Economy Takes Its Toll on Troxel

BRISTOL, Tenn. – Melanie Troxel was everywhere. Hard to miss, ready to talk and quick to smile. But she wasn’t where she wanted to be.

Troxel spent Friday at Bristol Dragway making new connections. She walked through the crowd, signed autographs and caught up with fans. And she alternated a guest-announcing spot in the control booth with a ceaseless grin that was part-warmth, part-sales pitch.

The one place Troxel wasn’t? In a Funny Car.

The irony was not lost on Troxel, who earned her first-ever Funny Car victory here a year ago in the O’Reilly National Hot Rod Association Thunder Valley Nationals.

Troxel has been sponsor-less and without a ride since the 2009 NHRA season began. One of the top woman race-car drivers in the world has become just another victim of the bad economy.

“It’s depressing,” Troxel said. “It’s tough when you’re out of a ride.”

Rise and fall
Troxel, 36, a resident of Avon, Ind., was named sportswoman of the year by the Billie Jean King Foundation in 2006. She received two ESPN ESPY award nominations and topped the Top Fuel points standings for the first 12 races of the season.

Her name – and career – were on the rise.

In 2007, Troxel hit 332.51 miles per hour in a Top Fuel dragster and won two races.

Then Troxel outlasted the cold Tennessee spring rain to make history in 2008. She clocked 310.27 mph and posted an elapsed time of 5.066 second to knock off Mike Neff in the
Funny Car Finals as midnight approached last May 18 at Bristol Dragway. Troxel became the first woman driver to ever win in the Funny Car and Top Fuel series, and her win made national headlines.

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Troxel said after the race. “This is the weekend we needed to turn things around. … I think we’re on the right road.”

Then the road suddenly ended. The recession hit. Troxel lost her sponsor and her ride. And she’s spent the 2009 NHRA season on the outside, looking in. Her current win total: 0.
Her current points total: 0.

It’s not the first time Troxel has been forced off the track. But following her strong upward trek from 2005-08, the cold economic reality of 2009 has tested Troxel’s spirit.

“I can say that, honestly since 2000, I’ve probably spent close to as much time without a ride at all as I have being employed by race teams,” Troxel said. “That’s part of what goes on with this job. It’s an up-and-down sport – you can have a ride one year and not the next year.”

Troxel’s plight drew sympathy from Ashley Force Hood, who topped Friday’s Funny Car qualifying at the Thunder Valley Nationals with a speed of 298.67 mph. Force Hood said
Troxel’s absence from NHRA is noticeable, and she praised Troxel’s charisma and intelligence, as well as her on-the-track talent.

“As a competitor, there’s a lot of people that were out here the last few years that aren’t out here this season that I wish were out here,” Force Hood said. “I loved having another female in the category with me. I really like Melanie – she speaks really well; she’s a good person to have in the sport.”

Face time
Troxel has answered tight wallets and elusive sponsorship dollars with resilience. She’s attended all but three of this year’s NHRA events, hoping to draw attention and interest. And she’s been joined by her husband, Tommy Johnson Jr., a nine-time NHRA winner with 20 years of experience who has also been forced off the track because of a lack of sponsorship.

“It’s tough and it’s frustrating, because this is all I’ve ever done for a living,” said Johnson Jr., who said a late-season ride with the Jim Head-led Western Governors University Funny
Car might soon be a possibility.

Troxel has walked the same lane as her husband. And she said their parallel worlds have made their relationship stronger.

“We’re out trying to focus on the sponsorship stuff,” Troxel said. “Trying to find something that will allow us to bring the car back out.”

Troxel said new, full sponsorship would allow her to hit the track in less than a month, as her team has a complete two-car operation that is track-ready.

But Troxel is also realistic. The current NHRA season is already one-third complete – this weekend’s Thunder Valley Nationals mark the eighth race in a 24-race season. And as
Troxel has watched the money dry up, she’s been forced to play a role high-speed, high-octane drivers rarely undertake: Troxel has lately been more of an economist than a speed demon.

“I don’t know how likely it is, given the economy,” Troxel said. “It seems like the economy has seemed to stop dropping quite as fast, but it’s not going up yet. And I think we’re going to need a month or two in the positive direction before people are going to start spending money.”

So Troxel is left to watch and wait. She smiles, shakes hands, pitches and sells. Each trip to the track is about making connections, keeping her face visible and her name in the air.

She said she’s often reminded that many others are dealing with heavier, deeper economic issues. And the real-life perspective allows her to focus on the belief that the economy – and her racing career – will soon see the green light.

“I made a decision not to allow myself to self-pity, to sit around and wallow and be upset that I don’t get to drive a race car,” Troxel said. “It’s not the absolute best my life could be.
But in the big scheme of things, [it’s] not that big of deal. Now, come next year, if the economy hasn’t come around and I’m out of a ride again, it might be a slightly different thing.”