RICHARD HOGAN JOINS R2B2 NITRO TEAM
Tue, 2010-08-31 13:01
Searching for a quicker way to get Funny Car star Melanie Troxel down the drag strip, R2B2 Racing team owner Roger Burgess has enlisted the help of respected crew chief Richard Hogan to assist tuner Lance Larsen with Troxel's In-N-Out Burger Dodge Charger R/T. Hogan already has joined the team and will be on hand at this weekend's 56th annual Mac Tools U.S. Nationals presented by Lucas Oil.
The team, which has run in all the markets where In-N-Out Burger has restaurants, as well as a few other select races, has struggled to find a rhythm in its nine national event appearances this year. Although they've successfully qualified for every field, they only have two elimination-round wins to their credit.
"The best car I've ever driven in the NHRA nitro ranks was the dragster Richard tuned in 2005 and 2006," said Troxel, one of only 14 racers in history and the only female with wins in both Top Fuel and Funny Car. "We went to six final rounds in a row, earned a couple of wins, and set a few NHRA records back then and it was an exciting time. When Richard gets onto a tune-up, he knows how to keep the car running strong.
Troxel hopes Hogan's help will lift In-N-Out team's performance
Searching for a quicker way to get Funny Car star Melanie Troxel down the drag strip, R2B2 Racing team owner Roger Burgess has enlisted the help of respected crew chief Richard Hogan to assist tuner Lance Larsen with Troxel's In-N-Out Burger Dodge Charger R/T. Hogan already has joined the team and will be on hand at this weekend's 56th annual Mac Tools U.S. Nationals presented by Lucas Oil.
The team, which has run in all the markets where In-N-Out Burger has restaurants, as well as a few other select races, has struggled to find a rhythm in its nine national event appearances this year. Although they've successfully qualified for every field, they only have two elimination-round wins to their credit.
"The best car I've ever driven in the NHRA nitro ranks was the dragster Richard tuned in 2005 and 2006," said Troxel, one of only 14 racers in history and the only female with wins in both Top Fuel and Funny Car. "We went to six final rounds in a row, earned a couple of wins, and set a few NHRA records back then and it was an exciting time. When Richard gets onto a tune-up, he knows how to keep the car running strong.
"He came with us to last week's test and began the process of figuring out how Lance is tuning the car and what he can add to the equation. What we like about Richard is he has strong opinions and he's not afraid to tell you what's on his mind, good or bad. The main thing is he wants us to perform at our best, which ultimately is what we all want."
Troxel hasn't exactly had the best racing luck this year. Of the 13 opponents she's faced this season, only one is currently ranked outside the top 10.
"That's a result of our own performances," Troxel said, offering no excuses. "If we qualified better, we wouldn't be facing one of the top cars every Sunday morning. We'll get there. Roger is putting a lot into this team and we're anxious to show him a return on his investment. I can't think of a better place to start doing that than Indy."
Aside from her duties in the Funny Car, Troxel will once again be racing her In-N-Out Burger Camaro in the Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag Racing Series.
"We've had a lot of fun in Pro Mod this season," said Troxel, who led the points after the Houston race. "This will be my second race with this new-to-me Camaro. It's already shown a lot of promise and we'll see how we can improve on it this weekend.
"I had a chance to race a very similar car that Roger owns at the Nitrolympx in Hockenheim recently and we set the European record so we should be able to get this car running the same kind of numbers right away.
"Indy is the biggest race of the year and we've got a chance to win two trophies so we're about as excited as we can be."
The team, which has run in all the markets where In-N-Out Burger has restaurants, as well as a few other select races, has struggled to find a rhythm in its nine national event appearances this year. Although they've successfully qualified for every field, they only have two elimination-round wins to their credit.
"The best car I've ever driven in the NHRA nitro ranks was the dragster Richard tuned in 2005 and 2006," said Troxel, one of only 14 racers in history and the only female with wins in both Top Fuel and Funny Car. "We went to six final rounds in a row, earned a couple of wins, and set a few NHRA records back then and it was an exciting time. When Richard gets onto a tune-up, he knows how to keep the car running strong.
Troxel hopes Hogan's help will lift In-N-Out team's performance
Searching for a quicker way to get Funny Car star Melanie Troxel down the drag strip, R2B2 Racing team owner Roger Burgess has enlisted the help of respected crew chief Richard Hogan to assist tuner Lance Larsen with Troxel's In-N-Out Burger Dodge Charger R/T. Hogan already has joined the team and will be on hand at this weekend's 56th annual Mac Tools U.S. Nationals presented by Lucas Oil.
The team, which has run in all the markets where In-N-Out Burger has restaurants, as well as a few other select races, has struggled to find a rhythm in its nine national event appearances this year. Although they've successfully qualified for every field, they only have two elimination-round wins to their credit.
"The best car I've ever driven in the NHRA nitro ranks was the dragster Richard tuned in 2005 and 2006," said Troxel, one of only 14 racers in history and the only female with wins in both Top Fuel and Funny Car. "We went to six final rounds in a row, earned a couple of wins, and set a few NHRA records back then and it was an exciting time. When Richard gets onto a tune-up, he knows how to keep the car running strong.
"He came with us to last week's test and began the process of figuring out how Lance is tuning the car and what he can add to the equation. What we like about Richard is he has strong opinions and he's not afraid to tell you what's on his mind, good or bad. The main thing is he wants us to perform at our best, which ultimately is what we all want."
Troxel hasn't exactly had the best racing luck this year. Of the 13 opponents she's faced this season, only one is currently ranked outside the top 10.
"That's a result of our own performances," Troxel said, offering no excuses. "If we qualified better, we wouldn't be facing one of the top cars every Sunday morning. We'll get there. Roger is putting a lot into this team and we're anxious to show him a return on his investment. I can't think of a better place to start doing that than Indy."
Aside from her duties in the Funny Car, Troxel will once again be racing her In-N-Out Burger Camaro in the Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag Racing Series.
"We've had a lot of fun in Pro Mod this season," said Troxel, who led the points after the Houston race. "This will be my second race with this new-to-me Camaro. It's already shown a lot of promise and we'll see how we can improve on it this weekend.
"I had a chance to race a very similar car that Roger owns at the Nitrolympx in Hockenheim recently and we set the European record so we should be able to get this car running the same kind of numbers right away.
"Indy is the biggest race of the year and we've got a chance to win two trophies so we're about as excited as we can be."
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