NHRA Newsmakers: Feb. 13, 2006
NHRA Newsmakers Your inside glimpse at the world's fastest motorsport NEWS NUGGETS * DIVA DANCES IN WINNER'S CIRCLE: Melanie Troxel (Avon, Ind.) and IRL's Danica Patrick share several common ties: both are obviously women, both race cars for a living and both are featured prominently in the Hostess "Race Divas" campaign. They do, however, diverge on one significant point: visits to the winner's circle. To the delight of the overflow crowd at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, Troxel upset teammate Tony Schumacher (Chicago) in the quarterfinals en route to her first career POWERade Series victory Sunday at the CARQUEST Winternationals. It was the first win by a woman in NHRA Top Fuel since Cristen Powell in 1997. To access the complete POST-RACE NOTES from Sunday's season-opening NHRA race, please click here <http://media.nhra.com/apcm/templates/pr.asp?articleid=10324&zoneid=51> . * WHAT'S IT GONNA TAKE?!?!: For the driver of the Brut Dodge Funny Car, Ron Capps (Carlsbad, Calif.), the season-opening CARQUEST Auto Parts Winternationals must have felt like déjà vu all over again. Capps spent virtually the entire 2005 season within sniffing distance of first place - he finished the year just eight points behind Gary Scelzi (Fresno, Calif.) - but at no point during the season did he ever hold the top spot. So here he was on Sunday, just one round win away from first place and he faced off against Robert Hight's beaten' up-and-bruised team, which barely qualified and had to scramble to stage in the semis after blowing up the body of his Auto Club Ford Mustang in his quarterfinal win over Del Worsham (Chino Hills, Calif.). Capps turned in a worthy 4.775-second run, but the determined and destined Hight, racing under his title sponsor's watchful eye and with a show car body, turned in a remarkable 4.763 for his third career win. * ANDERSON ROLLS ON: Given the dedication and determination in the industry, it'd be difficult to classify anyone as "the hardest-working person in motorsports," but it is safe to say that no one works harder than Greg Anderson (Mooresville, N.C.). It's a point that respected Top Fuel driver Doug Herbert (Cherryville, N.C.), who lives and works near Anderson's shop and adjacent drag strip in Mooresville, touched on in an interview with Ed Justice on Road & Track Radio from the Winternationals on Saturday. He said Anderson's success is not a surprise or a mystery, it's a direct result of hard work and it's a model Herbert is trying to emulate. Anderson has won three straight POWERade Series world championships and he showed no let up with career win No. 40 at the 2006 season-opening CARQUEST Winternationals. WHO'S HOT! * ROBERT HIGHT: The driver of the Auto Club Ford Mustang is as hot as they come, literally and figuratively. Hight (Anaheim Hills, Calif.) entered the final round of qualifying hot under the collar because he'd yet to make the cut; he escaped from a hot seat when his engine blew and burst into flames following his quarterfinal win over Del Worsham; and he finished the weekend as certainly one of the hottest drivers as the 2005 Auto Club Rookie of the Year massaged a wounded car through four rounds of eliminations to victory. INSIDE THE NUMBERS * SCHUMACHER RECORDS IN THE BOOKS: The pilot of the U.S. Army dragster, Tony Schumacher, saw his remarkable NHRA-record run stopped at the CARQUEST Winternationals by teammate Melanie Troxel. He did add one round win to his total that carried over from 2005 - increasing that record to 21 - but his records for consecutive wins and final rounds in Top Fuel will stand at 5 and 7, respectively. INSIDE THE NUMBERS II * TRACK RECORDS VAPORIZED: A handful of track records fell over the first weekend of the 2006 POWERade Series season. Here are the new record-holders and the marks they set: 1. Greg Anderson, Pro Stock: 6.665 seconds (6.677, Jason Line, Nov. 2005) and 207.75 mph (207.62, Kurt Johnson, Nov. 2005) 2. John Force, Funny Car: 4.664 seconds* (4.681, Tony Pedregon, Feb. 2005) 3. Gary Scelzi, Funny Car: 332.51 mph (331.53, Scelzi, Feb. 2005) * This was the quickest Funny Car pass in NHRA history. HE SAID, SHE SAID * MELANIE TROXEL, who became the eighth woman overall and sixth in Top Fuel to win an NHRA event, said: "It gets media attention to say I'm the 'Xth' number female to win a race, but those of us in NHRA know that it's no big deal because we've had lots of female winners, especially when you compare us to all the other motorsports. I'm thrilled there were women before me to pave the way but really we just want to be the best team out here, regardless of me being female.' For more information, contact NHRA Communications at (626) 914-4761. To access the latest NHRA press releases, electronic images and other information please visit the NHRA Media Center at http://media.nhra.com <http://media.nhra.com/>