Troxel paces Funny Car

O'Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals
Gateway International, Madison, Ill.

Funny Car: Melanie Troxel topped qualifying Friday with a quarter-mile pass of 4.802 seconds at 327.59 mph in her ProCare Rx Dodge Charger. Troxel won the Top Fuel event last year at Gateway International. “We definitely had way too good of a team to be running the way we've been running, and we knew just over the last couple of races that we were turning the corner,” Troxel said. “We could see the performance coming around. We knew it was going to change. It was just a matter of time when that would happen. This track was really good to me last year, so it's perfect that this is the race where we got it turned around.”
Top Fuel: Dave Grubnic piloted his Kalitta Motorsports dragster to a 4.519 at 326.32 for the provisional No. 1 position. “We're very happy with that run,” Grubnic said. “It's good to be back. The run felt great. Watching the Funny Cars, they seemed to be struggling a lot, moving around and so forth. One of the things I paid attention to is making sure the car stayed in the groove. But honestly, I really didn't have to do anything. The car just went straight down there. Full credit to (team owner and crew chief) Connie Kalitta and all my guys. They did the job. They made the car run, they put the numbers in there. It's great to be back it's great to be No. 1.”
Pro Stock: Greg Anderson led the field with a 6.646 at 206.83.
Pro Stock Motorcycle: Chip Ellis topped the charts with a 6.957 at 190.22.

-- The Associated Press