2011 NHRA THUNDER VALLEY NATIONALS - GET SCREENED AMERICA PRO MOD NOTEBOOK
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SUNDAY FINAL - TROXEL RACES TO PRO MOD VICTORY AT FORD NHRA THUNDER VALLEY NATIONALS
Melanie Troxel raced to her first victory of the season in the NHRA Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag Racing Series Sunday at the Ford NHRA Thunder Valley 
Nationals presented by Tri-Cities Area Ford Dealers.
After defeating early-round opponents Mike Knowles, Mike Janis and Leah Pruett-LeDuc, Troxel took the final-round win when Danny Rowe fouled at the start. It was Troxel’s first win in Pro Mod at Bristol Dragway and her second victory in the Pro Mod category. Troxel won in Funny Car at Bristol in 2008.
She was one of two women to take home Wally trophies during the event as Jenifer White won in Top Dragster in the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series. There could have been three female winners as Erica Enders came up short in her attempt to become the first woman to win in Pro Stock in NHRA history.
Troxel was consistently quick all day in her turbocharged RoadRage.com ’53 Corvette, and the win moves her into a tie for seventh in the Get Screened America Pro Mod point standings.
"It's great to be getting back to some winning,” Troxel said. “On top of it, this engine combination, this car is something that (team owner) Roger Burgess has been working on for several years. He knew this was going to be a great combination for the sport when a lot of other people laughed and didn't believe this car would run good. He stuck with it. We've known this car could win races all year long. We just had to get some of the kinks worked out of it. I'm very proud to be the one who has been able to bring this car to the winner's circle and show everybody what it's capable of."
The NHRA Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag Racing Series continues June 23-26 with the fifth annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio.
Final NHRA Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag Racing Series round-by-round results from the 11th annual Ford NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals presented by Tri-Cities Area Ford Dealers at Bristol Dragway.
ROUND ONE -- Danny Rowe, Chevy Camaro, 5.973, 242.28 def. Dennis Radford, Plymouth Duster, 6.002, 234.66; Melanie Troxel, Chevy Corvette, 6.007, 221.78 def. Mike Knowles, Camaro, 6.051, 236.51; Mike Janis, Ford Mustang, 6.027, 237.46 def. Raymond Commisso, Camaro, 6.045, 241.24; Roger Burgess, Pontiac Firebird, 6.040, 221.31 def. Kenny Lang, Camaro, 6.011, 239.95; Khalid Balooshi, Camaro, 5.960, 239.31 def. Jay Payne, Mustang, 6.124, 239.48; Troy Coughlin, Pontiac GTO, 6.034, 245.94 def. Ed Hoover, Camaro, broke; Leah Pruett-LeDuc, Camaro, 5.979, 243.33 def. Chip King, Dodge Daytona, 6.151, 250.09; Brad Personett, Camaro, 6.068, 248.43 def. Steve Matusek, Mustang, 6.164, 243.50;
QUARTERFINALS -- Troxel, 5.996, 251.95 def. Janis, 6.388, 179.28; Pruett-LeDuc, 5.997, 243.15 def.Burgess, broke; Rowe, 5.978, 242.84 def. Personett, 6.188, 223.99; Balooshi, 5.957, 239.19 def. Coughlin, broke;
SEMIFINALS -- Troxel, 5.976, 252.19 def. Pruett-LeDuc, 6.173, 236.13; Rowe, 5.990, 243.02 def. Balooshi, foul;
FINAL -- Troxel, 5.928, 250.83 def. Rowe, foul.
Point standings (top 10) for NHRA Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag Racing Series following the 11th annual Ford NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals presented by Tri-Cities Area Ford Dealers at Bristol Dragway, the sixth of 10.
Pro Modified
1. Khalid Balooshi, 451; 2. Danny Rowe, 403; 3. Roger Burgess, 332; 4. (tie) Ed Hoover, 317; Rickie Smith, 317; 6. Kenny Lang, 310; 7. (tie) Raymond Commisso, 281; Melanie Troxel, 281; 9. Brad Personett, 263; 10. Mike Janis, 256.
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SATURDAY - FIRST RD. COMPLETE IN BRISTOL GSA PM COMPETITION
Top qualifier Brad Personett raced to a first-round victory Saturday during eliminations for the NHRA Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag Racing Series at the 
Ford NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals presented by Tri-Cities Area Ford Dealers.
Personett, who claimed his first No. 1 qualifying position of the season and second of his career, powered his turbocharged ProCare Rx ’68 Camaro to a run of 6.068 seconds at 248.43 mph to defeat Steve Matusek’s late model Ford Mustang, which trailed with a 6.164 at 243.50.
“The (rain) delay made the race track really, really good,” said Personett, whose top qualifying performance was 5.961 at 252.80. “I underestimated the race track, and I didn't tune the car up like I needed to.”
Three of Personett’s R2B2 Racing teammates – Roger Burgess, Melanie Troxel and Leah Pruett-LeDuc – also scored opening round wins.
However team owner Burgess won’t get to continue in eliminations. After driving his ProCare Rx ’68 Firebird to the first-round win over Kenny Lang, his car went out of control and crashed at the top end of the track. Burgess was extracted from the damaged car and was checked and released by NHRA emergency services officials.
"I can't believe I'm getting this much attention for a Round 1 win, but it was on a holeshot so I guess I understand," Burgess joked. "Seriously, I'm OK. I have a severely bruised (left) heel that I'm icing at the moment. We don't think anything's broken in there but we're going to monitor the situation tonight. The Safety Safari was there immediately and we signaled back and forth to each other that I was OK. They eventually had to cut me out of there and the car is totaled. I will say that all the safety equipment worked exactly like it should and John (Medlen, VP of Research and Development at R2B2 Racing) was pleased with how well the cockpit looked. I'm very lucky.”
Series points leader Khalid Balooshi posted the quickest run of the weekend in his nitrous-injected Speedtech ’68 Camaro. His performance of 5.960 seconds at 239.31 mph earned him a first round win over veteran driver Jay Payne.
Other first round winners included Danny Rowe, Troy Coughlin and Mike Janis.
Second round matchups include: Personett vs. Rowe; Coughlin vs. Balooshi; Troxel vs. Janis; and Pruett-LeDuc vs. Burgess.
Eliminations will continue Sunday at approximately 3:30 p.m.
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First round-by-round results from the 11th annual Ford NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals presented by Tri-Cities Area Ford Dealers at Bristol Dragway, the sixth of 10 events in the NHRA Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag Racing Series:
ROUND ONE -- Danny Rowe, Chevy Camaro, 5.973, 242.28 def. Dennis Radford, Plymouth Duster, 6.002, 234.66; Melanie Troxel, Chevy Corvette, 6.007, 221.78 def. Mike Knowles, Camaro, 6.051, 236.51; Mike Janis, Ford Mustang, 6.027, 237.46 def. Raymond Commisso, Camaro, 6.045, 241.24; Roger Burgess, Pontiac Firebird, 6.040, 221.31 def. Kenny Lang, Camaro, 6.011, 239.95; Khalid Balooshi, Camaro, 5.960, 239.31 def. Jay Payne, Mustang, 6.124, 239.48; Troy Coughlin, Pontiac GTO, 6.034, 245.94 def. Ed Hoover, Camaro, broke; Leah Pruett-LeDuc, Camaro, 5.979, 243.33 def. Chip King, Dodge Daytona, 6.151, 250.09; Brad Personett, Camaro, 6.068, 248.43 def. Steve Matusek, Mustang, 6.164, 243.50;
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Saturday's first-round pairings for Get Screened America Pro Mod for the 11th annual Ford NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals presented by Tri-Cities Area Ford Dealers at Bristol Dragway, the sixth of 10 events. Pairings based on results in qualifying, which ended Saturday. DNQs listed below pairings.
Pro Modified -- 1. Brad Personett, Chevy Camaro, 5.961, 252.80 vs. 16. Pete Farber, Dodge Daytona, 6.177, 235.35; 2. Melanie Troxel, Chevy Corvette, 5.962, 252.66 vs. 15. Mike Knowles, Camaro, 6.174, 236.22; 3. Leah Pruett-LeDuc, Camaro, 5.987, 241.89 vs. 14. Chip King, Daytona, 6.163, 250.97; 4. Rickie Smith, Camaro, 6.006, 224.92 vs. 13. Troy Coughlin, Pontiac GTO, 6.127, 243.37; 5. Khalid Balooshi, Camaro, 6.014, 242.15 vs. 12. Jay Payne, Ford Mustang, 6.119, 237.30; 6. Roger Burgess, Pontiac Firebird, 6.016, 231.56 vs. 11. Kenny Lang, Camaro, 6.115, 238.64; 7. Raymond Commisso, Camaro, 6.023, 241.80 vs. 10. Mike Janis, Mustang, 6.088, 237.09; 8. Danny Rowe, Camaro, 6.030, 241.63 vs. 9. Dennis Radford, Plymouth Duster, 6.030, 235.60. Did Not Qualify: 17. Ed Hoover, 6.191, 234.17; 18. Steve Matusek, 6.567, 237.21; 19. Scott Ray, 8.791, 104.23.
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FRIDAY - PERSONETT LEADS BRISTOL PM QUALIFYING
Brad Personett raced to the qualifying lead Friday in the NHRA Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag Racing Series portion of the Ford NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals presented by Tri-Cities Area Ford Dealers.Personett set both ends of the track record by covering the Bristol Dragway quarter-mile in 5.961 seconds at 252.80 mph in his turbocharged ProCare Rx ’68 Camaro to lead the 16-car lineup.
Two of Personett’s teammates – Melanie Troxel and Leah Pruett-LeDuc – were second and third respectively. Troxel posted a 5.962 at 252.66 in her turbocharged RoadRage.com ’53 Corvette, while Pruett-LeDuc covered the distance in 5.987 at 241.89 in her supercharged RoadRage.com ’68 Camaro.
"We're starting to see the consistency we were missing earlier in the year and it's a welcome sight," Personett said. "We got onto something in Englishtown and it's carried over. It's easy to panic and make big moves that usually get you into more trouble but we were able to stick to our gameplan and just work through it. To have all five of the R2B2 Racing cars running so well is pretty cool, especially with the top three cars all from our team. There's been a lot of long hours put into this and it's nice to see the hard work paying off."
Series points leader Khalid Balooshi, who has won two races this season, was fifth overall in his nitrous injected Speedtech ’68 Camaro, with a performance of 6.014 at 242.15.
Veteran driver and Bristol Dragway legend Rickie Smith was involved in a high-speed crash during the second qualifying session. Smith was reported to have suffered a fractured left knee in the incident by medical officials at the Bristol Regional Medical Center. Smith’s ’68 Camaro went out of control and collided with Pete Farber’s ’69 Daytona as the pair were making a side-by-side qualifying run. Farber was checked and released at the track by NHRA emergency services officials.
NHRA Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag Racing Series qualifying continues Saturday with the final round of qualifying at 1 p.m., and will be followed by the first round of eliminations at 3:30 p.m. Eliminations will continue for the ultra-fast doorslammer category on Sunday starting at approximately 3:30 p.m.
Friday's results after the first two of three rounds of qualifying for the 11th annual Ford NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals presented by Tri-Cities Area Ford Dealers at Bristol Dragway, sixth of ten events in the Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag Racing Series. Qualifying will continue Saturday for Saturday's final eliminations.
Pro Modified -- 1. Brad Personett, Chevy Camaro, 5.961, 252.80; 2. Melanie Troxel, Chevy Corvette, 5.962, 252.66; 3. Leah Pruett-LeDuc, Camaro, 5.987, 241.89; 4. Rickie Smith, Camaro, 6.006, 224.92; 5. Khalid Balooshi, Camaro, 6.014, 242.15; 6. Raymond Commisso, Camaro, 6.023, 241.80; 7. Mike Janis, Ford Mustang, 6.024, 231.95; 8. Dennis Radford, Plymouth Duster, 6.030, 235.60; 9. Roger Burgess, Pontiac Firebird, 6.104, 226.24; 10. Troy Coughlin, Pontiac GTO, 6.133, 242.80; 11. Pete Farber, Dodge Daytona, 6.177, 235.35; 12. Kenny Lang, Camaro, 6.201, 238.01; 13. Ed Hoover, Camaro, 6.224, 233.64; 14. Mike Knowles, Camaro, 6.226, 235.06; 15. Danny Rowe, Camaro, 6.243, 203.98; 16. Chip King, Daytona, 6.302, 230.76. Not Qualified: 17. Steve Matusek, 6.567, 237.21; 18. Scott Ray, 8.791, 104.23.
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