GAINESVILLE, Fla. (March 15, 2015)— Sunday’s eliminations got off to a great start for the No. 11 qualified Alexis DeJoria and her Patrón XO Cafe Incendio Toyota Camry Funny Car team at the 46th annual NHRA GatorNationals. After struggling through Friday’s qualifying sessions, ending the day on the outside of the field, and making two consistent but conservative runs on Saturday, the team was set to square off against the reigning World Champion, Matt Hagan, in round one on Sunday morning.
Both cars pulled up to the line in the sixth pairing for what was billed as ‘ESPN2’s Marquee Matchup.’ DeJoria took off in her 10,000-horespower Toyota Camry and made a nice clean run, powering her Funny Car down the track in 4.145-seconds at 303.78-mph, ending Hagan’s 12-round winning streak, which he had enjoyed, remaining undefeated since the Vegas Toyota Nationals back in October 2014. For the first time in 2015 he will not bring home a Wally, thanks to DeJoria and the Patrón XO Cafe Incendio team.
The second round matchup pitted the Patrón team versus rookie driver John Hale. Unfortunately, Hale was able to pull the upset after the Patrón XO Cafe Incendio Toyota Camry hazed the tires at half-track after a series of mishaps occurred at the starting line.
“It’s been a bit of a weird weekend for the Patrón XO Cafe Incendio team here in Gainesville,” said DeJoria, who used to live in nearby Bronson, Fla. where she operated her Top Alcohol Funny Car team for three years. “Qualifying was definitely tough, but we made it in the show so that was good. That first round win against Hagan was really big for our team. They’re a competitive team and had been on a roll lately, so that was a huge win for us. Of course, each round is so different and anything can happen. During my burnout on that second round, my air line came off from my helmet. I was trying to get it back on, backup my car at the same time, and tell the guys on the radio what had happened. I think at that point, I just let it get the best of me. I went in there, lit both bulbs and still couldn’t get my air line back on my helmet, so I just kind of had to accept- it got really hot in there. I waited for him, took off, and then the car smoked the tires at half-track, so that was the end of our day.”
After exiting in the second round at the NHRA GatorNationals, the Patrón XO Cafe Incendio Toyota Camry Funny Car team ends the day in the No. 7 spot in the NHRA Mello Yello series Countdown to the Championship points ranking. They compete next at the sixth annual NHRA Four-Wide Nationals in Charlotte, N.C., March 27-29. For more information, please visit www.alexisdejoria.com, Follow Us on Twitter @ADRnhra, or Like Us on Facebook Alexis DeJoria
About Alexis DeJoria
Alexis DeJoria, daughter of the famed John Paul DeJoria, co-founder of John Paul Mitchell Systems and proud owner of Tequila Patrόn, is a professional NHRA racecar driver, competing in the nitro Funny Car class on the Kalitta Motorsports team. Alexis drives the Patrόn XO Cafe Incendio-sponsored 2015 Toyota Camry. Alexis, who had all the opportunity in the world to pursue any type of career, felt strongly about following her passion, and her need for adrenaline drove her to pursue the unlikely profession of auto-racing. The determination to ‘blaze her own trail’ continues to drive her and push her to higher levels in male dominated sport of drag racing.
About Kalitta Motorsports
Based in Ypsilanti, Mich., Kalitta Motorsports is a Top Fuel and Funny Car drag racing team in the NHRA (National Hot Rod Association) Mello Yello Drag Racing Series. The team was founded and is owned by drag racing icon Connie “the Bounty Hunter” Kalitta. For more than 50 years, Connie has been involved in the sport as a driver, tuner, and an owner. Kalitta Motorsports is one of the most successful teams in the history of auto racing with five world championships and over 50 national event titles in five different professional drag racing sanctioning bodies since it was established by Connie in 1959.