent back to deliver a message from the afterlife.
Stenftenagel said it took six years for his mission to be accomplished.
“It was important for me to get to [Medlen],” Stenftenagel said.
Despite his lengthy medical incapacitation, Stenftenagel remembers in great detail the day his life’s mission became evident. No matter how many times he tells the story, his account of the details never waver.
On his fateful day, Stenftenagel was testing his new dragster in preparation for racing an NHRA divisional event in Indianapolis. This was his third run in the new car when he said the car before him oiled the track and delayed the run.
Stenftenagel believes leftover oil in the shutdown area sent him sideways, forcing the visor on his helmet to rip off from the force of the wind. He then lost control of the race car and made contact with the retaining wall, after flipping violently. The wrecked dragster came to a halt alongside the wall with a dazed Stenftenagel trapped inside. A broken fuel line sprayed racing gasoline inside the dragster, engulfing the vehicle in flames.
A first responder was also burned trying to extract Stenftenagel
Stenftenagel said his firesuit was reduced to ash, and the leaking fuel got inside adding to his injuries. He was extracted once the fire was extinguished.
Free from the vehicle the fire reignited once paramedics began to cut his fire suit open.
His injuries were severe, with third degree burns over 37 percent of his body. Because his helmet was open, Stenftenagel’s nose was burned completely off and he inhaled fire through his mouth paralyzing his vocal chords. His eyelids were burned off, leaving his eyeballs exposed.
Stenftenagel said his first death experience happened as paramedics worked to save his life.
“I didn’t know I had the accident,” Stenftenagel said. “It was as if I had continued driving my car and exited the track to the right, at the very end. The car shut off and I waited for my pit crew, and I waited and waited, and they never showed up. I finally got tired of waiting, so I took my helmet off and put it down in my seat. I walked back toward the staging lanes.”
Stenftenagel said he saw his race trailer, empty with the lights on but no one around. He also recalled seeing only one other team in the pits, an eighteen-wheeler hauling a much larger race operation.
“The lights were on at the track but no one was around,” Stenftenagel explained. “I went back to the starting line and I was standing there and I didn’t see anybody. All of a sudden, Eric Medlen appeared in the staging lanes. He came out and made a launch[in his Funny car]. He came back and appeared in the staging lanes. Eric asked me, “Did you see that?”
“I responded, ‘See what?”
“The sparks out of the left hand side,” Eric responded.
“I responded, ‘No sir, I did not.'”
Stenftenagel said he watched as Eric got back in the car and launch again. He then said he witnessed Eric’s car hitting the wall.
Stenftenagel then stated Medlen ended up back in the staging lanes again.
“He [Eric] asked me again, ‘Did you see that?” Stenftenagel said.
“See what?” Stenftenagel asked.
“The sparks out of the left-hand side,” Medlen responded.
Stenftenagel said he told Eric once again he didn’t see them.
Stenftenagel said Eric then removed the escape hatch on his Funny Car, and set it to the side.
It was at this point Stenftenagel recalled in his vision he was hovering above Medlen’s car.
“Next thing I know, I am in the car with him as he made the launch. I saw the sparks, like a one-inch pipe against a grinding wheel at the shop. Sparks went everywhere.”
Stenftenagel then remembers the two of them were both transported back to the starting line. In his vision, once again, Eric asked him if he saw it, and again responded, “See what?”
Eric once again said, “The sparks.”
Stenftenagel then told Medlen he had seen the sparks.
Medlen replied, “You have to go back and tell them.”
Stenftenagel said he pleaded, “Tell them what?”
READ MORE: www.competitionplus.com/drag-racing/news/medlen-faces-the-confirmations-of-life-after-death