Top Fuel points leader Troxel qualifies No. 4 in Vegas

DON SCHUMACHER RACING
2006 NHRA POWERade DRAG RACING SERIES
Round 5 of 23
NHRA Summitracing.com Nationals
THE STRIP AT LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
Race Date: April 7-9, 2006


LAS VEGAS (April 8, 2006) - Except for one tire-smoking qualifying round in
the heat of the day today, NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series Top Fuel points
leader Melanie Troxel posted a string of consistent laps to qualify No. 4
for the NHRA SummitRacing.com Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor
Speedway. 

Her best pass of the weekend came in the final session today - 4.543 seconds
at 325.92 mph - with the track surface still registering a blistering
115-plus degrees. Troxel's other laps included a 4.577/322.65, a
4.585/304.87 while blowing the side panels off the body of the Skull
Gear/Torco Race Fuels Top Fuel dragster (the body was then replaced), and a
9.385/84.16.

Troxel, crew chief Richard Hogan and the Skull Gear team are glad they
didn't have to scramble for a spot in the last session, as they did at the
past two events. "It was a huge relief to come out first pass and get a nice
solid number," she said. "That allowed us to try some different things in
the later sessions, instead of scrambling like we did the last two races.
That should put us in a better position than we have been in entering race
day."

That final pass bumped her up two spots to No. 4. "That last pass was really
the test to see what we could do on a hot track," she said, "and we went
down it. It should be a good indication of how the car will perform
tomorrow."

Despite her hot streak of reaching the final round in the last five
consecutive events, Troxel is wisely cautious. "You never want to go out
there on Sunday and look past that first round; that's usually when you go
out early. It's the toughest one, and it makes you the most nervous as a
driver. Once you get that one out of the way things seem to flow.

"We've had all the possible scenarios already this year. We've qualified
well, not qualified well, not qualified until the last session, but the nice
thing about it is Richard and the Skull Gear guys always put all the pieces
together and give me a car that can go down the track on Sunday."

She faces David Baca in the first round of eliminations on Sunday.