JOLIET, Ill. (June 29, 2014)— The Patrón XO Cafe nitro Funny Car team was eliminated early on Sunday morning at the 17th annual O’Reilly Auto Parts Route 66 Nationals in Joliet, Ill. Despite making one of the best runs of the first session, their 4.089-second at 308.71-mph pass fell just short of opponent John Force’s 4.079, and the team was forced to pack up their trucks earlier than anticipated.
Out of the competitive sixteen car field of teams racing for the Wally at Route 66 Raceway, their 4.089-sec run held up to be the fourth quickest of the session, and would’ve been enough to win many of the other first round match-ups, once again proving drag racing is a ‘right place at the right time’ kind of sport.
Going into race day, the team had two less runs under their belt than their competitors. Driver Alexis DeJoria fell very ill and was unable to make the two scheduled qualifying attempts on Friday, putting the team at a slight disadvantage. Thankfully, they were able to make up for it during Q3 on Saturday running a straight and solid 4.142-sec in the heat of the day, which placed them safely into the Sunday show.
“This weekend was a perfect example of how tough our team is and how strong of a car we have,“ said DeJoria. “Going into race day, we’d only had one full pass down the race track. The first two qualifying sessions we missed, but it didn’t matter because we went strong on the second day and made it in. I expected no less from my team because they always give me the very best car when I go down that race track. Today was no different. We made an excellent run in our Patrón XO Cafe Toyota Camry- it was one of the best runs of the round actually, but unfortunately we lost to Force by just a little bit.”
Of missing her two Friday night runs and scheduled appearances, DeJoria stated, “I want to thank all of my fans for your support and understanding. The last thing I want to do is miss any kind of runs or time with fans, especially when we’re doing this good, but I can’t change it, I felt like that was the safest thing to do. We’re going to go into Norwalk feeling strong, confident, and ready to get back at it.”
The Kalitta Motorsports Patrón XO Cafe Toyota Camry Funny Car team competes next at the 8th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio, the final race of a grueling back-to-back four in a row grind. 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 29, 3PM-6PM EST
ESPN2
Photos
RLP RL3 4354 Alexis DeJoria makes a run in her Patrón XO Cafe Toyota Camry at the Route 66 NHRA Nationals
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.