Only a persistent drizzle and a strict curfew at Hockenheimring stood between Melanie Troxel and certain victory at the 25th annual FIA Nitrolympx on Sunday.. 

Troxel had advanced to the Pro Mod final and was scheduled to face teammate Micke Gullqvist for the championship, but a slight rain began to fall and organizers didn’t believe it would stop in time to run any more cars before the 5 p.m. curfew.

“We came a long way to race here and it’s a shame the weather got in the way when we were so close to completing the event,” Troxel said. “We’re all disappointed about that but thrilled with the weekend as a whole.”

Both Troxel and Gullqvist pled their case to run the final, but officials insisted that their hands were tied. At the post-race awards ceremony, the first place trophy was awarded to Troxel because she set low ET every round this weekend as well as a Hockenheim track record.

It was a touchy day from the start as racers and fans were greeted with dark skies and intermittent rain, causing several delays in the racing. However, the showers let up just long enough to get all two of the three scheduled rounds of Pro Mod racing completed. Troxel’s R2B2 Racing Camaro was as quick and consistent as it had been all weekend long.

It was a rush to get the Pro Mods up to the line for the semifinals, but crew chief Al Billes and the crew of Mark Savage, Johnny Bamuda, Donna Billes, and Travis Rice remained cool under pressure.

Troxel got off clean in the semifinals as her opponent Urban Johanssen jumped the light by .038 seconds and lit the red light. Troxel cruised to a record 6.007 at 242.25 mph to get lane choice over Gullqvist, who beat Mats Ericksson with a pass of 6.042 seconds at 236.56 mph.

“We missed a five-second run here by just a hair,” Troxel said. “I think we would have liked to do that, and might have had a chance to do that if we would completed the race.”

Gullqvist said he liked the direction his car was going, and thought he might have been able to give Troxel a real challenge.

“I think it was an exciting weekend with Melanie and I being the Nos. 1 and 2 qualifiers and scheduled to meet in the finals,” Gullqvist said. “My car didn’t perform the way I wanted it most of the weekend, but today we really got it going. We learned a lot each round today.

“In the end, I think we could have really challenged Melanie.”

In quarterfinal round, Troxel soundly defeated Roger Johanssen with a lap of 6.082 seconds at 240.56 mph to Johanssen’s 6.509 at 199.44 mph.

Despite not getting a chance to run for the trophy, Troxel said the team walked away with a lot of positives during the weekend – including smashing the track record.

“We improved every run this weekend except for one when we ran the same ET as the run before,” she said. “The car performed great and we had a great time while we were here.”

Troxel and her R2B2 Racing crew will have one more chance to bring home gold from Europe this season at the FIA Finals at Santa Pod Raceway in England in September.

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At 70, Shirley Muldowney has lost none of the fighting qualities that helped her cross the gender line in top-level drag racing.

Muldowney, who began competing seriously in the mid- to late-60s, talked about her experiences as a female racer at the Detroit Sports Broadcasters Association luncheon Tuesday at the Detroit Science Center (DSC).

Muldowney, who lives near Milan Dragway, was among a group of racing greats who will be guests at tonight’s 22nd annual Motorsports Hall of Fame of America induction ceremony at the Fillmore Theater in Detroit.

“I was a victim of being ahead of my time,” said Muldowney, who was inducted in 1990 along with motorsports legends such as Mario Andretti, Jim Clark, Mark Donohue, Gar Wood and William France Sr. “Someone had to open the doors (for women).”

Muldowney crashed through the doors, winning NHRA Top Fuel championships in 1977, 1980 and 1982, and becoming the subject of “Heart Like a Wheel,” a 1983 movie about her career and challenges.

Muldowney never flinched in her battle to be accepted.

“I was the only girl, and I had to beat the boys,” said Muldowney, who won 18 career NHRA events and retired at 63. “They hated me. There I was when they pulled through the gates at the racetrack, and I wasn’t going away.”

Muldowney, who at one time had legendary Connie Kalitta as her crew chief and engine builder, would jump into a dragster right now if she had sponsorship, she said.

“Driving cars was natural to me,” Muldowney said. “I’d like to go back and settle a few scores. I like a good fight. It never ends.”

Muldowney wants a new drag strip built somewhere near downtown Detroit and more money invested in the sport.

“NASCAR, bless their hearts, have picked our pockets,” she said. “But we still have the best form of motorsports. You can visit and talk to the drivers in the garage, and you can sit in the stands and watch the action from 8 until 8. It doesn’t get better than that.”

Muldowney will be on hand tonight as fellow drag racer Dale Armstrong, late NASCAR champion Alan Kulwicki, AMA Supercross champion Jeremy McGrath, veteran sportscaster Ken Squire, former Trans-Am winner Jerry Titus, USAC sprint and midget icon Rich Vogler and late stunt driver and Indy car star Joie Chitwood are inducted into the the Hall of Fame.

Joining Muldowney at Tuesday’s luncheon were current Hall members Mel Kenyon (midgets), Tom D’Eath (powerboats), Bob Bondurant (road racing/sports cars), Danny Ongais (Indy cars) and Elliott Forbes-Robinson (road racing/sports cars).

Former Indianapolis Motor Speedway executive and newly appointed Daytona International Speedway president Joie Chitwood III also attended the lunch, as did Jennifer Revson, sister of the late F1/Can-Am and Indy 500 driver Peter Revson, who was killed at 35 during practice for the 1974 South African Grand Prix at Kyalami.

Read more: Racer Shirley Muldowney hasn’t slowed down at 70 | freep.com | Detroit Free Press

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. (Aug. 24, 2010) — Last Saturday at Road America, Ashley Freiberg stood before a packed media center to participate in a prestigious presentation — the announcement of the 2010 Team USA Scholarship nominees.

Freiberg, the 18-year-old driver from Homer Glen, Ill., became only the second woman ever nominated for a chance to race in the world-renowned Formula Ford events in England in October and November. Danica Patrick was the first woman racer nominated for the scholarship award in the early 2000s.

Eight drivers were nominated to compete for the United States in several important races later this year. Former Team USA Scholarship winners included the likes of former CART champion Jimmy Vasser, 2004 Indy 500 winner Buddy Rice, IndyCar Series and CART race winner Bryan Herta, NASCAR star A.J. Allmendinger and former Indy Lights titleholder J.R. Hildebrand.

Freiberg has won 15 Skip Barber events in 2010 and was the first woman to win a Barber Series championship when she captured the Southern Regional title in April.

Last month, Freiberg made more history by being the first female winner ever in the BFGoodrich/Skip Barber National Series presented by Mazda when she drove to victory at New Jersey Motorsports Park.

“It has been a tremendous year for me and this nomination of the Team USA Scholarship is icing on the cake,” said Freiberg, who is attempting to win the Barber Summer Series for a second title in the same season. “It is a very prestigious honor to be even nominated with a group of talented, young drivers. I am thrilled to be a part of the Team USA shoot-out later this year.”

Freiberg and the other seven nominees will participate in a special “shoot-out” hosted by the Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving at Chandler, Ariz., to determine the top two Americans who will travel to the U.K. for the upcoming events.

Last weekend in the two Barber National Series races at Road America, Freiberg was seeking another victory on the famed four-mile road circuit. However, while she was leading the Saturday feature event, Freiberg’s open-wheel machine was stuck from behind by an over-aggressive driver and forced out of the event due to car damage.

“I was very frustrated by Saturday’s race,” she said. “There I was in the lead (over 20 drivers) as I entered turn five. Then ‘boom,’ I was hit and knocked out of the race. That crash also affected my Sunday event. The car wasn’t the same for the race. I was able to lead for some of the Sunday race, but I had to settle for fifth due to the Saturday damage. I know that is part of racing, but I had a great shot to win again.”

Freiberg will continue her quest for another Barber crown this weekend in the Summer Series contest at Gratten, Mich.

JOLIET, IL (August 28, 2010) – Milka Duno finished 19th out of 29 entries in tonight’s 200-lap Indy 300 at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, IL.

In her first practice session on Friday morning her on-track time was seriously reduced due to a mechanical issue which caused her to have only 13 laps in the 60-minute session, but it was enough for her to deliver a best lap time only 7 tenths of a second off the practice’s leader.

The mechanical issue fixed, but with no opportunity for a shake-down, Duno qualified 26th for the start of tonight’s race – with a differential of 8 tenths of a second from the pole sitter’s time.

In the last practice session after qualifying Duno was able to reduce the differential from the practice’s fastest driver to 6 tenths of a second.

“I’m happy to be back on the ovals and I really enjoy racing at Chicagoland,” said Duno. “We had some bad luck in the first practice session that really cut down on our practice time but we were still able to improve which is always a good sign. Many thanks to Dale and the team for all of their effort and I’m happy that we had a good result at their hometown circuit!”

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Sloan Henderson Set to Make CRA Series Debut at Columbus Eighteen-year-old Sloan Henderson will attempt to make her first career start in the CRA Super Series on Saturday, August 28 in the CRA 125 at Columbus Motor Speedway. She will pilot the No. 4 GreenPro Landscaping/Rebel 105.9 Chevrolet in the seventh event held at Columbus for the CRA Super Series. ‘I’m really looking forward to racing with CRA at Columbus, ’said Sloan Henderson. ‘The series has some great drivers and I’m excited that my first start will take place at a track that I’m familiar with. It should help the learning curve and the cars are similar to what we race with the exception of a different tire,’ added Sloan.

Henderson attended the CRA Super Series event at Berlin Raceway earlier this year for an introduction to the series. Future plans with CRA remain tentative, but goals are to make four additional starts if this weekend’s event is a success. Henderson began her racing career in 2004 and has already established an impressive resume. She competed in Quarter Midgets scoring over 50 feature victories and establishing three track records during her first season of competition. As she moved through the ranks of racing she earned Rookie of the Year honors in Bandoleros in 2005 and Legends Cars in 2007. Henderson’s impressive 2006 season included the KOIL Championship in the Legends Cars, third in INEX Bandoleros National Points and 13 feature victories. In the Legends division, Henderson finished sixth in the INEX National Points in 2008. Season highlights included 13 feature victories and 33 top-five finishes.

The following season she was 2009 NASCAR Whelen Rookie of the Year for Ohio competing at Columbus and Kil-Kare speedways. This year, Henderson has been a regular fixture at Columbus and Kil-Kare in the Late Model division. In 22 starts, she has collected two feature wins, 16 top-five finishes and 18 top 10s. Her most recent victory is the Robbie Dean Memorial event, a 94-lap event at Columbus on August 6. Henderson will add a new chapter to her career with the first appearance in the CRA Super Series this weekend competing against some of the premier Late Model drivers in the country at her hometrack. The CRA Super Series returns to Columbus Motor Speedway on Saturday, August 28 in the CRA 125. Practice begins at 1 p.m. with the racing program starting at 4. Tickets are $18 for adults and $5 for kids. Following the racing action a free concert will feature the Blue Oyster Cult.

Older image of Patrick, before the media frenzy...

Danica-mania as it is being called in the media, the phenomenon that drives most fans crazy. Danica making the decision to drive in two series, full time in Indy and part time in the NASCAR Nationwide and ARCA series’ has grouped her into several categories. Her media attention has become tiresome to most, “Who cares if she’s running 30th!?” I’ve heard many times during a Nationwide Series race..

I came across this article and it really made me want the options of my readers. Like most I have tons of respect for Danica and by any standards it’s not her fault what the media has done with her image. Read the article below from DelawareOnline.com by Mike Finney. Leave us a comment and tell us what you think. We have to agree with him on some points, does Danica need to get used to the ways of NASCAR, bumping and banging is the way of Stock Cars.. Or should she stick with Indy? Let us know below!

Courtesy of DelawareOnline.com

For better or for worse, Danica-mania is heading to Dover International Speedway next month.

The track is taking full advantage of Danica Patrick’s upcoming Nationwide Series race at Dover on Sept. 25, prominently featuring her on billboards and hosting a free question-and-answer session with her prior to her first race at the speedway.

The biggest question is, “Why?”

Female drivers have competed at Dover before. Anyone remember Shawna Robinson or Erin Crocker? They weren’t featured on billboards.

However, the hype that surrounds Patrick is not because of her out-of-this-world driving skills. Rather, it is because of her cover-girl looks, which should offend all drivers, male or female.

That’s because Patrick’s accomplishments, or lack thereof, don’t stack up to many drivers, male or female.

Patrick has made six starts in the Nationwide Series. Her average starting position has been 29th and her average finish has been 30.5.

Sure, there should be a learning curve, but she drives one of the fastest race cars out there for Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s team, which is supported by Hendrick Motorsports.

Her results so far are embarrassing. Does anyone remember her whining after veteran driver Morgan Shepherd slightly bumped into her at New Hampshire, causing her to spin out?

“Is NASCAR going to let him get away with that?” she said. Please!

Of course, people could also say that she is concentrating more on her full-time IndyCar career. The problem is, she has only five top-10 finishes in 13 races in the Indy Car Series with an average finish of 12.6. She hasn’t exactly been knocking down the gate to Victory Lane there, either.

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American drag racer Melanie Troxel had a busy Saturday at the 25th annual FIA Nitrolympx at the historic Hockenheimring, qualifying No. 1 in Pro Mod with a track-record pass and cruising to a first-round victory over Robert Joosten.

“It’s nice to know the car can go down the track and consistently run a good number,” Troxel said. “We’re excited about the handle we have on the race car, and I’m real comfortable in it. We’re ready to go for Sunday.”

Troxel blazed past Joosten in their elimination matchup with a run of 6.045 seconds at 241.14 mph, which tied the ET record she had set earlier in the day. Joosten had problems off the start and crossed the center line at half track, resulting in a disqualification.

“I think (crew chief Al Billes) was tempted a little to try and run a five-second number here,” Troxel said. “But we knew the smart thing to do was go down the track.

“I didn’t see (Joosten) at all, which was probably for the best. It’s never fun to see another car come over and get into your lane.”

Joosten, of the Netherlands, was the first alternate in Pro Mod and got his chance when No. 16 qualifier Patrik Wikstrom of Sweden couldn’t make the call. Joosten’s qualifying lap was a 6.526 at 194.14 mph.

Troxel faces No. 9 qualifier Roger Johansson of Sweden when eliminations resume Sunday morning. Johansson beat countryman Jan Gunnarsson in the first round with a lap of 6.216 at 226.29 mph to Gunnarsson’s 6.291 at 229.95 mph.

Warm conditions in Germany haven’t bothered Troxel or Billes as the R2B2 Racing Camaro got quicker with each successive qualifying run during the weekend. In her first qualifying effort on Saturday she broke the track record with a pass of 6.052 seconds at 241.38 mph.

“I don’t think we could have asked for anything more this weekend,” Troxel said. “We were the quickest car each session, improved each session and gone down the track each time. We’re very happy with things.

“The car is doing what we wanted it to do and the weather has held up.”

Troxel followed her final qualifying run with her 6.045 at 241.59 mph to improve on the record. The No. 2 qualifier was Troxel’s teammate Micke Gullqvist of Sweden, who drove an R2B2 Racing car to a win at the Get Screened America Pro Mod Series in Atlanta earlier this summer. Gullqvist had a best qualifying pass of 6.107 seconds at 234.63 mph.
Gullqvist faced Norbert Kuno in the first round on Saturday and won easily, running a 6.113 at 234.55 mph to Kuno’s 6.378 at 226.18 mph.

In other racing at Hockenheimring, Anita Makela of Finland held on to her No. 1 qualifying spot in Top Fuel with a best pass of 4.800 seconds at 299.94 mph. Fred Hansssen took the top spot in Top Methanol Dragster with a top lap of 5.381 at 266.02 mph.

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Jennifer Jo Cobb didn’t fly in a private plane or on a first-class flight to get Darlington this weekend.

Instead, the Camping World Truck Series rookie drove from her home in Missouri with a stop in Nashville, Tenn., to save on travel costs. Those are the kinds of sacrifices Cobb is making in the first year of owning her own team.

Cobb, along with some help from investors, bought the trucks from the No. 10 Circle Bar Racing team and is running the full truck schedule for the first time in her career. Prior to this season, the 36-year-old had made only four starts in the series.

“I want to be an inspiration to people of what’s possible with so little. I think that can transfer to not just racing but other things in life,” said Cobb, the only female competing full time in any of NASCAR’s top three series.

While Cobb was able to buy the trucks, the technical support and engineering didn’t come along with it. Cobb says the team has only five full-time employees but has several volunteers who help out.

Still, Cobb said there are some weeks where she has to do little things like the accounting work and filling out the entry lists.

“All the things that need to be handled from a small-team perspective has been challenging,” Cobb said.

Cobb also doesn’t have a full-time sponsor for the car. Instead, she runs her clothing line, Driver Boutique and Drivenmale.com, on the truck each week.

Cobb came up with the idea for the clothing line, which caters to both female and male race fans, in 2006.

“It’s a fun side project and a nice distraction,” said Cobb, who also will run four Nationwide races this year. “I fill out the orders myself. We aren’t making a huge margin off it but I am so appreciative of the people who have bought stuff from us.”

Cobb also has faced her obstacles on the track. She admits she has been a little intimidated at some tracks like Dover but says she is starting to become more comfortable each week.

Cobb has four top-20 showings to her credit with a career-best 14th at Texas and Saturday at Darlington.

“We celebrate over top 20s and people think we are stupid. They have no idea what we are up against,” Cobb said.

Cobb has hopes of securing a sponsor for next year. If she doesn’t, she will likely have to shut down the operation.

“I get razzed up worrying about next season,” she said. “It would be a shame not to race next season. I can’t say how valuable it is and how much I’m learning. We can’t afford everything. We are young and don’t have experience but we have come a long way. That’s why I hope we can find a sponsor and do it again next year.”

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