INDIANAPOLIS (March 9, 2022) – Lucas Oil Products, Inc., today announced the 14th Annual Lucas Oil Eric Medlen Memorial Golf Tournament is scheduled for Thursday, September 1, 2022. The annual golf tournament honors the late NHRA Funny Car driver Eric Medlen and takes place at Eagle Creek Golf Course and all funds raised from the charity event are donated to Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital (PMCH) at Ascension St. Vincent.
“It is our honor and pleasure to carry forward Eric’s legacy in partnership with the many wonderful organizations and individuals who join us year after year for the Annual Eric Medlen Memorial Golf Tournament,” said Katie Lucas, vice president of strategy and philanthropy at Lucas Oil. “Every year we have been overwhelmed by the support and generosity of our incredible golfers, sponsors and corporate partners. We are proud of this event’s past contributions to Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital (PMCH) and are delighted knowing that this event is both a celebration of Eric’s life, and an opportunity to support a fantastic cause in his memory.”
Eric Medlen was a talented, charismatic and aspiring young Funny Car driver when his life was tragically cut short at 33 due to fatal injuries suffered from a crash during testing. More than just a race car driver, Medlen possessed various talents. He was a champion calf roper with the goal of going pro when he was in high school. Medlen was also an accomplished designer and painter and had a passion for building custom motorcycles when he wasn’t racing. But, above all, Medlen was a genuinely kind human being. The type of person to take time out of their day just to make someone smile, whether it’s at the office or the race track.
Before his driving career, Medlen was a race mechanic for John Force Racing for eight years until getting the call to replace a former teammate. Medlen captured his first win during his rookie season and collected six wins throughout his career. Entering the 2007 race season, Medlen had never finished outside the top-5 in the championship points and had just matched a career-best fourth-place finish in POWERade standings.
Medlen’s death was the first NHRA fatality since 2004 and served as a catalyst for change that led his team John Force Racing to develop the “Eric Medlen Chassis,” the first significant redesign of the Funny Car in 30 years. Missed by fans and those close to him, Medlen’s legacy lives on today through Sonoma Raceway’s ice cream social, the NHRA’s new safety requirement calling for padded roll bars, John Force Racing’s “Eric Medlen Chassis,” the Lucas Oil charity golf tournament and race fans across the globe.
“Every year this event serves as a reminder of the incredible and lasting positive impact one individual can have on others and, for those of us who knew Eric well, an opportunity to reflect on the example he set for all of us,” said Morgan Lucas, president of Lucas Oil. “We look forward to gathering this September with friends, new and old, at this year’s event to honor Eric’s name and memory.”
The tournament is widely regarded and supported by patrons committed to honoring Eric by helping local children throughout Indiana. Thanks to generous golfers and corporate sponsors like Kalitta, Lubrizol and Webster West, who have been patrons of the tournament since 2011, the memorial event has donated over $850,000 to Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital (PMCH) and continues to grow.
Reservations are scheduled to close on August 28. For golf and sponsorship information, please visit www.EricMedlenMemorial.com or contact Brittany Linville at blinville@lucasoil.com or 317-858-1333.
