Troxel collects No. 10 in Sonoma qualifying

DON SCHUMACHER RACING
2006 NHRA POWERade DRAG RACING SERIES
Round 15 of 23
Fram-Autolite NHRA Nationals
Infineon Raceway
Sonoma, Calif.
Race Date: July 28-30, 2006

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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

TROXEL COLLECTS NO. 10 IN SONOMA QUALIFYING

SONOMA, Calif. (July 29, 2006) - Melanie Troxel drove the Skull Shine/Knoll
Gas-Torco Race Fuels Top Fuel dragster into the No. 10 position during
qualifying for the Fram-Autolite NHRA Nationals at Infineon Raceway.

Troxel clocked a 4.608-second pass at 318.54 mph in Saturday's third session
to earn that spot. Her other passes produced a strong 4.640-second lap at
322.65 mph in the opening session (good for No. 2 at the time), a
10.638/72.97, in which she shut off early and coasted to the finish, and a
final tire-smoking pass of 9.262/89.64.

"We laid down a good number with the first pass out," she said, "and we were
looking forward to going out in the night session and staying in the top
three or four spots. Unfortunately, we missed the setup just a little bit
and smoked the tires. That moved us all the way back to No. 9.

"We had an opportunity this morning, with the cool air and the marine
layer of clouds, to improve and move up. And, we did. We moved up to No. 8.

"The last session wasn't quite what we were looking for, as far as
moving up in the field. But, Richard (Hogan, crew chief) feels like he
learned something from it. It's better to have learned something today,
than tomorrow.

"We were trying a few different things on that last run, and some worked and
some didn't. We know what we don't want to do tomorrow. But, we've got some
good experience in conditions that will be similar to Sunday's.

"It would be great to get a first-round win, and get that off our back," she
said, referring to her first-round losses in the last two races. "I know the
Western Swing has been tough for us, so it would be nice to get some rounds
and use some of our experience from previous races."

Troxel faces Hillary Will in first round of eliminations on Sunday.

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