NORWALK, Ohio (June 25) -- Coming off of a successful test following the Get Screened America Pro Mod Series NHRA race in Bristol, Tenn., Melanie Troxel and the In-N-Out Burger team are brimming with confidence heading into this weekend's Summit Racing Equipment Nationals.
A switch from a Corvette to a Camaro wasn't enough of an elixir to get Troxel's early-season woes completely fixed, but an engine switch during the test seems to have completed the job.
"All of last weekend in Bristol we had the feeling something was wrong," Troxel said. "Even though it was new and it didn't have a lot of runs on it, it should have performed closer to the car of my R2B2 Racing teammate Raymond Commisso."
Instead the numbers were way off and Troxel failed to qualify for eliminations.
"We were off three mph and quite a bit of elapsed time," Troxel said. "We were trying a lot that weekend, swapping out a lot of stuff to see what was holding the In-N-Out Burger car back. Unfortunately we didn't find it during the race weekend."
Test sessions are designed for radical moves and the wholesale engine swap did the trick.
"The second run down the track with the new engine we went 5.97 seconds at 243 mph," Troxel said. "That would have been low ET and top speed of the race. At that point we loaded up the car and put it away. We knew we had found the problem.
"Every race is different and this doesn't guarantee things will be perfect in Norwalk but we do feel we've successfully addressed the problems that were plaguing us last weekend."
Troxel added that a better performing car should enhance what is normally a pleasant racing experience at Norwalk.
"The Bader family try their best to create a family atmosphere at this track," Troxel said. "They do a great job and make it enjoyable to come to the track."
Qualifying for the Get Screened America Pro Mod Series begins at 4 p.m. EDT Friday with eliminations scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. EDT on Saturday.
