BRISTOL, Tenn. (June 15, 2014)— During Sunday’s elimination rounds at the 14th annual NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway in Bristol, Tenn., teams encountered the hottest track conditions they’ve experienced thus far during the 2014 season. With track temperatures hovering around the 130-degree mark, racing conditions proved to be challenging as the majority of the cars in the nitro classes struggled to get down the 1,000-foot drag strip.
After qualifying tenth with her 4.121-second run from Q1 on Friday, Alexis DeJoria and the Kalitta Motorsports Patrón XO Cafe Toyota Camry Funny Car team faced John Force in round one of eliminations on Sunday. Although they did not have the advantage of lane choice, the team was not worried going up against Force and his crew, as they knew they were in for a day of hot-weather racing and were confident in their warm weather tune-up.
Saturday in Bristol had also been a scorcher, and while several teams had trouble adjusting to the conditions, the Patrón XO Cafe team had some of the best runs of the day. During Q4 they picked up two bonus points for having the second quickest run of the session, and in Q3 they were able to collect one bonus point for third quickest pass. Being able to get down the track without any issues during those two runs gave DeJoria an extra boost of confidence going into race day. She said, “I was excited about first round today; I just had a really good feeling. Our team has been doing well, and we were consistent in the heat. Going into the round, John was second in the points ranking, and we were right behind him in third, so that was an important round for us to win. We didn’t have lane choice but I wasn’t worried because in the heat of the day of the last two sessions of qualifying we got down that track like we were racing a bracket car, and if you can get down this track like that, you’re doing good. Sure enough today we went out there first round, I had a good reaction time, the car ran solid, and we got the win.”
Round two of eliminations found DeJoria matched up against Tim Wilkerson. The XO Cafe Toyota Camry shook early into the run and Wilkerson was able to take the win, ending Team Tequila’s day.
“Unfortunately, we weren’t as lucky second round, but we’re leaving here with some good bonus points, and second round points,” said DeJoria. “We’re excited. This is just the beginning of this four race stretch, and we’re looking forward to getting right back out there in a few days at Epping.”
Alexis DeJoria and the Kalitta Motorsports Patrón XO Cafe Toyota Camry Funny Car team compete next at the 2nd annual Auto-Plus NHRA New England Nationals in Epping, N.H., June 20. They are currently ranked fourth with 619 points. For more information please visit www.alexisdejoria.com, Follow Us on Twitter @ADR_Nitro771, or Like Us on Facebook Alexis DeJoria.
TV Schedule
Eliminations
June 15, 11PM-1AM 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.