Multi-car team owner Roger Burgess announced Friday that superstar driver Melanie Troxel will race the team's Funny Car at the upcoming NHRA races in Gainesville, Fla., and Charlotte.

Original plans that reflected available sponsorship dollars called for Troxel to park the car until April 9-11 for the national event at Houston Raceway Park, but Burgess decided to pay for the next two events out of his own pocket to help the newly-formed Funny Car team find a rhythm.

"Racing six national events in a row gives everyone the best chance to find a good, solid tune-up," Burgess said. "In this way, by the time we get to Houston and the first Las Vegas race, we'll be ready to put the In-N-Out Burger body back on the car and really show them something on the racetrack. Multi-car team owner Roger Burgess announced Friday that superstar driver Melanie Troxel will race the team's Funny Car at the upcoming NHRA races in Gainesville, Fla., and Charlotte.

Original plans that reflected available sponsorship dollars called for Troxel to park the car until April 9-11 for the national event at Houston Raceway Park, but Burgess decided to pay for the next two events out of his own pocket to help the newly-formed Funny Car team find a rhythm.

"Racing six national events in a row gives everyone the best chance to find a good, solid tune-up," Burgess said. "In this way, by the time we get to Houston and the first Las Vegas race, we'll be ready to put the In-N-Out Burger body back on the car and really show them something on the racetrack. 

"We've had a good start but the team did come together late in the off-season so the guys have been working overtime to get on pace with the other top teams. Everyone wanted to keep the momentum going so I made the call. Like everyone else, I love seeing Melanie race."

Troxel and Burgess did sign In-N-Out Burger to a title sponsorship deal in the off-season, however they only race for In-N-Out Burger during eight select races in the western United States. The team continues to look for support for the other 15 races on the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series.

"We're running the Vietnam Veterans Tribute body in Gainesville and Charlotte, which is something that's very dear to my heart," Burgess said. "But if we find a suitable corporate partner before then we can definitely get their name in front of millions of drag racing fans right away. Hopefully, we can get a deal done for all the races we have open and Melanie can truly run for the championship. She's as good as they come; she just needs the chance."

The only female in history with victories in Funny Car and Top Fuel, Troxel was thrilled with the decision to run two extra events. In Gainesville, she'll also have her first chance to run Pro Mod, which she'll do as a teammate to Burgess and Ray Commisso.

"The Funny Car already has shown so much promise," Troxel said. "We're all excited about running the first six in a row. Now we can really put our minds to making the car quicker and more consistent. But, to be clear, we're not testing; we're trying to win.

"Gainesville will be my first time running both cars at the same event. I admit I was getting a little nervous about that prospect but after Phoenix we went testing and it all came together for me. I've definitely figured out that I need some time before each run to gather my thoughts and mentally go through the procedures for each racecar because they are very, very different. When you're in the car, you want everything to be instinctive and automatic.

"It's also going to be a lot of fun racing with Roger and Ray again. They haven't raced since last November so I know they're excited and that will lift the mood of the entire team to an even higher level. Gainesville is going to be a blast."