Speedgroup Club Europe

Troxel will be piloting the same '67 Camaro she drove to the quickest and fastest run on European soil when she zoomed down the quarter-mile in 5.937 seconds at 242.42 mph (390.13 kph) on May 30 at Santa Pod Raceway in England. The Roger Burgess-owned racecar has since improved those marks to 5.911 seconds at 245.78 mph (395.52 kph) with Hasselby, Sweden's Micke Gullqvist behind the wheel when he drove it to the title of the FHRA Nitro Nationals earlier this month at the Alastaro Circuit in Finland.

"It's really exciting to be racing FIA again, even more so knowing we've got the best car on the European circuit at the moment," Troxel said. "We had just gotten the car dialed in at the end of the race in England, but our best run came on an exhibition pass. We certainly feel like we have some unfinished business to take care of over there."

This season has been a busy one for the world's quickest female as she's pulled double-duty on the NHRA tour, racing both the In-N-Out Burger Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car and the In-N-Out Burger Chevrolet Camaro Pro Mod car.
The only female in the 60-year history of NHRA competition with wins in both Top Fuel and Funny Car -- a feat accomplished by just 14 racers -- Troxel was named 2006 Sportswoman of the Year by the Billie Jean King Foundation. That same season she was nominated for two ESPY awards (best driver and best female athlete), named winner of the prestigious Driver of the Year first quarter award, led the Full Throttle Series point standings for the first 12 races of the season, set the Top Fuel record for most consecutive final round appearances to open a season (five), and became the eighth female in NHRA history to earn a No. 1 qualifying position.

Melanie Troxel Troxel to drive Europe's quickest Pro Mod car in Hockenheim Troxel will be piloting the same '67 Camaro she drove to the quickest and fastest run on European soil when she zoomed down the quarter-mile in 5.937 seconds at 242.42 mph (390.13 kph) on May 30 at Santa Pod Raceway in England. The Roger Burgess-owned racecar has since improved those marks to 5.911 seconds at 245.78 mph (395.52 kph) with Hasselby, Sweden's Micke Gullqvist behind the wheel when he drove it to the title of the FHRA Nitro Nationals earlier this month at the Alastaro Circuit in Finland. "It's really exciting to be racing FIA again, even more so knowing we've got the best car on the European circuit at the moment," Troxel said. "We had just gotten the car dialed in at the end of the race in England, but our best run came on an exhibition pass. We certainly feel like we have some unfinished business to take care of over there." This season has been a busy one for the world's quickest female as she's pulled double-duty on the NHRA tour, racing both the In-N-Out Burger Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car and the In-N-Out Burger Chevrolet Camaro Pro Mod car. The only female in the 60-year history of NHRA competition with wins in both Top Fuel and Funny Car -- a feat accomplished by just 14 racers -- Troxel was named 2006 Sportswoman of the Year by the Billie Jean King Foundation. That same season she was nominated for two ESPY awards (best driver and best female athlete), named winner of the prestigious Driver of the Year first quarter award, led the Full Throttle Series point standings for the first 12 races of the season, set the Top Fuel record for most consecutive final round appearances to open a season (five), and became the eighth female in NHRA history to earn a No. 1 qualifying position.	"It would be really special to add an FIA trophy to our collection here at R2B2 Racing," said Troxel, who will banner the WorldWide Pro Mod Association in Germany. "Michael (Gullqvist) came over here this spring and won the Atlanta race so maybe we can return the favor in Germany. "We actually attended this event as spectators last year and we were all very impressed with the Hockenheim facility and the huge crown that turned out for the event. Drag racing fans are passionate about the sport no matter where they're from and I'm looking forward to meeting everyone when we get over there." Burgess and his staff at R2B2 Racing have been assisting Gullqvist this year. The first European racer to win a national event on the NHRA tour, Gullqvist will race as a teammate to Troxel at the Nitrolympx. After two events, Gullqvist is second in the FIA championship points. Troxel, who did not race in Finland, is 15th overall out of 29 drivers. Please visit www.r2b2racing.com or www.wwpma.com for more information.

Text: R2B2 Racing Photo: Remco Scheelings This article is part of the Speedgroup Club Europe Newsletter #7/2010 www.club.speedgroup.eu Published by Speedgroup www.speedgroup.eu All material, text, images and logtypes are the property of Speedgroup AB. Any use of the above requires permission from Speedgroup. e-mail: asa.kinnemar@speedgroup.eu © Speedgroup 2010