Melanie grew up in Colorado and inherited both her love for the sport of drag racing and her work ethic from her parents. She spent her childhood learning from her dad, 1988 Top Alcohol Dragster World Champion Mike Troxel, and her mother, Barbara, who grew up working on airplanes with her father. Melanie competed in her first drag race at the age of 16 in a car with an engine she rebuilt herself as a high-school project.

She began her professional career driving in a Top Alcohol dragster in 1997. She captured two NHRA national event victories in 1999, (Seattle and Topeka) and finished second in the national points standings. Her first opportunity in a Top Fuel dragster came in 2000. Of the 10 events she ran in her rookie year, she had one runner-up finish (Dallas). Over the next several years Melanie ran partial schedules in the Top Fuel class.

Melanie opened the 2006 season in amazing form, earning her first career Top Fuel victory in Pomona. A few weeks later in Las Vegas, she recorded her second Top Fuel victory and became the first NHRA Top Fuel driver to reach the final round in the first five events of a season. Melanie led the point standings through the first 12 events and was named Speed Channel’s “2006 First Quarter Driver of the Year,” beating out NASCAR’s Jimmie Johnson and IRL’s Helio Castroneves. As her strong race track performances continued, her off-the track accolades followed suit, winning the United States Auto Club’s “Kara Hendrick Spirit Award,” and the prestigious Women’s Sports Foundation’s “2006 Sportswoman of the Year” award. Melanie was also nominated for two ESPN ESPY awards for “Female Athlete of the Year,” and “Driver of the Year.” This marked the first time in NHRA history that a driver was nominated for two ESPY awards in two categories. Melanie finished a solid fourth place in her first full Top Fuel season. As in 2005, she ended the 2006 season with a runner-up finish (Pomona).

Melanie continued to race in the Top Fuel class in 2007 scoring two more wins (St. Louis and Memphis) during the season. When the opportunity came to make the switch to Funny Cars in 2008, she gladly accepted the challenge. In just her 8th race out, she recorded her first win in the class (Bristol). She became just the 14th person and first female to score victories in both NHRA Top Fuel and Funny Car categories. Both on and off the track, her successes have clearly established her as not only a top contender, but also as an ambassador for the sport.