Troxel ready for good times in Reading

DON SCHUMACHER RACING
2005 NHRA POWERade DRAG RACING SERIES
ROUND 19 OF 23
TOYO TIRES NHRA NATIONALS
MAPLE GROVE RACEWAY
READING, PA.
Race Dates: Sept. 16-18, 2005

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Judy Stropus, 203-438-0501; cell 203-243-2438;
jstropus@earthlink.net

TROXEL READY FOR GOOD TIMES IN READING

READING, Pa. (Sept. 13, 2005) - After establishing her career-best elapsed
time and speed (4.565 seconds at 326.48 mph) in a new Skull Gear/Torco Race
Fuels Top Fuel Dragster at the U.S. Nationals on Labor Day, Melanie Troxel
is eager to take advantage of the cooler weather conditions at the Toyio
Tires NHRA Nationals this weekend.

Maple Grove Raceway is famous for its oxygen-laden atmosphere, which helps
produce power and records, and itıs the first of the 2005 NHRA POWERade Drag
Racing Seriesı final three-race swing at tracks noted for their
record-breaking capabilities.

³Iım pretty optimistic about the new car we have,² said Troxel, who is
competing in her seventh event this year for Don Schumacher Racing, ³even
though we struggled a little bit in Indy with it (after setting her
career-best numbers). Itıs definitely a step in the right direction and
weıre heading to some really good tracks to the end of the season.

³Maple Grove is probably at the top of that list of tracks where you can run
some big numbers and thatıs part of our agenda this weekend. Itıs a great
track, the weather is usually cool and weıre looking to produce some good
elapsed times and speeds here.

³Iım looking forward to seeing if we can back up that first pass that we
made in Indy with the new Hadman car and continue to build on our program
from there.

³We had a lot of problems with smoking the tires after that pass. The Skull
Gear/Torco Race Fuels car reacted quite a bit differently and I think it
will take us a while to get a handle on that car. Obviously, it wants to run
good. If anything, weıre making more power than we had earlier in the year;
itıs just a matter of getting that sorted out.²

SCHEDULE:
On Friday, Sept. 16, pro qualifying sessions are at 2 and 5 p.m. On
Saturday, Sept. 17, pro qualifying continues a at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. On
Sunday, Sept. 18, pre-race ceremonies are at10 a.m. Final eliminations begin
at 11 a.m.
 
TELEVISION:     
On Saturday, Sept. 17, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise one hour of
qualifying highlights at 4 p.m. (ET). On Sunday, Sept. 18, ESPN2 and ESPN2
HD will broadcast NHRA 2Day, a 30-minute weekly news magazine show, at 11:30
a.m. (ET). Also on Sunday, Sept. 18, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise three
hours of eliminations coverage at 4 p.m. (ET).

MELANIE TROXEL QUICK FACTS:
* 33 years old, born Aug. 31, 1972
* Born in Littleton, Colo., lives in Avon, Ind., with husband and Funny Car
driver Tommy Johnson Jr.
* Two national event wins in Alcohol Dragster in 1999 (Seattle and Topeka)
* Runner-up finish best Top Fuel result, in 2000 (Dallas 2)
* Drove limited schedule for Don Schumacher Racing in 2000, her first year
in Top Fuel
* Runner-up in Alcohol Dragster points in 1999
* Ran limited Top Fuel schedule in 2002 and 2003
* Career quickest elapsed time in Top Fuel is 4.565 seconds
* Career fastest speed is 326.48 mph

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