When Melanie Troxel decided to forego her Top Fuel career in favor of a
Funny Car ride this year, she knew a learning curve was ahead.
There aren’t many physical similarities between the long, sleek cars
with the big wing and big tires on the back and the little tires on the
front and the shorter, full-bodied, usually unpredictable Funny Cars.
But it was a challenge for which she was prepared. Heck, if she has
any questions, she need do nothing more than look across the breakfast
table for some advice.
And it’s likely her husband, Tommy Johnson Jr., willingly provides the
proper answers even though she is now one of his on-track rivals.
Troxel displayed no first-race discomfort when she made the most of
four qualifying runs in Mike Ashley’s ProCare Rx Dodge Charger R/T at
Pomona, Calif. She posted the third-quickest elapsed time, 4.810
seconds at 327.90 mph, the fastest Funny Car speed of the weekend. On
race day, she did all she could to get that first round win, too,
leaving the starting line first with a .042-second reaction time –
fourth-best in eliminations – but falling short when her car lost
traction.