Melanie has taken direct control of her destiny. She's up against someone higher than her in the points and a real thorn in her team's side.

The consistency seems to be back and Mel is going rounds. This was a classic race with both cars on strong, clean passes.

For the first time since early in the year, Melanie is going to the finals.

Melanie Troxel's incremental times: 60ft-0.843 sec., 330ft-2.128, 660ft-3.056/269.56mph, 1,000ft-3.841

Weather conditions: air temperature 65 degrees, relative humidity 53 percent, barometer 29.63 inches, adjusted altitude 925 feet, track temperature 90 degrees.