For so long, John Meden was an indispensable part of the brain trust at John Force Racing. But he left to join Don Schumacher Racing – three times, including twice this past offseason (one stint for just a few days).

It looked at first like a mass exodus as Jimmy Prock and the entire crew went down Northfield Road at Brownsburg, Ind., from Don Schumacher Racing to JFR. That prompted Jack Beckman, the driver of the exiting team, to wisecrack, “I guess I’m not as likeable as I thought I was.” But then Medlen returned to DSR – along with Dean “Guido” Antonelli, the JFR general manager. At one point, the scoreboard looked like a football coach’s Xs and Os and lines arcing everywhere.

But Medlen is settled back in and Antonelli is comfortable in his new situation. Together they are crew chiefs for Beckman, along with Neal Strausbaugh, you was assistant crew chief to Mike Green for the U.S. Army Dragster for the past few years.

And Medlen shared with Competition Plus his reasons for returning to JFR and returning to DSR.  

“I promised Jimmy [Prock] I would go with him. When I got there, the environment just wasn’t what I thought it was going to be. My heart was really here. It was really here with Infinite Hero, Terry Chandler, Don {Schumacher]. Although all the crew left, I just didn’t feel comfortable there,” Medlen said. “You know, it just didn’t quite feel right. I decided to come back.”

He said, “It’s bonding of people. We had a good bond with the crew guys. Jimmy and I and the crew worked together for 15 years. I didn’t really want to leave that. But I just wasn’t comfortable with John’s environment. Here, all the guys – Todd [Okuhara], Phil [Shuler], Mike Green Brian [Corradi], Mark [Oswald], John Collins, Rahn Tobler, Hop [Eric Lane] – just over the short period of time I’ve been here, we’ve really had a nice, tight bond. As a total group of seven or eight cars, the knit of all that fabric with that many guys, there’s more for me here than there.”

He said he looked at the overall picture and didn’t make a personal statement.

“We do this for the drag racing, because we love to race. But we love to race because we want to win. Doing this for years and years and years and years, you realize if your heart isn’t in where you’re at, you don’t do it right. That’s just it. It’s a passion that you have to win. It’s such a passionate thing that if you can’t surround your environment in a comfortable, productive manner, it’s not good for you. It might be good for somebody else, but it’s not good for you,” Medlen said.

“For it to be the most productive, which is how we measure whether you win, it doesn’t matter what th E.T. – it matters whether the win light comes on. Your ability to win is being hindered by something psychological, or an uncomfortable environment, that’s not the way to get it done.”

Force said this weekend, “I love ‘em both.”

Said Medlen, “People are friends. John’s a good friend of mine.  Does it work together in a working relationship as good? Not as good as it could be. Nobody’s to blame. Stuff changes. I still want to race, still want to win.

Referring to Antonelli, Medlen said, “We’ve been through it all [with JFR] –  from way back in the beginning of the [Austin] Coil days – we’re the only ones who are left.”

For Antonelli, the choice represented his desire to be a crew chief again.

“When John started having to find new sponsorship, he wanted me to get more involved in the business, because he trusted me. He knows I treat his money like my money. But I started missing this,” Antonelli said.

“I was still at the races. I was still participating in the cars. But I’m a nut-and-bolt guy, not a pencil-pusher. Don was nice enough to give me an opportunity. It was the toughest decision I’ve made, to leave. But people were really receptive over here and nice. It’s a good environment, so  . . . pretty exciting.”

He had spent his entire pro-level career at JFR, so naturally he has had to make some adjustments, personally and professionally. However, he clearly looks back with fondness on his days at JFR.

“We had a pretty good run with Ashley [Force Hood]. I was a trainer with [crew chief] Ron Douglas, with Courtney [Force], trained her for a year. I did all Ashley’s training, and I did Brittany’s training. Jimmy Prock did a little, too.  I’ve got a lot of investment over there,” Antonelli said.

Joining the JFR ex-pats is Strausbaugh.

“Neal’s a blessing for us,” Antonelli said. “John’s been here a couple of years. But it’s new to me. And I’ve only ever worked at John’s. They make their own parts, just like DSR. I just know John’s parts. Having Neal over here gives me a crash course in learning the parts that are here.”

Those, he said, are decidedly different: “The clutch systems are different. The clutch parts are different. Our cylinder heads are all pretty similar because of the rules. Blowers are relatively similar because of the rules. The chassis are a little bit different. The concepts are a little bit different. The rules pretty much have people handcuffed. You can’t invent some trick widget without NHRA knowing about it. So all the parts are, in concept, the same. It’s just that one part’s maybe a little more robust than another. If it’s stiffer in the clutch, it makes it apply a little more different.”