Morgan Lucas Racing
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Oct. 7, 2007
PETERSBURG, Va. – Melanie Troxel and the Vietnam Veterans POW/MIA Top Fuel dragster team came oh-so close in snagging all the riches at Richmond for the running of the Torco Racing Fuels Nationals at Virginia Motorsports Park marking her third final round appearance of the season. Troxel cultivated her trip to the finals with race day wins over Whit Bazemore, Cory McClenathan, and Doug Herbert before racing Doug Kalitta in the money round.
After qualifying in the No. 13 position for the race posting a time of 4.633 seconds, 323.58 mph, her first round opponent Whit Bazemore would be a tough adversary to overcome. Heading into the race, she felt solidly hopeful about her chances and the premonition revealed itself to be true becoming the quickest dragster of the first round clicking the clocks with a time of 4.569 with top speed of the meet for the second consecutive race of 327.59 mph.
The impressive string of great quarter-mile passes continued in the quarterfinals with her defeating Cory McClenathan with an elapsed time of 4.629 seconds, 319.52 mph moving her to the semi-finals after Cory Mac smoked the tires.
The John Stewart-led team produced another consistent time of 4.646 seconds, 316.82 mph beating Doug Herbert, who wisped the tires around 400 feet out, sending the Vietnam Veterans POW/MIA team to their third final round appearance of 2007 and Troxel’s 15th final round appearance of her professional career that began in 2000.
She won back in May in St. Louis and just three weeks ago in Memphis, so the naturally calm Troxel portrayed the picture of determination and wanted to win for her personal sponsor, Torco Racing Fuels.
Fatefully, it wasn’t meant to be in the Finals as Troxel narrowly lost (.0326-of a second) to Doug Kalitta in a very close side-by-side battle all the way down the track. Troxel recorded a competitive time eclipsing the finish line beams recording a respectable elapsed time of 4.649 seconds, 316.45 mph to Kalitta’s comparably winning E.T. of 4.647 seconds, 316.08 mph.
Troxel furthers her lead to 243 points over David Grubnic and has virtually secured the No. 9 position in the NHRA POWERade dragster standings with 1,083 points.
Troxel and the Vietnam Vets team now have earned a two week break before heading west to ‘The Strip’ at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the seventh annual ACDelco Las Vegas Nationals on October 26 – 28.
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