SANTA MONICA, Calif. (May 22, 2014)— No rest for the weary as Atlanta’s number one Funny Car qualifier, Alexis DeJoria, and the Kalitta Motorsports Patrón XO Cafe Toyota Camry team loaded up and headed west earlier this week en route to Heartland Park Topeka for the 26th annual NHRA Kansas Nationals.
This weekend’s event is the second of a three-in-a-row stretch of nonstop races- the first string of consecutive events in the 2014 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series. Although back-to-back races can be challenging- both logistically and physically- the Patrón XO Cafe team prefers when the NHRA schedule picks up and goes into full swing during the summer months.
“It can be very tedious and tiresome, but at the same time, I sort of prefer this nonstop schedule. Going back-to-back like this keeps you on your game; it keeps you sharp,” said DeJoria, when asked her thoughts on the hectic race schedule that occurs from mid-May until early October, with sixteen races occurring over a twenty week period.
The Patrón XO Cafe team is coming off of a bittersweet race weekend in Atlanta, where inclement weather threw a major curve ball in the weekend’s racing plans. While they earned their first number one qualifier on a track record setting run [4.012-seconds, Atlanta Dragway], the black-and-purple team, which has made it to three final rounds this year- coming out on top twice- suffered a disappointing first round loss. Now going into the NHRA Kansas Nationals, the Patron team is putting that first round loss behind them, and plans on starting strong and finishing strong this weekend at Heartland Park Topeka.
The Kalitta Motorsports Patrón XO Cafe Toyota Camry Funny Car team begins qualifying for the NHRA Kansas Nationals at 5PM CST on Friday. For more information please visit www.alexisdejoria.com, Follow Us on Twitter @ADR_Nitro771, or Like Us on Facebook Alexis DeJoria.
TV Schedule
Qualifying
May 24, 6PM-8PM EST
ESPN2
Eliminations
May 25, 10PM-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.
SANTA MONICA, Calif. (May 22, 2014)— No rest for the weary as Atlanta’s number one Funny Car qualifier, Alexis DeJoria, and the Kalitta Motorsports Patrón XO Cafe Toyota Camry team loaded up and headed west earlier this week en route to Heartland Park Topeka for the 26th annual NHRA Kansas Nationals.
This weekend’s event is the second of a three-in-a-row stretch of nonstop races- the first string of consecutive events in the 2014 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series. Although back-to-back races can be challenging- both logistically and physically- the Patrón XO Cafe team prefers when the NHRA schedule picks up and goes into full swing during the summer months.
“It can be very tedious and tiresome, but at the same time, I sort of prefer this nonstop schedule. Going back-to-back like this keeps you on your game; it keeps you sharp,” said DeJoria, when asked her thoughts on the hectic race schedule that occurs from mid-May until early October, with sixteen races occurring over a twenty week period.
The Patrón XO Cafe team is coming off of a bittersweet race weekend in Atlanta, where inclement weather threw a major curve ball in the weekend’s racing plans. While they earned their first number one qualifier on a track record setting run [4.012-seconds, Atlanta Dragway], the black-and-purple team, which has made it to three final rounds this year- coming out on top twice- suffered a disappointing first round loss. Now going into the NHRA Kansas Nationals, the Patron team is putting that first round loss behind them, and plans on starting strong and finishing strong this weekend at Heartland Park Topeka.
The Kalitta Motorsports Patrón XO Cafe Toyota Camry Funny Car team begins qualifying for the NHRA Kansas Nationals at 5PM CST on Friday. For more information please visit www.alexisdejoria.com, Follow Us on Twitter @ADR_Nitro771, or Like Us on Facebook Alexis DeJoria.
TV Schedule
Qualifying
May 24, 6PM-8PM EST
ESPN2
Eliminations
May 25, 10PM-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.