EPPING, N.H. (June 14, 2015)— Hot off the heels of a final round finish, the Patrón XO Cafe Incendio Toyota Camry Funny Car team headed to Epping, N.H. for the 3rd annual NHRA New England Nationals looking to keep that round-winning momentum going. After being plagued with a string of first round losses, their Englishtown final round appearance the weekend prior seemed to be turning a point for the Top Ten ranked team. Throughout the four qualifying sessions of the New England Nationals, the team, led by Tommy DeLago and piloted by Alexis DeJoria, made four solid passes, positioning them in the quick half of the field in the No. 8 spot.
As the eighth qualified team, they faced No. 9 qualifier and 2014 event champion Ron Capps in the first round of eliminations on Sunday morning. Both DeJoria and Capps were evenly matched at the onset, launching off of the starting line with nearly identical reaction times. Both cars were on a good run until both dropped a cylinder mid-track. Despite being down a cylinder, DeJoria was able to power ahead and cross the finish line in 4.172-seconds, advancing the Patrón team onto the second round.
The quarterfinal matchup found DeJoria racing against qualifying leader Tommy Johnson Jr. Again, both cars left the starting line together. DeJoria pulled away early into the run, leading until about the 660-foot mark when a mechanical malfunction caused her Toyota Camry to go silent. Johnson Jr. was able to pull ahead and take the round two win.
“Coming off of that final round in Englishtown was really exciting for me. It got me pretty pumped coming in the gates of Epping, N.H.,” said DeJoria, the 2014 NHRA New England Nationals runner-up.
“Right off the bat we had consistent runs in qualifying. We didn’t step it up as much as we wanted to in the last round so we ended up in the middle of the pack in theeighth qualifying position and had Capps first round. That was pretty interesting because that was a rematch of the final round from this race last year when he beat us. Luckily we came out on top this time.”
“In the next round, I was up against Tommy Johnson. We didn’t have lane choice but I don’t think it makes much of a difference here right now. I left the starting line well, and my Toyota Camry was charging down the track until right at the end when it went silent, which was the end of our day unfortunately. We would’ve won the round. On to the next. I’m still very pleased with the way things have turned around,” she said, referring to the team’s cumulative four round wins over the course of two events. “We’re still trying to pick up that first event win of the season for our fans and our sponsors. Bristol is up next, which is another good track for us, so hopefully we’ll be able to get it done there.”
The Kalitta Motorsports Patrón XO Cafe Incendio Toyota Camry Funny Car team competes next at the 15th annual NHRA ThunderValley Nationals, June 19-21 in Bristol, Tenn. They are tied in eighth with 540 points. For more information, please visit www.alexisdejoria.com, Follow Us on Twitter @ADRnhra, or Like Us on Facebook Alexis DeJoria
Eliminations:
Round One: 4.172 ET at 292.90 MPH def. Ron Capps 4.212 ET at 272.78
Round Two: 4.439 ET at 201.61 MPH lost to Tommy Johnson Jr. 4.157 ET at 306.60 MPH
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.