Tommy Delago knows if the situation with John Medlen joining Ed “The Ace” McCulloch ends up working the way it did when the former joined his team, the NAPA team will be a force to be reckoned with, even more than they were before.

Delago was informed days before the NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla., that Medlen would not only be joining his team but also hold the position of co-crew chief.

In a sport where tuners can be very territorial, Delago wasn’t intimidated by the credentials the new DSR tuner brought to the mix.

Tommy Delago knows if the situation with John Medlen joining Ed “The Ace” McCulloch ends up working the way it did when the former joined his team, the NAPA team will be a force to be reckoned with, even more than they were before.

Delago was informed days before the NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla., that Medlen would not only be joining his team but also hold the position of co-crew chief.

In a sport where tuners can be very territorial, Delago wasn’t intimidated by the credentials the new DSR tuner brought to the mix.

“There was never any of that,” Delago confirmed. “Don Schumacher called me up and told me what was going to happen and what he’d like to see. He reaffirmed to me this had nothing to do with how the car was running. He wasn’t coming here to replace me, just another talented person in the mix. This was just another way to make us better.”

And immediate results came forth. Not only did the car run strong, establishing a new speed record in Gainesville, a race later Hagan had his first win. Then by June, Hagan scored a second, leading many to believe Medlen was meant to be a part of the team.

“He showed up on a Saturday and molded in like he’d always worked here,” said Delago, pointing out how it was an easy transition. “I knew that anytime you could bring in more talent, and everyone could get along chemistry-wise, it’s gotta make it better. You just have to open your mind up and roll with it.”

Rolling with it is what many believe will happen following McCulloch’s sincere acceptance of a tough decision made by team owner Don Schumacher to move Medlen out of a comfort zone to work alongside him on the NAPA car.

We will put the pieces together and we will go to Norwalk and we will see how it works out,” McCulloch told Attitude’s CompetitionPlus.com a day after his reassignment. “In a few days, we will probably know more about what’s going on than we do (Monday). It remains to be seen what I will do. I don’t have a clear-cut answer on how it’s going to be because I don’t know that yet. (John) Medlen and I had a long talk (Sunday night) and he wants to come in and he would like to be another set of eyes and go on and run the thing.

“He’s not that familiar with what we do, so to throw him into this, not saying he’s not capable of doing this because he is, but to throw him into this thing with no help and say ‘here go do it,’ that’s not the car he is used to running when he was with (John) Force. We will have to assist him in showing him what we do and if he sees things that are not right or there needs to be a better way, then that will be his decision.”

In a sense, Medlen is working his second case as DSR’s Nitro Whisperer.

If the initiation into the Hagan team is a harbinger of what can be expected to come forth with this new alliance, expect Medlen and McCulloch to work hand-in-hand to find the right solution for a car which hasn’t performed up to its true potential this year.

“If there was a feeling of uneasiness, it lasted only about a second,” said Medlen describing his introduction into what had the potential to be a volatile situation. “I think we all learned that two is better than one. I don’t think I can ever remember having a better working relationship than I’ve had with the group over here at Don Schumacher Racing. These are great people whose focus is to run well. We all win because of that.”

In the end, Medlen intends to learn from McCulloch in much the same fashion as he did Delago. The idea that Medlen might have learned as much from him as he learned from the veteran is something Delago has a hard time buying into.

“I doubt he’s learned as much from me as I’ve learned from him, he’s got 30 years experience, but I’d like to think he’s learned something,” Delago said. “We can all learn from one another in some form or fashion.”

Hours before his reassignment, Medlen was quick to point out the way he learned from Delago.

“Tommy has given me far more than I’ve given him,” Medlen explained. “He knows the tune-up on this car and has been a master at getting it down the race track. We have just excelled in our communication. He is one of the best tuners out here and one of drag racing’s future.”

Medlen believes Delago will be more than fine in his absence in the day-to-day operations.

“He reminds me a lot of Austin Coil, with his mindset,” Medlen explained. “I worked with Coil for many years. His ability to sort through the details and find the pinpoint area – that’s a strength and he has it. That’s a skill and it comes natural for him.

“We would both go to the starting line and walk away with a certain criteria for getting the car down the race track. Over the last three or four races, we’d compare notes and have the exact same numbers on the page without communicating with one another. When you have the same numbers like that, you can rest assured you have the same approach. If one is to the left, and the other is to the right, when you find that common ground – it’s a great place to be.”

This weekend Medlen plans to find that same place with McCulloch.