BRISTOL, Tenn. (June 14) -- Drag racing megastar Melanie Troxel will pull double duty at this weekend's 10th annual NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals as she plans to race her Roger Burgess-owned ProCare Rx Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car and a brand-new In-N-Out Burger '67 Camaro Pro Mod entry.
Aside from having two different chances to earn a trophy, Troxel and Burgess are hoping a busy weekend at Bristol Dragway will yield long-term results for the team.
"We want to put our best foot forward for In-N-Out Burger when we run the Funny Car out on the west coast and there are some things the guys have discovered that they want to try out under real racing conditions," Troxel said. "And, you know me, I'm never going to say 'no' at a chance to drive the Funny Car. It needs to run better than it has and we're working hard to make sure we're up to speed.
"The fact I won Funny Car in 2008 at that track also gives me a lot of confidence heading into the race. We've made some great memories and a little bit of history there and we'd love to add to that this time through."
Troxel's 2008 Funny Car triumph at Thunder Valley made her just the 14th professional in NHRA's 60-year history to have won races in the sport's top two categories -- Top Fuel and Funny Car. At the same time she became the first, and to date, only, female to have accomplished the feat.
At the midway point of the Pro Mod season, Troxel has managed to maintain a top-10 ranking in the championship points but Burgess decided her Corvette needed to be taken out of rotation so he's switching Troxel to a brand-new '68 Camaro that will carry the In-N-Out livery.
"The car will run just as quick as mine and Raymond's cars," Burgess said. "So it will be fully capable of qualifying No. 1, setting records, and winning races. Melanie is too good of a driver to not be right there in the hunt down the stretch so we felt we needed to make this change and give her the best possible chance to contend.
"We went to Atlanta Dragway and tested this car extensively over the past two weeks and it was perfect. If you look at the data from the test and it's identical to Raymond's car, which we also had at the track, so we're very excited to put it on the track and turn Melanie loose."
Pro Mod qualifying sessions will begin at 4:30 and 7 p.m. EDT, while Funny Car commences at 5:30 and 8 p.m. ESPN2 will carry qualifying highlights in primetime on Saturday evening.
