COMMERCE, Ga. (May 16, 2014)— Alexis DeJoria powered her Patrón XO Cafe Toyota Camry nitro Funny Car to a blistering 4.012-second at 313.95-mph run under the lights of Atlanta Dragway on Friday night, earning the number one provisional qualifier spot, and setting a new track record at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals.
With cool temperatures and stellar track conditions, the 10,000-horsepower black-and-purple XO Cafe Camry rocketed down the track with header flames high, immediately boosting DeJoria from the No. 12 qualifying spot, up to No. 1- DeJoria’s first provisional number one qualifier of her Funny Car career. There were still several stout teams waiting to run after DeJoria, but other than her Kalitta Motorsports teammate Del Worsham who ran a 4.014, none were able to come close. The run earned DeJoria three bonus points, and her first track record.
“I knew Tommy [DeLago, crew chief] was going to go for it and try and run a good number,” said No. 3 ranked DeJoria, who has two wins under her belt in the 2014 season thus far. “Thankfully, the track held it and I was just amazed when I heard Tommy say that we ran a 4.01 over the radio.”
“I’m really proud of my team- I give all the credit to my guys. Not only were we able to take the No. 1 pole position, but we also set a record. I didn’t let myself get too stoked on the record immediately after our run because I knew there were a lot of capable cars behind me, but thankfully none were able to get around us.”
Making the evening that much more dramatic, DeJoria’s friend Erica Enders-Stevens took the No. 1 spot in Pro Stock. Both women are considered the front-runners to win NHRA’s coveted ‘100th Win’ by a woman title. When asked about what it would be like to claim that title, DeJoria said “It’s anyone’s game. If our team got it, it would be amazing. I would love to go down in the history books, but I don’t want to get ahead of myself. We still have another day of qualifying, and on Sunday we’re just going to focus on one round at a time, and go for that third win.”
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TV Schedule
Qualifying
May 17, 6PM-8PM EST
ESPN2
Eliminations
May 18, 9PM-12AM 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.