Troxel eyes strong results at U.S. Nationals
DON SCHUMACHER RACING 2006 NHRA POWERade DRAG RACING SERIES Round 18 of 23 U.S. NATIONALS O'REILLY RACEWAY PARK Clermont, Ind. Race Date: Sept. 1-4, 2006 CLERMONT, Ind. (Aug. 29, 2006) - Melanie Troxel, who led the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series Top Fuel points through the first 12 events of the 2006 season, is in the middle of a four-way battle for her first championship in that class, as the season winds down to six races remaining, including this weekend's prestigious U.S. Nationals at O'Reilly Raceway Park. It's a tight fight for the crown among points leader Doug Kalitta, Troxel's DSR teammate Tony Schumacher, Brandon Bernstein and Troxel, with 158 points separating first from fourth. With two wins under her belt, Troxel would like to add the U.S. Nationals to that list while matching her late dad Mike Troxel's 1987 victory here in Alcohol Dragster. "Indy is obviously the most prestigious race of the year, and behind winning the championship it's the biggest thing you can do in your season," said Troxel, who drives the Skull Shine/Knoll Gas-Torco Race Fuels Top Fuel dragster in her first full season in that class. "It goes without saying that it's an important race. "It's also the first national event my dad ever won. It was a big event for him. I've come to this race throughout my Sportsman career and have run here in Top Fuel and would really love to be able to add a win at Indy to my resume." Troxel also wants to overcome her five first-round losses in the last seven events and get back on top of the standings. Kalitta, Schumacher and Bernstein have come on strong in the second half of the season, while Troxel's efforts have faltered. "It's a very close race still," she said, "and we've been saying for a few races now that we really need to turn the second half of our season around and we are seeing improvement in the performance of the car. We're just having other problems along the way that are keeping us from putting together a winning day. "Indy is as good a race as any to turn that around, and we had some really good incremental numbers in testing here (last week), even though we never ran it to the finish line," said Troxel, who will turn 34 on Aug. 31. "So, we're very optimistic going into the race that we can run well. The forecast looks great. They're calling for 80-degree temperatures throughout the weekend. That will give us great conditions to work with." Troxel made seven passes in testing at ORP. "On the first four we intentionally only took the car to half-track or 1000 ft.," she explained. "In the last three the plan was to run it to the finish line if possible, but it either dropped a cylinder or some other problem surfaced that kept me from running it to the finish line. We had really good incremental numbers until then. The numbers showed we would have run a low 4.50 (-second elapsed time) and that was during the daytime runs. We never smoked the tires." MELANIE TROXEL QUICK FACTS: * Currently fourth in Top Fuel point standings after 17 events, 158 points behind leader Doug Kalitta * First NHRA Top Fuel driver to reach the final round in the first five events of a season (2006) * Troxel has reached six consecutive final rounds (two wins) dating back to the final event of 2005. The string was broken at Bristol Dragway this year * She has now reached seven final rounds in 17 events in 2006 * With Tony Schumacher's five straight final-round appearances to end 2005, Don Schumacher Racing has been in 12 consecutive final rounds * At 2005 U.S. Nationals, she qualified No. 10, lost second round to Doug Herbert * Was named the first quarter winner of 2006 Driver of the Year voting * Was nominated for Best Driver of the Year and Best Female Athlete of the Year by the ESPYS awards * Was just named a Sportswoman of the Year finalist * 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 (will turn 34 at this event) * 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 * She has qualified No. 1 twice so far, at Bristol Dragway in 2006 and Heartland Park Topeka 2006. She also has two No. 2s (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 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 331.04 mph, set 5/7/06 at Atlanta Dragway * In 2005, in 11 races, Troxel had eight round wins * Troxel is now the quickest and fastest female driver in NHRA history, after clocking the 4.458-second pass and 330.31-mph speed in Dallas in ’05. She has since upped that speed to 331.04 mph WEEKEND SCHEDULE: FRIDAY, Sept. 1 - PROFESSIONAL QUALIFYING SESSION at 6:15 p.m. SATURDAY, Sept. 2 - PROFESSIONAL QUALIFYING SESSIONS at 1 p.m. and 6:15 p.m. SUNDAY, Sept. 3 - PROFESSIONAL QUALIFYING SESSIONS at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. SKOAL SHOWDOWN ELIMINATIONS at 12:30 p.m., 2:15 p.m., and 4 p.m. MONDAY, Sept. 4 -- Pre-race ceremonies, 9:30 a.m. FINAL ELIMINATIONS at 11 a.m. TELEVISION: Saturday, Sept. 2, ESPN2 HD will televise one hour of qualifying coverage at 5 p.m. (ET). Sunday, Sept. 3, ESPN2 HD will televise NHRA 2Day, a 30-minute magazine show at 11:30 a.m. (ET). Sunday, Sept. 3, ESPN2 HD will televise two hours of qualifying coverage at noon (ET). Sunday, Sept. 3, ESPN2 HD will televise two hours of qualifying coverage at 11 p.m. (ET). Monday, Sept. 4, ESPN2 HD will televise two hours of eliminations coverage at noon (ET). Monday, Sept. 4, ESPN2 HD will televise three hours of eliminations coverage at 4 p.m. (ET). SATELLITE: Friday, Sept. 1, 11-11:30 p.m. (ET) - Galaxy 11 / Transponder 15 K (12003 MHz, horizontal) Saturday, Sept. 2, 9:30-10 p.m. (ET) - Galaxy 11 / Transponder 15 K (12003 MHz, horizontal) Sunday, Sept. 3, 10-10:30 p.m. (ET) - Galaxy 11 / Transponder 15 K (12003 MHz, horizontal) Monday, Sept. 4, 8-8:30 p.m. (ET) - Galaxy 11 / Transponder 15 K (12003 MHz, horizontal)