<img src="https://www.nitromater.com/gallery/files/1/t_johnson06.jpg" alt="t_johnson06" align="right"borders="0"/><img src="https://www.nitromater.com/gallery/files/1/m_troxel06.jpg" alt="m_troxel06" align="right"borders="0"/>
Salisbury, MA (January 20, 2007): In its continuing quest to provide excitement for the entire racing community, SpeedwayEXPO has announced the first of what will be a star-studded line-up of celebrities for the March 2-4, 2007, event. Fans of drag racing will be treated to an autograph session featuring NHRA Superstars Melanie Troxel and Tommy Johnson, Jr., while stock-car enthusiasts will enjoy a visit with the 2006 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion, NY native Todd Bodine.
On Friday evening Bodine will appear in the Stroh Building for a two-hour autograph session beginning at 5:30. Last season, Bodine ended the family’s championship drought in NASCAR’s “Big Three” by winning the 2006 Craftsman Truck Series championship for the Germain Racing Team. The “Onion,” as he is now affectionately known, drove his Toyota Tundra to a record of three wins, 12 top-five and 16 top-ten finishes to earn Toyota its first NASCAR championship.
In 2007 Bodine and company will look to defend their truck series title while competing in select NEXTEL Cup races with the goal of being “the first Toyota team to win a Nextel Cup race.” From his start as a racer at the Chemung Speedrome, in New York, to the days of driving NASCAR Modifieds in Connecticut, the youngest Bodine brother has gone a long way. He returns to his roots on March 2 at SpeedwayEXPO.
Also appearing on Friday night is a dynamic and highly successful NHRA husband and wife team. NHRA Top Fuel Dragster driver Melanie Troxel and her equally talented husband, NHRA Funny Car driver Tommy Johnson, will be on hand to sign autographs on Friday night from 6:30-8:30 PM in the Stroh Building. Voted “Sportswoman of the Year” by The Women's Sports Foundation, Melanie Troxel tackles the highly competitive world of NHRA POWERade Drag Racing in the Skull Shine/Knoll Gas-Torco Race Fuels Top Fuel dragster for Don Schumacher Racing. In 2006 Troxel finished fourth in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series Top Fuel point standings with two wins, seven runner-up and seven quarterfinal finishes, and a win-loss record of 36-21. She made drag-racing history by opening the season with five consecutive final-round appearances. With her victory in February 2006 at the Winternationals, in Pomona, CA, Troxel became only the sixth woman in NHRA history to win a Top Fuel event. She was the first female in its 40-year history to be honored by the “Driver of the Year” Foundation.
Johnson, driver of the Skoal Monte Carlo Funny Car for Don Prudhomme Snake Racing, finished sixth in final NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series Funny Car point standings. Like his wife, Johnson scored two wins in 2006. After becoming the youngest driver ever to earn an NHRA competition license, at the age of 15, Johnson has gone on to make a name for himself with victories in Funny Car, Top Fuel and Top Alcohol Funny Car.
The excitement is already brewing for both teams for the 2007 season. Troxel will campaign a Vietnam Veterans’ tribute dragster for 2007, while Johnson will debut a ’07 Chevy Impala SS Funny Car. Each will return to their divisions of NHRA competition in 2007 in search of a title. Troxel looks to join the likes of Shirley Muldowney and Angelle Sampey as the only women to have earned NHRA World Championships.
Fans are invited to meet the Craftsman Truck Series champion-the Onion and the likeable “first couple” of NHRA racing as this fine trio of celebrities sign autographs on Friday evening.
All-Star Line-Up Shaping Up for SpeedwayEXPO
Todd Bodine, Melanie Troxel & Tommy Johnson, Jr. To Appear
Todd Bodine, Melanie Troxel & Tommy Johnson, Jr. To Appear
Salisbury, MA (January 20, 2007): In its continuing quest to provide excitement for the entire racing community, SpeedwayEXPO has announced the first of what will be a star-studded line-up of celebrities for the March 2-4, 2007, event. Fans of drag racing will be treated to an autograph session featuring NHRA Superstars Melanie Troxel and Tommy Johnson, Jr., while stock-car enthusiasts will enjoy a visit with the 2006 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion, NY native Todd Bodine.
On Friday evening Bodine will appear in the Stroh Building for a two-hour autograph session beginning at 5:30. Last season, Bodine ended the family’s championship drought in NASCAR’s “Big Three” by winning the 2006 Craftsman Truck Series championship for the Germain Racing Team. The “Onion,” as he is now affectionately known, drove his Toyota Tundra to a record of three wins, 12 top-five and 16 top-ten finishes to earn Toyota its first NASCAR championship.
In 2007 Bodine and company will look to defend their truck series title while competing in select NEXTEL Cup races with the goal of being “the first Toyota team to win a Nextel Cup race.” From his start as a racer at the Chemung Speedrome, in New York, to the days of driving NASCAR Modifieds in Connecticut, the youngest Bodine brother has gone a long way. He returns to his roots on March 2 at SpeedwayEXPO.
Also appearing on Friday night is a dynamic and highly successful NHRA husband and wife team. NHRA Top Fuel Dragster driver Melanie Troxel and her equally talented husband, NHRA Funny Car driver Tommy Johnson, will be on hand to sign autographs on Friday night from 6:30-8:30 PM in the Stroh Building. Voted “Sportswoman of the Year” by The Women's Sports Foundation, Melanie Troxel tackles the highly competitive world of NHRA POWERade Drag Racing in the Skull Shine/Knoll Gas-Torco Race Fuels Top Fuel dragster for Don Schumacher Racing. In 2006 Troxel finished fourth in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series Top Fuel point standings with two wins, seven runner-up and seven quarterfinal finishes, and a win-loss record of 36-21. She made drag-racing history by opening the season with five consecutive final-round appearances. With her victory in February 2006 at the Winternationals, in Pomona, CA, Troxel became only the sixth woman in NHRA history to win a Top Fuel event. She was the first female in its 40-year history to be honored by the “Driver of the Year” Foundation.
Johnson, driver of the Skoal Monte Carlo Funny Car for Don Prudhomme Snake Racing, finished sixth in final NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series Funny Car point standings. Like his wife, Johnson scored two wins in 2006. After becoming the youngest driver ever to earn an NHRA competition license, at the age of 15, Johnson has gone on to make a name for himself with victories in Funny Car, Top Fuel and Top Alcohol Funny Car.
The excitement is already brewing for both teams for the 2007 season. Troxel will campaign a Vietnam Veterans’ tribute dragster for 2007, while Johnson will debut a ’07 Chevy Impala SS Funny Car. Each will return to their divisions of NHRA competition in 2007 in search of a title. Troxel looks to join the likes of Shirley Muldowney and Angelle Sampey as the only women to have earned NHRA World Championships.
Fans are invited to meet the Craftsman Truck Series champion-the Onion and the likeable “first couple” of NHRA racing as this fine trio of celebrities sign autographs on Friday evening.
