BRAINERD, Minn. (August 17, 2014)— Alexis DeJoria powered her Kalitta Motorsports Patrón XO Cafe Toyota Camry Funny Car to a 3.998-second at 315.93-mph run at the 33rd annual Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals – the first sub four second Funny Car pass ever run at Brainerd International Raceway.
The run was DeJoria’s second career three second run. She is the only female Funny Car driver in history to make a sub four second pass. The record breaking run was achieved during round two of eliminations on Sunday, a day which was filled with several lengthy rain delays.
Resetting Brainerd International Raceway’s record books wasn’t the only highlight of DeJoria’s day. In round one of eliminations, the No. 6 qualifier defeated No. 11 qualifier Courtney Force with an impressive 4.010-second at 317.64-mph pass. At the time, that run was the lowest ET of the event and reset Brainerd’s record books.
The newly crowned Brainerd Funny Car track record holder rolled up to the line for round two versus Matt Hagan and easily drove around him with her 3.998, re-setting her own track record.
Adding even more excitement to the day, just prior to pulling up to the starting line for the second round of eliminations, it was announced by NHRA officials that Alexis DeJoria had officially clinched her spot in NHRA’s Countdown to the Championship. This is the first time DeJoria has made it into the coveted Top Ten list and will have the opportunity to make a run for the NHRA Funny Car series title.
DeJoria, a two time Funny Car event winner, did not receive the news until after she made her round two run, but hardly had time to digest the information as she had to race back to the Patrón XO Cafe pits to prep for the semi-finals where she would square off against Ron Capps. Unfortunately, it was in the semi-final round where DeJoria’s good fortune ran out. Her Patrón XO Cafe Toyota Camry launched hard off the line, but then started to rattle the tires. DeJoria was on and off the throttle pedal as she fought to recover her 10,000-horsepower race car, but Capps was already pulling ahead and took the win.
“Brainerd turned out to be a really good race for us,” said DeJoria, who now sits fifth in points, up one spot from the previous race in Seattle. “We qualified well, had lane choice all day long and into the night, and broke the track record twice. And our record is a pretty strong one at that-another three second run for our Patrón XO Cafe team.”
“I’m so proud of my guys. We had quick turn-arounds because of the rain delays and trying to get it all in before the sun went down, and they did a hell of a job of getting our car around quickly. This is our third semi-final in a row, and we clinched our spot in The Countdown, which feels excellent- it’s the very first time for our team, and we’re all excited for Indy!”
Alexis DeJoria and the Kalitta Motorsports Patrón XO Cafe Toyota Camry Nitro Funny Car team currently sit in the No. 5 spot in the NHRA Funny Car rankings with 1,035 points. They compete next at the 60th annual NHRA U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis, August 27-April 1. For more information, please visit www.alexisdejoria.com, Follow Us on Twitter @ADR_Nitro771, 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 race car driver, competing in the nitro Funny Car class on the Kalitta Motorsports team. Alexis drives the Patrόn XO Cafe-sponsored 2014 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.