Troxel's confidence in Skull Gear team rises with every round
win
DON SCHUMACHER RACING
2006 NHRA POWERade DRAG RACING SERIES
Round 5 of 23
NHRA Summitracing.com Nationals
THE STRIP AT LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
Race Date: April 7-9, 2006
LAS VEGAS - With every round win, not to mention the five
straight final-round appearances she's made in as many NHRA POWERade Drag
Racing Series Top Fuel events dating back to November 2005, Melanie Troxel's
confidence in the Skull Gear/Torco Race Fuels team continues to build, as
the series comes to The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway this weekend for
the SummitRacing.com Nationals.
Despite occasional qualifying dramas, she applauds team owner Don
Schumacher, crew chief Richard Hogan and the Skull Gear crew for giving her
a car that can go rounds on race day. With one win under her belt and even
with a deduction of 25 penalty points for two oildowns, Troxel holds a hefty
128-point lead over Larry Dixon.
"It's kind of funny the way we struggled in qualifying this year but have
been able to turn it around and do so well on race day," she says. "Normally
you get your confidence from just having that consistency and running well
all weekend long.
"Because of that I don't worry too much if the track changes or something is
different, because I have a lot of confidence in the fact that Richard will
figure it out and have the car ready to go down the track on Sunday.
"We're excited to get on the track here. Just a week ago I was thinking that
we can't possibly keep up this pace and I was almost bracing myself for a
first-round loss. I thought that this was just too good to be true; fate's
going to get me back. Now that we've gone to yet another final round, it's
just given me the confidence to think that we can keep up this pace."
Each of the first five tracks she has raced on and will race on is unique,
as the teams continue to adapt to a new Goodyear tire mandated by NHRA. "The
Strip is a very nice facility," said Troxel. "It's a little bit of an
altitude track. I don't know if we expect to see huge numbers here, but
certainly we'll see a lot of really good racing. I think the more passes all
of the teams get on this new tire the better the racing is going to be."
SCHEDULE:
On Friday, April 7, professional qualifying sessiions are at 3 p.m. and 6
p.m. On Saturday, April 8, pro qualifying sessions continue at noon and 3
p.m. On Sunday, April 9, final eliminations begin at 11 a.m.
TELEVISION:
Saturday, April 8, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise two hours of qualifying
highlights at 8 p.m. (ET). Sunday April 9, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will broadcast
NHRA 2Day, a 30-minute weekly news magazine show, at 11:30 a.m. (ET).
Sunday, April 9, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise three hours of final
eliminations at 7 p.m. (ET).
SATELLITE:
Friday, April 7, 11-11:30 p.m. (ET) Galaxy 11 / Transponder 13 K (downlink
freq: 11960 horizontal)
Saturday, April 8, 10:30-11 p.m. (ET) Galaxy 11 / 13 K (downlink freq:
11960 horizontal)
Sunday, April 9, 10:30-11 p.m. (ET) Galaxy 10R / 23 K (downlink freq:
12160 horizontal)
MELANIE TROXEL QUICK FACTS:
* Top Fuel points leader by 128 points after Pomona win and runner-up
finishes in Phoenix, Gainesville, Fla., and Houston
* Won her first national Top Fuel event in Pomona, Calif., Feb. 12, 2006
* 2006 is her first full season of Top Fuel competition
* 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)
* Has four runner-up finishes in Top Fuel: in 2000 (Dallas 2), 2005 (Pomona
2), Phoenix 2006, Gainesville 2006
* Two No. 2s are her best qualifying efforts so far (Dallas '05 and Pomona 2
'05)
* Drove limited schedule for Don Schumacher Racing in 2000, her first year
in Top Fuel
* Rejoined DSR in the 13th event of 2005 (Denver)
* 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 4.458 seconds, set in 2005
in Dallas
* Career fastest speed is 330.31 mph, set in Dallas '05
* In 2005, in 11 races, Troxel had eight round wins
* Troxel is the quickest and fastest female driver in NHRA history, after
clocking the 4.458-second pass and 330.31-mph speed in Dallas '05.
