"I'm really excited about going to Grand Bend," Troxel said. "I know the team is excited to be racing here, too, considering most of them are from Canada and this is a hometown race for them."

"It's kind of interesting, actually, that the first time I raced in Canada was a match race in my alcohol Funny Car right after I got my license form Frank Hawley's Drag Racing School, and here I am again, going back to Canada right after I started racing Pro Mod, this time with Frank Hawley as part of my R2B2 Racing team," she said.

Troxel, a multiple event winner in several classes, made her debut in Pro Mod competition just a month ago at the Get Screened America Pro Mod Challenge event in Englishtown, N.J. where she qualified tenth with a 6.034 at 240.47 mph and exited first round.

"The two qualifying passes we had in Englishtown were actually the only two full passes I've made in the car, so I'm excited to get back in the car and make some more runs. The car didn't run as well as we'd like it to have back there, so we're going to try and get it sorted out quickly so we can be competitive with the rest of the field.

"Every car needs its own special combination, and looking at the results of the Englishtown race and Raymond (Commisso, teammate) doing so well, setting the world record and winning the event, it's obvious that our crew chief Al Billes has the tune up. We'll just get things worked out, get some more laps, and enjoy the weekend," she said.

"Actually, I heard it's a really beautiful area around Grand Bend, with a beach very close by, so we're hoping to stay over after the race and visit with Raymond and his family in Toronto, go to his restaurant, and enjoy the beautiful Canadian summer," Troxel said.

"Before sight seeing, though, I'm hoping that very quickly we'll see the big numbers our team expects and knows it can deliver," she said.

Qualifying is scheduled for 3 and 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and eliminations are scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. Sunday.

Courtesy of Matthew Brammer