It's going to be more than just another double-duty race for drag racing star Melanie Troxel at this weekend's 31st annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals.

Busy days spent driving the ProCare Rx Toyota Funny Car in the NHRA Full Throttle Series and the RoadRage.com Camaro in the Get Screened America Pro Mod Series have become second nature for Troxel. This weekend's extra dash of spice is due to the fact that Atlanta Dragway is the home track of Troxel's team, R2B2 Racing.

"It's going to be a very busy weekend," Troxel said. "We've got an open house at the race shop on Thursday night and we've got a lot of stuff other going on throughout the weekend. Believe it or not, sometimes that actually helps you out as a driver because it makes you focus on what's right in front of you.

"I'm actually very excited to be racing in Atlanta with all our close friends there."

It's going to be more than just another double-duty race for drag racing star Melanie Troxel at this weekend's 31st annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals.

Busy days spent driving the ProCare Rx Toyota Funny Car in the NHRA Full Throttle Series and the RoadRage.com Camaro in the Get Screened America Pro Mod Series have become second nature for Troxel. This weekend's extra dash of spice is due to the fact that Atlanta Dragway is the home track of Troxel's team, R2B2 Racing.

"It's going to be a very busy weekend," Troxel said. "We've got an open house at the race shop on Thursday night and we've got a lot of stuff other going on throughout the weekend. Believe it or not, sometimes that actually helps you out as a driver because it makes you focus on what's right in front of you.

"I'm actually very excited to be racing in Atlanta with all our close friends there."

Troxel's Funny Car has encountered several stumbling blocks during the season and has struggled to qualify at each event. After exhaustive hours of research, Troxel said her Aaron Brooks-led crew believes the chassis has been adversely impacting their performance.

"We've actually had a brand new chassis on order and tried to rush it to have it done in time for this race," Troxel said. "Unfortunately that didn't happen. We have, however, made some big modifications to the chassis we’ve been running and we're hoping to see a big difference thanks to the changes we've made.

"What's been incredible to me is the attitude of my guys. They've really hung in there during some pretty down times and it's been very nice to see. I'm proud of this group and I want to get this thing turned around fast so they can start seeing the fruits of their labor. We'll get there, and Atlanta would be the perfect place for a fresh start."

Before racing gets underway Friday, R2B2 Racing will have a free open house from 6-8 p.m. Thursday at its shop in Duluth, Ga., just northeast of Atlanta on the way from downtown to the racetrack in Commerce.

Get Screened America Pro Mod Series racing begins at 3:15 p.m. Friday with two qualifying rounds. There will be one more qualifier on Saturday before eliminations start at 3:15 p.m. The champion will be crowned Sunday afternoon.

Qualifying for the Funny Car portion of the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals starts at 3:45 p.m. Friday and continues at 11 a.m. Saturday. Eliminations kick-off at 11 a.m. Sunday. ESPN2 will air the qualifying show starting a 7 p.m. Saturday with eliminations airing at 7 p.m. Sunday.

 

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