SANTA MONICA, Calif. (March 12, 2014)— A history making run, her first professional win, and a ‘Top 3’ national ranking are just a few of the highlights that Alexis DeJoria has experienced thus far in the 2014 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series. To say it’s been her career best start in her nine years as an NHRA competitor would be an understatement, but DeJoria, driver of the 10,000 horsepower Kalitta Motorsports Patrón XO Cafe Toyota Camry Funny Car doesn’t want to get ahead of herself as she prepares for this weekend’s NHRA Gatornationals at Auto-Plus Raceway in Gainesville, Fla.
“We’re just two races into the 24-race season,” said the former Bronson, Fla. resident. “Of course I’m extremely proud of our accomplishments but I just want to take it one step at a time. We still have a long season ahead of us and as we’ve all seen before, you can win one weekend and then not qualify the next. Drag racing is a very humbling sport. Our goal at this point in time is to continue to stay solidly in the Top 10, and we’ll do that as long as we continue to be consistent.”
“All of that being said, I’m extremely excited that the next stop on the tour is Gainesville. That’s one of my favorite tracks. I lived out there when I raced with Bob Newberry in Alcohol Funny Car and have so many great memories from that time period. Additionally, Gainesville was the scene of my first ever round win as a nitro Funny Car driver.
“As long as we keep progressing in the right direction and doing what we’re doing, it should be another good weekend for the purple team. I have nothing but confidence in Tommy [DeLago, crew chief], Glen [Huszar, co-crew chief] and my guys. Hopefully we can keep the momentum going in Gainesville and it’ll be another successful race weekend for the Patrón XO Cafe Toyota Camry team.”
Alexis DeJoria and the Kalitta Motorsports Patrón XO Cafe Toyota Camry Funny Car team are currently ranked No. 3 with 156 points. Qualifying for the NHRA Gatornationals begins at 12:45PM EST on Friday, March 14. For more information, please visit www.alexisdejoria.com, Follow Us on Twitter @ADR_Nitro771, or Like Us on Facebook Alexis DeJoria.
TV Schedule
Qualifying
March 16, 1AM-3AM EST
March 16, 7:30AM-9AM EST (Re-Air)
ESPN2
Eliminations
March 16, 7PM-9PM EST
ESPN2
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.