NHRA NEWSMAKERS: March 14, 2006
NHRA Newsmakers Your inside glimpse at the world's fastest motorsport WHO'S HOT! * MELANIE TROXEL: With a win and a runner-up finish to open the 2006 season, the POWERade Series points leader in Top Fuel - the first woman to lead the Top Fuel standings after back-to-back events since Lori Johns in 1990 - is certainly enjoying her time on the track. Off the track, she's been just as hot if not hotter with an almost around-the-clock schedule of media appointments. From national motorsports writers to The George Michael Sports Machine, Melanie (with husband Tommy Johnson Jr., who won the Checker Schuck's Kragen Nationals in Funny Car) has been as hot a commodity as you'll find in auto racing circles. She'll be looking to continue her white-hot start to the 2006 season this weekend at the 37th annual ACDelco Gatornationals. NEWS NUGGETS * CLOSING THE DEAL: Steve Johnson (Birmingham, Ala.), who turned a pretty impressive daily double in 2005 with wins at the prestigious Gatornationals and U.S. Nationals, signed a multi-year sponsorship deal with Snap-on Tools. "This is a dream come true," Johnson said from a press conference at his Birmingham, Ala. Shop last Thursday. "I've been racing with Snap-on Tools support for 14 years, but this takes our relationship to a new level. I thought winning the U.S. Nationals was my personal highlight, but this tops everything. (A major sponsor) is something I've worked so hard to secure and for it to be a company with which I have so much history makes it all the better." For more information on the deal or Steve Johnson Racing, click here. <http://www.stevejohnsonracing.com/> * DODGE CHARGER DEBUT: The Don Schumacher Racing Funny Car teams will be rolling out the shiny new Dodge Charger bodies this weekend at the ACDelco Gatornationals. Ron Capps (Carlsbad, Calif.), Gary Scelzi (Fresno, Calif.) and Whit Bazemore (Indianapolis) will debut the Charger bodies in the first round of Funny Car qualifying, scheduled for a little after noon on Friday, March 17. "The Dodge Charger is a perfect fit for the next generation of NHRA Funny Cars," said John Fernandez, Director of Dodge Motorsports Operations. "Dodge has an incredible heritage in racing and the Charger name is synonymous with power and performance - two key ingredients to winning in any form of racing." Capps, who is currently leading in the Funny Car standings, may not be so eager to make the move but no doubt Scelzi (9th place) and Bazemore (12th) are welcoming the change of scenery to potentially alter their early-season fortunes. * HARLEY-DAVIDSON MAKES IT 'OFFICIAL': Four years after its entry into the world of NHRA, Harley-Davidson upped the ante significantly when it signed a multi-tiered sponsorship deal with NHRA prior to the 2006 season that included its designation as the Official Motorcycle of NHRA. The full scope of the deal will be unveiled for the first time this weekend in Gainesville as the Pro Stock Motorcycles make their 2006 debut at the ACDelco Gatornationals. Among the highlights will be an interactive simulator display which will feature real live Harley-Davidson motorcycles propped up on dynos. * A TESTAMENT TO NHRA SAFETY: The George Michael Sports Machine ran a piece this past Sunday (March 12) chronicling the spectacular Kenny Koretsky/Bruce Allen crash in Dallas back in October of 2005. The two veteran Pro Stock drivers suffered relatively minor injuries given the magnitude of the crash, a fact that pays tribute to the safety of the vehicles and the performance of the NHRA Safety Safari, which was on the scene almost immediately. (NOTE: The Sports Machine is also working on a piece on Melanie Troxel and Tommy Johnson Jr. that will air in the next several weeks.) INSIDE THE NUMBERS * SO LONG, SEVEN: It was at the Gatornationals one year ago that the 7-second barrier was broken for the first time in Pro Stock Motorcycle. Under ideal conditions, Andrew Hines pushed his Screamin' Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson to a run of 6.991 seconds (at a track-record speed of 197.45 mph). He proceeded to lay down an even lower 6.968-second pass at Sonoma, but it's the 6.991 at Gainesville that will be remembered most. HE SAID, SHE SAID *** LARRY DIXON, who drives the Miller Lite dragster for NHRA legend Don "Snake" Prudhomme, on returning this week to one of the most historic and well-known venues on the POWERade Series circuit: "I always like running at Gainesville. I think that more people show up for the Gatornationals than any other race on the circuit. It's such a historic venue and I always get excited when we return to Gainesville."