CLEREMONT, Ind. (September 4, 2009) - Roger Burgess led all cars in the Get Screened America Pro Mod Challenge presented by ProCare Rx with a stellar 5.960 at 242.45 mph in the Mac Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals. R2B2 Racing teammates Melanie Troxel and Raymond Commisso landed 11th and 15th respectively after the first round of qualifying.

"The track was in great shape, and I was fortunate enough to lay down a better-than-average run," Burgess said with a grin.  "I think we pushed what it would take to the limit, Al Billes (crew chief) is great at that though. Things are only going to get better and faster as the weekend goes on."

Assisting Billes on Burgess' car this weekend is veteran racer and tuner Eddie Ware. Ware and Burgess have only crossed paths once before, at Atlanta in 2008 when they met in the finals with the win going to Ware. Ware takes on the responsibilities of former car chief Bobby Monacelli who recently passed away.

Burgess said, "Although I will never be able to replace Bobby, with his passing I need a little extra help with the car to be safe and competitive. Eddie is an experienced and accomplished Pro Mod driver, team owner and crew chief who had to park his race car this due to lack of funding. I feel fortunate that he was available on short notice to fill in for us.

"Johnnie Maguda and Toby Atkins are doing a great job in their first year crewing my car and we wouldn't be in the chase without their outstanding efforts this year. We have also added David "Huggie" Fears to the crew. Huggie worked on Melanie Troxel's Nitro Funny Car Team last year and is a great addition to the team."

Melanie Troxel drove the R2B2 Racing VooDoo '63 Corvette to the No. 11 spot with a 6.107 at 238.26 mph. Troxel said, "we spent a lot of time during testing working on Roger and Raymond's cars, and because my car was running so well, we only made one run on it and then put it away. The track seemed really good, and the car stayed stuck all the way down even though I got a little out of it. It wasn't a perfect run, but they never are.

"I think we're all really happy though with that as a first run out of the box at Indy. We've got a great place to start from," she said.

A performance of 6.158 at 240.98 mph put Commisso in the No. 15 spot, his first full lap since his car was totaled in an accident during an IHRA event in Grand Bend, Ontario. The world record-holder admitted he was nervous heading to the line, but said the butterflies were gone as he let the clutch go.

"I was a little nervous because that was my first full lap since that nasty accident in Grand Bend, I'll admit that, but everything went away really quickly once I left the starting line," Commisso said. "We had a little problem with one of the timers on the first part of the run, and then it moved around on me a bit after I put it into high gear. I drove it all the way to the end, though, and that's what's important to me right now.

"We've got three more qualifiers to move it up a bit, which I know we can and I'm anxious for tomorrow," he said.

Burgess added, "I'm really excited about how the first day turned out. It's the U.S. Nationals - and we came to win."

Qualifying continues Saturday with two rounds scheduled at 2:45 pm and 5:15 p.m., and one final qualifier scheduled for Sunday at 2:00 p.m. Eliminations begin Sunday evening and conclude Monday.