Backstretch Motorsports

BRISTOL, Tenn. – Melanie Troxel became the first woman in NHRA history to win in both Top Fuel and Funny Car when she raced to the Funny Car victory Sunday at the O’Reilly NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals.

Tony Schumacher and Dave Connolly also won in their respective categories at Bristol Dragway in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series event.

Troxel, who earned five Top Fuel victories prior to switching to Funny Car this season, joined her husband Tommy Johnson as one of 14 drivers in NHRA history to earn victories in both nitro categories when she powered her ProCare Rx Dodge Charger to a 5.066 at 310.27 to defeat rookie Mike Neff in the final round. She is the second female to win in Funny Car in NHRA history, following Ashley Force’s gender-breaking victory last month in Atlanta.

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BRISTOL, Tenn. – NHRA Pro Stock legend Warren ‘The Professor’ Johnson (left) added another No. 1 qualifying performance to his career stats, picking up his NHRA-record 138th Saturday at the O’Reilly NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway.

Tony Schumacher and Mike Neff also were No. 1 qualifiers in their respective categories at the eighth of 24 events in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series.

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BRISTOL, Tenn. – Mike Neff raced to the provisional top spot in Funny Car Friday as he looks to collect the first No. 1 qualifier of his career at the eighth annual O’Reilly NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals.

Neff drove his Old Spice Ford Mustang to a 4.783-second pass at 321.04 mph to become the provisional top qualifier at Bristol Dragway.

Tony Schumacher and Kurt Johnson (shown at left) were also No. 1 qualifiers in there respective categories at the eighth of 24 events on the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series.

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Mike Neff, driver of the NHRA POWERade Old Spice Ford Mustang Funny Car, and development driver for the new Ford BOSS 500 nitro engine, heads into this weekend’s O’Reilly Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway in 11th place in the NHRA POWERade Championship Point Standings and eighth place in the Full Throttle NHRA Pit Crew Championship Standings, following his first-ever finals appearance a couple of weekends ago at St. Louis.

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With Milestones and History in Tow, Force Heads to Thunder Valley

BRISTOL, Tenn. – In what is shaping up to be one of the most competitive Funny Car seasons in NHRA history, John Force and his daughter Ashley have teamed up to provide plenty of early season buzz with some memorable milestone performances.

First, at Las Vegas in early April, 25-year-old Ashley became the first female to lead the Funny Car point standings with a runner-up finish in her Castrol GTX Ford Mustang. John then arrived at Atlanta Dragway in late April and became only the second driver in NHRA history to attend 500 NHRA events, joining Pro Stock legend Warren Johnson on that short list.

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