The one thing in their marriage that Melanie Troxel and Tommy Johnson try not to discuss at the dinner table is their jobs.

Both are drivers in the National Hot Rod Association and, for the first time this year, they are racing in the same series — Funny Car.

“I wasn’t the biggest fan of it right away,” Johnson said of competing against his wife of four years. “I didn’t like the idea of us having to race each other and having that extra added pressure or aggravation.

“But I knew there was a point in time when she wanted to run Funny Car. I had to remove myself from my shoes and put myself in hers. But, we’ve found out that, even in our personal lives, our techniques of doing things are different.”

Troxel acknowledged there is more pressure being in the same division.

“We kind of knew what the pitfalls were going to be, since we have both been racing since we’ve been married.

“There’s going to be some tough times,” she added. “I know we were both surprised by the problems that were created when we were driving in different classes. I’m sure there will be some new challenges.”

One of those new challenges came up Sunday when they went head-to-head on the track for the first time.

The meeting at Gainesville, Fla., in the GatorNationals, wasn’t very satisfying for either.

After the first day of qualifying was rained out, Troxel found herself facing her husband in her second pass of the weekend. Although Troxel left the line first, her car pulled hard toward the centerline, hitting a timing cone, disqualifying her run.

Johnson had to abort his run to avoid a collision, and neither driver was able to qualify for the finals.

“Driving out of the potentially dangerous situation when the car crossed the line against Tommy was actually reassuring, in a strange sort of way, because, had I not known how to handle the car, things could have been much different,” she said.

“Of course, I’m sure I’ll never hear the end of that from the team or my husband.”

Troxel gained a good reputation the past couple of seasons while racing in the NHRA’s Top Fuel division, while Johnson was establishing himself in Funny Car. But both found themselves without a ride at different points after last season.

Johnson lost his ride of seven years when Don Prudhomme’s team cut back to a one-car entry due to lack of sponsorship. He got a break, though, when he kiddingly asked longtime NHRA star Kenny Bernstein if he would retire so Johnson could have his ride.

A few weeks later, Bernstein decided that was a good idea and Johnson had his ride.

Meanwhile, Troxel had lined up a Funny Car ride with Mike Ashley’s team. But Torco, her sponsor, dropped a bomb in January, announcing it was taking a year off from its racing sponsorships.

Luckily for Troxel, within 48 hours, Ashley was able to sign up ProCare RX as her sponsor and the deal went forward.

At that point, Troxel and Johnson knew they were going to be competing against each other.

“We try to keep a lot of distance about what his car’s doing, what my car’s doing,” Troxel said. “We can talk about racing in general, but not get too specific, so we just try to avoid talking about that.”

While there are pressures for people working together in any marriage, racing has been part of this couple’s life as long as they’ve known each other.

When they first met in the 1980s, Johnson was starting out in an alcohol Funny Car and Troxel’s father was a national alcohol champion. The two were often parked alongside each other and Troxel was hanging out with Johnson’s younger sister.

“We’re about four years apart in age, so she was pretty young,” Johnson said, chuckling. “I wasn’t really interested in my sister’s friends. They were just kids.”

Turns out, though, that Troxel had a crush on Johnson.

The two began dating after Troxel began competing in the NHRA, but she made it tough on Johnson.

“I made the mistake of telling him about the crush after we started dating,” Troxel said. “I never should have let him in on that. I hung out with his little sister. I don’t know if it was a little payback, but I made him work extra hard the second time around.”

Johnson agreed with that, saying, “We didn’t see a lot of each other in ’90s. I turned professional and I was away racing.

“By that time, I was pretty interested, but she kept turning me down. But I kept being persistent and she finally gave in and agreed to a date. She made me pay for that crush she had on me when she was a kid.”

The two got married on New Year’s Eve 2004. Now they’re competitors, although obviously very supportive of each other.

“I think she’ll have a big learning curve,” Johnson said. “I’ve got nine years of experience in Funny Cars and it is a big challenge. The cars are more technically involved. You have to really muscle them around. It doesn’t want to go straight. A lot of things are more difficult in a Funny Car than say a dragster.

“But she’s strong and in very good shape and I think she’s quite capable of doing a good job. She’s already surprised me.”

Troxel knows she can learn a lot from her husband. But she’s also determined to do what it takes to be successful.

“There’s that family kind of rivalry ...” she said. “But other people have dealt with it. And we will, too.”