SANTA MONICA, Calif. (June 24, 2014)— After their third final round appearance of 2014, the Kalitta Motorsports Patrón XO Cafe Toyota Camry Funny Car team heads into the 17th annual O’Reilly Auto Parts Route 66 NHRA Nationals presented by Super Start Batteries sitting in the No. 2 spot- their highest position on the NHRA Funny Car points ladder to date.
With Chicago marking the halfway point of the 24-race NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing series, Alexis DeJoria is pleased with the team’s successes so far this season, which include most recently, a third visit to the finals.
“We’ve had a great car this year. Tommy [DeLago], Glen [Huszar], and the crew have made it fast, but most of all, consistent,” said DeJoria, who makes her home in Austin, Texas. “We’ve run record numbers and won races, and it’s only halfway through the season.”
DeJoria and her 10,000 horsepower Toyota Camry have accumulated 716 points over the first 11 races and have maintained a spot in the ‘Top Five’ since the second race of the season- an impressive feat in the stacked Funny Car class. Although she is confident in her team’s ability to pick up another win this weekend at Route 66 Raceway, which sits just southwest of Chicago in nearby Joliet, she realizes that the competition is fierce and it can anybody’s game, on any given weekend.
“It’s been a very competitive class and this year, all of the teams are running well and breaking track records at almost every race. As far as the points go, we are separated by very few now, and that makes things even more exciting. I look forward to getting our car back out there again this weekend in Joliet after such a successful final round appearance in Epping. We didn’t get the win, but we left there No. 2 in points, and with that much more confidence in our car and myself.”
Prior to the weekend, DeJoria has a jam-packed day of media and appearances on Thursday, which includes a spot on the nationally syndicated radio/TV show, Mancow in the Morning, Chicago’s Q101FM, and Comcast Sports Net. That evening, DeJoria will join her Kalitta Motorsports teammates for a ‘Kalitta Takeover’ at Harrah’s Joliet Casino and Hotel. Fans are encouraged to join DeJoria at the hotel’s Sheer Bar from 7-8:30PM, where she’ll be guest bartending and serving up her favorite Patrón cocktails.
Funny Car Qualifying for the Route 66 NHRA Nationals begins at 5:15PM CST on Friday, June 27. For more information please visit www.alexisdejoria.com, Follow Us on Twitter @ADR_Nitro771, or Like Us on Facebook Alexis DeJoria.
TV Schedule
- Qualifying
- June 28, 8PM-10PM EST
- ESPN2
- Eliminations
- June 29, 3PM-6PM 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.