CHICAGO (July 6) – Drag racing star Melanie Troxel is going to be able to take an extra breath or two at this weekend’s 14th annual O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Route 66 Nationals in the Chicago suburb of Joliet.

With the Get Screened America Pro Mod Series on hiatus for the next five races, Troxel is going to be able to focus solely on the performance of the ProCare Rx Toyota Funny Car.

“I’m looking forward to that,” Troxel said. “On those double-duty weekends, I feel like I’m always running around crazy back and forth between the two cars. For the next few weekends, I get to slow down, spend more time with the fans, and focus on running the Funny Car.”

After starting the season with five DNQs, Troxel and her team have now qualified for five straight events and won elimination rounds at two of the last three races.

“We’re building our confidence every time out,” Troxel said. “That’s going to continue. There are ups and downs in this sport. You can’t expect every weekend to be perfect, and we’re hoping for more upward moves this weekend.”

Troxel said she’s happy the team is building momentum because the summer heat makes racing a challenge.

“We’re starting to get those summery, tricky track conditions,” she said. “Hopefully we’re getting into a groove that will carry us through the Western Swing.

“Over the past three or four races, we’ve made decent runs in difficult track conditions. We’re carrying that knowledge into Chicago so that’s exciting. We’re a team that has room to grow, and we’re going to keep on that path.”

Qualifying at Route 66 Raceway gets under way at 4 p.m. CDT Friday with qualifying continuing at 4 p.m. Saturday. Eliminations will being at 11 a.m. Sunday. ESPN2 will air the qualifying show at 9:30 p.m. EDT Saturday and eliminations at 9 p.m. on Sunday.

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