TROXEL RACES TO PRO MOD VICTORY AT FORD NHRA THUNDER VALLEY NATIONALS
BRISTOL, Tenn. – Melanie Troxel raced to her first victory of the season in the NHRA Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag Racing Series Sunday at the Ford NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals presented by Tri-Cities Area Ford Dealers.
After defeating early-round opponents Mike Knowles, Mike Janis and Leah Pruett-LeDuc, Troxel took the final-round win when Danny Rowe fouled at the start. It was Troxel’s first win in Pro Mod at Bristol Dragway and her second victory in the Pro Mod category. Troxel won in Funny Car at Bristol in 2008.
She was one of two women to take home Wally trophies during the event as Jenifer White won in Top Dragster in the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series. There could have been three female winners as Erica Enders came up short in her attempt to become the first woman to win in Pro Stock in NHRA history.
Troxel was consistently quick all day in her turbocharged RoadRage.com ’53 Corvette, and the win moves her into a tie for seventh in the Get Screened America Pro Mod point standings.
"It's great to be getting back to some winning,” Troxel said. “On top of it, this engine combination, this car is something that (team owner) Roger Burgess has been working on for several years. He knew this was going to be a great combination for the sport when a lot of other people laughed and didn't believe this car would run good. He stuck with it. We've known this car could win races all year long. We just had to get some of the kinks worked out of it. I'm very proud to be the one who has been able to bring this car to the winner's circle and show everybody what it's capable of."
The NHRA Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag Racing Series continues June 23-26 with the fifth annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio.
PRO MODIFIED:
1. Melanie Troxel; 2. Danny Rowe; 3. Khalid Balooshi; 4. Leah Pruett-LeDuc; 5. Brad Personett; 6. Mike Janis; 7. Roger Burgess; 8. Troy Coughlin; 9. Dennis Radford; 10. Kenny Lang; 11. Raymond Commisso; 12. Mike Knowles; 13. Jay Payne; 14. Chip King; 15. Steve Matusek; 16. Ed Hoover.
BRISTOL, Tenn. -- Final NHRA Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag Racing Series round-by-round results from the 11th annual Ford NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals presented by Tri-Cities Area Ford Dealers at Bristol Dragway.
PRO MODIFIED:
ROUND ONE -- Danny Rowe, Chevy Camaro, 5.973, 242.28 def. Dennis Radford, Plymouth Duster, 6.002, 234.66; Melanie Troxel, Chevy Corvette, 6.007, 221.78 def. Mike Knowles, Camaro, 6.051, 236.51; Mike Janis, Ford Mustang, 6.027, 237.46 def. Raymond Commisso, Camaro, 6.045, 241.24; Roger Burgess, Pontiac Firebird, 6.040, 221.31 def. Kenny Lang, Camaro, 6.011, 239.95; Khalid Balooshi, Camaro, 5.960, 239.31 def. Jay Payne, Mustang, 6.124, 239.48; Troy Coughlin, Pontiac GTO, 6.034, 245.94 def. Ed Hoover, Camaro, broke; Leah Pruett-LeDuc, Camaro, 5.979, 243.33 def. Chip King, Dodge Daytona, 6.151, 250.09; Brad Personett, Camaro, 6.068, 248.43 def. Steve Matusek, Mustang, 6.164, 243.50;
QUARTERFINALS -- Troxel, 5.996, 251.95 def. Janis, 6.388, 179.28; Pruett-LeDuc, 5.997, 243.15 def.Burgess, broke; Rowe, 5.978, 242.84 def. Personett, 6.188, 223.99; Balooshi, 5.957, 239.19 def. Coughlin, broke;
SEMIFINALS -- Troxel, 5.976, 252.19 def. Pruett-LeDuc, 6.173, 236.13; Rowe, 5.990, 243.02 def. Balooshi, foul;
FINAL -- Troxel, 5.928, 250.83 def. Rowe, foul.
BRISTOL, Tenn. -- Point standings (top 10) for NHRA Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag Racing Series following the 11th annual Ford NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals presented by Tri-Cities Area Ford Dealers at Bristol Dragway, the sixth of 10.
Pro Modified
1. Khalid Balooshi, 451; 2. Danny Rowe, 403; 3. Roger Burgess, 332; 4. (tie) Ed Hoover, 317; Rickie Smith, 317; 6. Kenny Lang, 310; 7. (tie) Raymond Commisso, 281; Melanie Troxel, 281; 9. Brad Personett, 263; 10. Mike Janis, 256.
