Melanie Troxel eyeing one more Funny Car win (at least) for 2008
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<P>With the season’s final six races approaching, Melanie Troxel has set her sights on a new goal: winning at least one more NHRA POWERade Series event. And it’s not out of the question, given her stellar performance at the U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis two weeks ago.
She earned her first Funny Car victory in March at Bristol, Tenn., and another triumph would give her an even six trophies for her mantle, including four in Top Fuel.
She begins her quest in the Carolina Nationals at the glittering, new zMax Dragway in Concord, N.C., Friday through Sunday.
Although several of her first 18 Funny Car races were good character builders, there were plenty of positive vibes when she concluded a consistent qualifying effort with a No. 6 start at Indy and followed on race day with two round wins.
“Getting one more race win would make it a very good year . . . and I think it can be done,” said Troxel. “Brian (Corradi) and Mark (Oswald, crew chiefs on the R2B2 Racing Dodge Charger R/T) plan to do some parts and tune-up testing over the next six races so we’ll have some good data for next year.
“They went in a new direction before the U.S. Nationals and it is really promising. We’ve had our ups and downs this year, but right now we are on a roll. We missed qualifying for the Countdown to 1, so we don’t have to worry about points.”
Although she is locked out of the top 10, Troxel, currently 13th, is only 43 points out of 11th. Not bad when one considers she didn’t start four of her first six events as she got used to the shift to driving a Funny Car and the team adjusted to her in the car.
Her best quarter-mile elapsed time is 4.802 seconds (St. Louis) and her quickest 1000-foot time is 4.096 seconds (Seattle).
This is the first of three races in a row – Dallas (Sept. 18-21), Memphis (Sept. 26-28) – followed by stops at Richmond, Va. (Oct. 10-12), Las Vegas (Oct. 31-Nov. 2) and Pomona, Calif. (Nov. 13-16).
Melanie Troxel Career Highlights:
A second-generation driver, Troxel spent her early years attending drag races with her family, watching her father, Mike, race. Melanie began competing in NHRA’s Sportsman categories almost 20 years ago.
She won two races in Top Alcohol Dragster – the same kind of car her dad drove – before spending six years in Top Fuel. Tantalized by the challenge of driving a Funny Car, Troxel switched categories this year, opening the season driving the Gotham City Racing Dodge Charger R/T. The team was sold in mid-season so it is now R2B2 Racing.
2008: It didn’t take Troxel long to prove she belongs in a Funny Car. She earned her first victory at Bristol, Tenn., May 18, in the eighth race of the season. She was the 14th NHRA driver to record wins in both Top Fuel and Funny Car and the first woman to do so. Her husband, Tommy Johnson Jr., also has wins in both categories. And she collected another first when she qualified No. 1 in Funny Car at Chicago in June.
2007: Announced at Mac Tools U.S. Nationals a move from Top Fuel to Funny Car in 2008; Won two races in four final-round appearances; Earned second Top 10 finish (ninth) of her career
2006: Became the eighth female to win a pro category in NHRA history and the sixth to win a Top Fuel event with her victory at Pomona 1; Earned two victories in nine final round appearances; Set the Top Fuel record for most consecutive final round appearances to open a season (5);
Earned two No. 1 qualifying awards; Earned first Top 10 finish (sixth); Became the eighth female in NHRA history to earn a No. 1 qualifying position in a pro category; Nominated for two ESPY awards (best driver and best female athlete).
First female to ever be named a quarterly winner of the prestigious Driver of the Year award; Named Sportswoman of the Year by Billie Jean King’s Women’s Sports Foundation; Clocked career-best speed at Atlanta; Led the POWERade Series point standings for the first 12 races of the season; Registered first career POWERade Top 10 point finish
2005: Was runner-up at Pomona 2; became quickest and fastest female in NHRA history with career-best performance of 331.04 mph.
2000: Switched to Top Fuel class after four seasons in Federal-Mogul Dragster; Won the Auto Club of Southern California's Road to the Future award, NHRA’s Rookie of the Year honor; Runner-up at O'Reilly Fall Nationals in Dallas.
Personal
Married to Funny Car driver Tommy Johnson Jr.
Height/weight: 5-foot-8, 130 pounds
Hobbies: Snowboarding and golf
Notable: Captured two NHRA national event victories in Top Alcohol dragster in 1999 (Seattle and Topeka); Owns a specialty automotive tool shop that supplies tools to race teams and machine shops.
Developed mechanical interest in high school and took auto shop classes so she could work on race cars.
