Championship Drag Racing

O'Reilly NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals
Bristol, TN
(July 6-8)

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Driver Profile

Melanie Troxel In-n-Out Burger Dodge R/T

Bristol, Saturday: The Vietnam Veterans POW/MIA NHRA Top Fuel dragster driven by Melanie Troxel were ecstatic with their results at the O’Reilly Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway. Despite the scorching conditions and high humidity, crew chief, John Stewart and the Torco Race Fuels sponsored team, owned by Forrest Lucas, also has to battle a slick racing surface with the track temperature rising to over 120 degrees on their way to running consistent passes a majority of the race weekend. She placed her quick dragster into the No. 10 slot with an elapsed time of 4.657 seconds, 319.29 mph.

“Everyone at Bristol Dragway has done an incredible job with this facility,” Troxel said. “We always know they have one of the best tracks we come to, but they have done some major work here. Everyone was a little nervous coming in here with the hot weather and not a lot of rubber on the racing surface. I think from the first session on Friday, we knew the track was not going to be a problem, whatsoever. It’s nice to know we have a good racetrack for tomorrow and we’ve made some good runs getting down it. We’re spinning the tires a little bit down there, but our biggest concern is that we’re getting down the racetrack. If we can tweak on it a little bit, I think we will have an excellent setup for raceday.”

In her first round of eliminations on Sunday, Troxel has to square off against a good friend, Larry Dixon of Don Prudhomme racing and in head-to-head match ups; Troxel has four wins to Dixon’s six in their 10 previous pairings. The last time these two raced in competition was the semi-finals at the recent St. Louis race, where Troxel defeated him moving her forward into the finals for her first win of the 2007 season.

Larry Dixon’s has been a hot performer as of late,” said Troxel. “That’s something we’ve obviously been thinking about. They’ve won two of the last three races and definitely running very well right now. We’re going to have to be on our game tomorrow, but I think we’re up to the task.”

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