NHRA NEWS: TROXEL NOMINATED FOR PRESTIGIOUS SPORTSWOMAN OF THE YEAR AWARD

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: NHRA Communications, (626) 914-4761



Photos: Available at http://media.nhra.com



 
NHRA¹S TROXEL NOMINATED FOR ³SPORTSWOMAN OF THE YEAR² AWARD BY WOMEN¹S
SPORTS FOUNDATION 
WITH TWO WINS AND A TOP FUEL-LEADING SEVEN FINAL ROUNDS, TROXEL HAS LED
POWERADE SERIES STANDINGS FOR 80 PERCENT OF SEASON, IS CURRENTLY IN SECOND

GLENDORA, Calif. (Aug. 16, 2006)  NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series driver
Melanie Troxel, who has advanced to a Top Fuel-best seven final rounds this
season, has been nominated by the Women¹s Sports Foundation as a finalist
for its prestigious ³Sportswoman of the Year² award, it was announced today.



She will join nine other finalists at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New  York
City on Monday, Oct. 16 for the WSF Awards Dinner, where the 2006
Sportswoman of the Year will be announced.



The other finalists include: Cindy Klassen (Speedskating), Janica Kostelic
(Skiing), Jessica Long (Swimmer), Amelie Mauresmo (Tennis), Chellsie Memmel
(Gymnastics), Sanya Richards (Track & Field), Annika Sorenstam (Golf),
Laurie Stephens (Skiing), and Hannah Teter (Snowboarder).



³It¹s really an honor for me to be nominated as a Sportswoman of the Year
finalist with such high achievers in a variety of sports,² said Troxel, who
earlier this year was recognized for her breakout season with ESPY
nominations for Best Driver and Best Female Athlete. ³As a race car driver,
to be recognized among these outstanding female athletes is personally
rewarding to me. It also indicates the continuing growth of awareness of the
unique sport of drag racing with all sports fans.²



The winner of the Sportswoman of the Year award will be determined via an
online poll and sports fans can vote for Troxel or one of the other nine
finalists at www.sportswomanvote.com
http://www.sportswomanvote.com> <http://www.sportswomanvote.com>



Troxel, 33, set an NHRA record for the most consecutive final round
appearances (five) to open a season in Top Fuel. The quickest (4.458
seconds) and fastest (331.04 mph) female racer in NHRA history, she is
trying to join legendary Shirley Muldowney as the only women in NHRA history
to win a Top Fuel world championship title. Muldowney earned three during
her driving career, the last coming in 1982.



            The Denver native who now calls Avon, Ind. home is currently in
second place in the POWERade Series standings in her Don Schumacher Racing
owned Skull Shine/Knoll Gas/Torco Race Fuels dragster with seven events
remaining in the 23-event, $50 million NHRA POWERade Series season. The next
event on the schedule is the O¹Reilly NHRA Mid-South Nationals, Aug. 18-20
at Memphis Motorsports  Park.



Earlier this year Troxel beat out NASCAR¹s Jimmie Johnson and IRL¹s Helio
Castroneves to win the prestigious DRIVER OF THE YEAR first quarter award,
which is voted on by a distinguished panel of auto racing journalists. It is
the first time in the 40-year history of the DRIVER OF THE YEAR award that a
woman has won the quarterly or year-end vote.



Past Sportswoman of the Year Award winners include a who¹s who of the
greatest female athletes of all-time, from Annika Sorenstam and Juli Inkster
to Sarah Hughes and Michelle Kwan to Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert.



The Women¹s Sports Foundation, founded in 1974 by legendary tennis champion
Billie Jean King, is dedicated to advancing the lives of girls and young
women through sports and physical activity.



 



Melanie Troxel, 2006 Highlights:
* NHRA POWERade Series Top Fuel points through first half of 2006 season;
currently in second place, 81 points behind Doug Kalitta.



* Named the first quarter DRIVER OF THE YEAR by a distinguished panel of
auto racing journalists, beating out NASCAR¹s Jimmie Johnson and IRL¹s Helio
Castroneves.



* She is the first woman to be selected as a quarterly winner for the
prestigious DRIVER OF THE YEAR in the 40-year history of the award



* Was nominated for two ESPY awards (Best Female Athlete and Best Driver)
* Set NHRA record for most final rounds to open a season (five)
* Has advanced to seven final rounds in 15 starts, most in the Top Fuel
category.
* Has earned two victories: CARQUEST Winternationals at Pomona, Calif. and
SummitRacing.com Nationals, Las Vegas



* She has earned two No. 1 qualifying positions: O¹Reilly Thunder Valley
Nationals at Bristol, Tenn. and the O¹Reilly Summer Nationals at Topeka,
Kan.



* She is one of eight women in NHRA history to earn a national event victory
in a professional category



* She is one of eight women in NHRA history to earn a No. 1 qualifying
position in a professional category
* She is one of six women in NHRA history to earn a victory in Top Fuel
* She is the quickest and fastest woman in NHRA history with a career-best
time of 4.458 seconds, and a career-best speed of 331.04 mph



* She is seeking to become the first female in Top Fuel to win a POWERade
Series world championship in a quarter century (Shirley Muldowney, 1982).




Melanie Troxel, Career Highlights:
* Named the NHRA Auto Club Road to the Future Award winner in 2000, which
recognizes a young driver with a promising future in the sport



* Became one of 39 women to win an NHRA national event in any category
(including sportsman) when she won two Top Alcohol Dragster races in 1999
(Seattle and Topeka)
* In her professional career she has two victories and seven runner-up
finishes
* Entering the 2006 season, she had earned Top Fuel runner-up finishes at
Dallas in 2000 and Pomona,  Calif. in 2005



 



Melanie Troxel, Notable:



* She is married to Tommy Johnson Jr., who drives a Funny Car in NHRA
POWERade Series competition



* She is the daughter of the late Mike Troxel, a former NHRA Top Alcohol
Dragster competitor in the 1980s



* She drives the Skull Shine/Knoll Gas/Torco Race Fuels dragster, fielded by
Schumacher Racing and owned by Don Schumacher



 



Past Sportswoman of the Year Award winners*:



2005  Erin Popovich



2004  Annika Sorenstam



2003  Natalie Coughlin
2002  Sarah Hughes
2001  Stacy Dragila
2000  Jenny Thompson
1999  Juli Inkster
1998  Michelle Kwan
1997  Gail Devers
1996  Amy Van Dyken
1995  Bonnie Blair
1994  Bonnie Blair
1993  Julie Krone



1992  Pat Bradley (Pro), Jackie Joyner-Kersee (Am.)
1991  Meg Mallon, Jean Driscoll
1990  Paula Newby-Fraser, Lori Norwood
1989  Steffi Graf, Janet Evans
1988  Susan Butcher, Jackie Joyner-Kersee
1987  Susan Butcher, Jackie Joyner-Kersee
1986  Lynette Woodard, Debi Thomas
1985  Libby Riddles, Michele Mitchell
1984  Martina Navratilova, Mary Lou Retton and Joan Benoit
1983  Martina Navratilova, Mary Decker



1982  Martina Navratilova, Mary Decker
1981  Chris Evert, Tracy Caulkins
1980  Tracy Austin, Mary Decker
*NOTE: Up to 1993, awards were given to amateur and professionals; beginning
in 1994, the Foundation awarded one award to the top individual and one to
the top team.



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