St. Louis, May 4 - Mike Ashley recapped his No. 2 starting position and a quarterfinal Funny Car finish Sunday in the O'Reilly Midwest Nationals in five words: "It was a great weekend." And an impressive one, he could've added.

Positive performances brought smiles all around to Melanie Troxel and the entire Gotham City Racing Funny Car team even though she lost in the first round of the O'Reilly Midwest Nationals Sunday at Gateway International Raceway.

St. Louis May 3 Melanie Troxel was the No. 1 Funny Car qualifier when she arrived for work Saturday on the second day of qualifying for Sunday's Midwest Nationals at Gateway International Raceway.

ST. LOUIS, Mo. - Roger Burgess knew he'd need to bring a lot of performance to beat former NHRA Pro Modified world champion Jay Payne in the first round of the NHRA Midwest Nationals in St. Louis, Mo.

ST. LOUIS, Mo. - Mike Ashley realized the edge of the envelope for a Pro Modified car during Saturday's first round of eliminations at the NHRA Midwest Nationals in St. Louis, Mo. The two-time world champion drove to the edge and not one inch over.