NHRA: Troxel Takes Funny Car Finals, Makes History

BY BRIAN T. SMITH
BRISTOL HERALD COURIER
Bristol, Tenn.—Melanie Troxel defeated Mike Neff to win the Funny Car division at the eighth annual O’Reilly National Hot Rod Association Thunder Valley Nationals Sunday evening.
Troxel earned her first-ever Funny Car victory, blowing by Neff with an elapsed-time of 5.066 seconds at 310.27 miles-per-hour.
Troxel, 35, also becomes the first-ever female in NHRA history to win a Funny Car and Top Fuel event.
Dave Connolly defeated Greg Stanfield to win the Pro Stock division.
Connolly took the win with an elapsed-time of 6.731 seconds at 204.70 miles-per-hour.
Meanwhile, Tony Schumacher continued his dominance in Top Fuel, defeating Larry Dixon.
Sunday’s racing featured seven rain delays, while a large crowd had been whittled down to an estimated 300 when Troxel made history.