Reading: Melanie Troxel preview

Troxel ready for good times in Reading

READING, Pa. (Sept. 13, 2005) - After establishing her career-best elapsed time and speed (4.565 seconds at 326.48 mph) in a new Skull Gear/Torco Race Fuels Top Fuel Dragster at the U.S. Nationals on Labor Day, Melanie Troxel is eager to take advantage of the cooler weather conditions at the Toyio Tires NHRA Nationals this weekend.

Maple Grove Raceway is famous for its oxygen-laden atmosphere, which helps produce power and records, and it's the first of the 2005 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series' final three-race swing at tracks noted for their record-breaking capabilities.

"I'm pretty optimistic about the new car we have," said Troxel, who is competing in her seventh event this year for Don Schumacher Racing, "even though we struggled a little bit in Indy with it (after setting her career-best numbers). It's definitely a step in the right direction and we're heading to some really good tracks to the end of the season.

"Maple Grove is probably at the top of that list of tracks where you can run some big numbers and that's part of our agenda this weekend. It's a great track, the weather is usually cool and we're looking to produce some good elapsed times and speeds here.

"I'm looking forward to seeing if we can back up that first pass that we made in Indy with the new Hadman car and continue to build on our program from there.

"We had a lot of problems with smoking the tires after that pass. The Skull Gear/Torco Race Fuels car reacted quite a bit differently and I think it will take us a while to get a handle on that car. Obviously, it wants to run good. If anything, we're making more power than we had earlier in the year; it's just a matter of getting that sorted out."

MELANIE TROXEL QUICK FACTS:

* 33 years old, born Aug. 31, 1972

* 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)

* Runner-up finish best Top Fuel result, in 2000 (Dallas 2)

* Drove limited schedule for Don Schumacher Racing in 2000, her first year in Top Fuel

* Runner-up in Alcohol Dragster points in 1999

* Ran limited Top Fuel schedule in 2002 and 2003

* Career quickest elapsed time in Top Fuel is 4.565 seconds

* Career fastest speed is 326.48 mph

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