Female Racing News | News about Women in Motorsports » Melanie Troxel

Troxel’s season crashes to an end in Pomona

Amanda — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 23:00:25 +0000

POMONA, Calif. (Nov. 13) — Funny Car driver Melanie Troxel’s 2011 campaign ended with a scary accident in the turn-off area Sunday afternoon at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona. Fortunately, no one was injured in the bizarre incident, although there was plenty of damage to Troxel’s In-N-Out Burger Toyota Solara and some support trailers parked in the back lot.

Troxel had completed her run against title contender Cruz Pedregon and was being pushed off the racetrack by a Safety Safari four-wheeler when her 8,000-horsepower machine re-fired. Although her fuel was shut off and she had the hand brake completely engaged, the power of the machine took her on a ride through some advertising inflatables, a security fence and into two unoccupied trailers.

“I’ve been driving for a long time and I can never remember something like this happening,” a clearly shaken Troxel said. “I was doing everything I could to stop the car but it was going. The only decision I made was to go right and into the inflatables instead of continuing the turn and hitting the other racecars.

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Troxel and In-N-Out Burger team primed for Pomona success

Amanda — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 19:05:16 +0000

POMONA, Calif. (Nov. – Drag racing superstar Melanie Troxel and the In-N-Out Burger Toyota Funny Car team will try to end the 2011 season in winning style at this weekend’s Auto Club NHRA Finals.

“We’ve come a long way since the last time we were in Pomona back in February,” Troxel said. “The car really struggled back then, but we’ve really made a lot of progress throughout the season.

“I think we’ve got a car capable of playing spoiler this weekend, and we’ll certainly do our best to knock out some contenders on our way to the winner’s circle on Sunday.”

At the start of the season the R2B2 Racing team had trouble getting their car to simply go down the track. Over the past month, Troxel has been regularly qualifying in the top half of the field, a marked improvement.(...)
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Post tags: Funny Car, Melanie Troxel, NHRA

Troxel loses in semis to R2B2 Racing teammate at Las Vegas

Amanda — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 18:00:27 +0000

LAS VEGAS (Oct. 30) – The hope for Melanie Troxel was to leave The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with a matching pair of pewter Wally trophies from the Big O Tires NHRA Nationals.

But as is the case with many who spend a weekend in Las Vegas, Troxel and the In-N-Out Burger teams are leaving Nevada frustrated and empty-handed.

“Losing stinks no matter when it happens to you during the weekend,” Troxel said.

In the Get Screened America Pro Mod Series, Troxel and the In-N-Out Burger turbo Corvette lost to teammate Leah Pruett in the semifinals on a holeshot. Earlier in the day, the In-N-Out Burger Toyota Funny Car fell in the first round to Johnny Gray.

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Post tags: las vegas, Melanie Troxel, NHRA

Progress in Funny Car and top-three finish in Pro Mod on Troxel’s mind

Amanda — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 19:27:20 +0000

LAS VEGAS (Oct. 24) — For the final time this season, drag racer Melanie Troxel will compete in two professional categories when the 11th annual Big O Tires NHRA Nationals takes place this weekend at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

On nine other occasions, Troxel has raced both her In-N-Out Burger Toyota Solara Funny Car and her In-N-Out Burger Chevrolet Pro Mod machine. Although the extra work makes those race weekends a tad more hectic, the popular Troxel says having twice as many chances to win makes it all worthwhile.

“It does get a little crazy at times but the crew guys have developed a system that allows me to jump from one car to the other without any hiccups,” Troxel said. “There are times when one of the guys will warm up a car for me because I’m busy in the other one but everyone has been very helpful and supportive.

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Post tags: Melanie Troxel, NHRA, Pro mod, Road-Rage.com

Recent uptick has In-N-Out Burger driver Troxel fired-up for Phoenix

Amanda — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 18:57:25 +0000

PHOENIX (Oct. 10) — Funny Car star Melanie Troxel returns to Firebird International Raceway for the 27th annual Arizona NHRA Nationals intent on disrupting the Countdown dreams of as many drivers as possible as she searches for her first victory of the season in the In-N-Out Burger Toyota Solara.

It’s not just wishful thinking for the only female racer in history with victories in both Top Fuel and Funny Car. In fact, Troxel’s last four races have proven beyond a doubt that she has the horsepower to crush lots of championship dreams.

“We’ve run with the best of them here lately,” Troxel said, referring to recent triumphs over Countdown to the Championship drivers Jack Beckman, Robert Hight and Matt Hagan. “I think we’ve reached a point where no one is particularly happy when they see us in the staging lanes and that’s a good thing.

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Post tags: Drag Racing, Melanie Troxel, NHRA

In-N-Out Funny Car a solid contender, says driver Troxel

Amanda — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 17:00:38 +0000

DALLAS (Sept. 21) – Great things are just over the horizon for the In-N-Out Burger Toyota Funny Car, and superstar driver Melanie Troxel can feel it.

After putting up impressive numbers in qualifying the last two races, Troxel believes that the In-N-Out car is about to make its presence felt in the final races of the NHRA Full Throttle Series season, beginning with this weekend’s national event at the Texas Motorplex.

“We’ve still got five races left this season to learn a lot,” Troxel said. “We’ve got a good chance to win a race before it’s all done. We’re going to keep picking away at the performance of the car.

“We’ve got one of the best cars out here, we just need a little more consistency at this point.”

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Troxel races to runner-up Pro Mod finish at Charlotte

Amanda — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 22:00:46 +0000

CHARLOTTE (Sept. 18) – Melanie Troxel drove the In-N-Out Burger turbo Corvette to a runner-up finish Sunday at the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Nationals, cementing a 1-2 finish for R2B2 Racing in the Get Screened America Pro Mod Series.

Troxel lost to teammate Leah Pruett in the final. Troxel got off the line first and ran a 5.915 second pass at 247.57 mph, but it wasn’t enough to beat the hard-charging Pruett, who ran a lap of 5.843 pass at 253.52 mph.

“(Tuner) Steve Petty was trying to set these cars up to run exactly even, so I knew I’d have to be good on the Tree to have shot at winning,” Troxel said. “I feel good because I did have a really good light in the final, but it just wasn’t our day.

“We had a mechanical problem on the car in Round 2, and it was leaning the car out really severely and cutting the engine out. We’re thinking now that might have done some damage to the engine.”

While disappointed that she wasn’t able to successfully defend her victory at Charlotte, Troxel said Pruett’s win was another boost to the whole R2B2 Racing family.

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Melanie Troxel’s two In-N-Out racecars roar to life in Indy

Amanda — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 20:43:49 +0000

INDIANAPOLIS (Sept. 5) – It wasn’t the storybook ending Melanie Troxel was looking for at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals, but it proved to be a solid Monday of racing.

Troxel advanced to the semifinals in the Get Screened America Pro Mod Series and reached the quarterfinals behind the wheel of the In-N-Out Burger Toyota Funny Car.

“All in all, it was a good weekend,” Troxel said. “We qualified well and came real close to being No. 1 in two classes. That would have been history.

“It’s late in the season, but I think both teams are really starting to hit their strides, which is a good feeling.”

In her Funny Car, Troxel beat Bob Bode in the first round before an engine issue early in the second round against Bob Tasca III cut her race short.

“The Funny Car has been running much more consistently,” Troxel said. “We’re going to continue to make progress on that car. It’s an exciting time.”

Against Bode, Troxel got off the line first and left her opponent in a cloud of smoke. She spun the tires late in the run but crossed the line in 4.066 seconds at 215.167 mph. Bode limped across in 7.225 at 105.23 mph.

In the second round, she had nearly from the hit of the throttle and coasted to a 9.086 at 43.19 mph as Tasca zoomed across in 4.181 seconds at 105.23 mph.

Troxel didn’t get much time investigate what went wrong with the Funny Car, because it was straight into the In-N-Out Burger turbocharged ’53 Corvette for a second round Pro Mod matchup with Burton Auxier.(...)
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Drag racer Troxel happy for a chance to slow down

Amanda — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 17:05:07 +0000

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.

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Post tags: Funny Car, il, joliet, Melanie Troxel, NHRA, ProCare Rx, Route 66 Nationals

Troxel traverses tricky left lane but doesn’t have enough for Capps

Amanda — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 17:30:05 +0000

NORWALK, Ohio (June 26) – It wasn’t the kind of grand leap forward that the ProCare Rx Toyota Funny Car has been making lately, but Melanie Troxel and her R2B2 Racing crew are walking away from the fifth annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals with a confident stride.

Troxel lost to veteran Ron Capps in Sunday’s first round, but she was one of the few drivers to make a full lap down the tricky left lane at Summit Motorsports Park.

“We didn’t make a qualifying run good enough to get lane choice,” Troxel said. “That turned out to be pretty important today. But we made a good run.”

Capps ran the second quickest ET of the round with a 4.118-second pass at 299.26 mph, while Troxel crossed the line in 4.188 seconds at 284.99 mph.

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Post tags: Funny Car, Melanie Troxel, NHRA, Pro mod, r2b2