CONCORD, N.C. (September 14, 2014)— At the Pep Boys NHRA Carolina Nationals at zMAX Dragway, Alexis DeJoria and the Kalitta Motorsports Patrón XO Cafe Toyota Camry Funny Car team fell to their round one opponent on Sunday afternoon- their first opening round loss in nearly two months.
Coming off of a monumental Indy win and two stout qualifying runs the day prior, the XO Cafe team had high hopes going into Sunday’s elimination rounds. They had the lowest ET of the session in Q3 (4.100-seconds) and quickest ET of the event in Q4 (4.090-sec), earning them the coveted ‘No. 1 Qualifier’ title and qualifying bonus points.
The first round of eliminations found DeJoria paired up against No. 16 qualifier Dave Richards. DeJoria had the advantage off the line, but both cars lost traction early into the run. DeJoria and Richards were both on and off the throttle, battling it out in a pedalfest until about the 400-foot mark when a supercharger malfunctioned on DeJoria’s car and Richards was able to pull ahead and take the win, ending the XO Cafe team’s day.
Despite the early exit, the team is not letting the loss dampen their spirits as they head to Dallas for the second race in the NHRA Countdown to the Championship series. As they kicked off the Countdown this weekend, Team Tequila entered with an impressive list of 2014 achievements including three wins, a track record, and a personal record for DeJoria, where she became the first woman to make a sub four second run in NHRA Funny Car history.
“We got our second No. 1 qualifier of the season and picked up those crucial bonus points so the weekend wasn’t a total loss, but unfortunately we were plagued by that No. 1 qualifier curse. It was just like back in Atlanta earlier this season when we were the top seeded qualifier, and then on Sunday, lost in the first round,” said DeJoria, who most recently added ‘first woman to win three Funny Car races within a single season’ to her long list of accomplishments.
“This was not the way we wanted to start out the Countdown, of course, but it is what it is; it just wasn’t our day today. We’ll be alright; we have a strong team and a fast, consistent car. We’ll move on to the next race and work hard to make sure we remain a strong contender for the series title.”
Alexis DeJoria and the Kalitta Motorsports Patrón XO Cafe Toyota Camry Funny Car team compete next at the AAA Texas NHRA Fall Nationals in Dallas, Texas, September 19-21. Currently, they’re ranked fourth with 2,104 points, although the ranking is not final, as the race was cancelled after E1 due to weather and will be finished at a later date. For more information, please visit www.alexisdejoria.com, Follow Us on Twitter @ADR_Nitro771, or Like Us on Facebook Alexis DeJoria.
TV Coverage
Eliminations
September 14, 8:30PM-11:30PM 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.