SANTA MONICA, Calif. (June 11, 2014)— Alexis DeJoria, the quickest woman in NHRA Funny Car history, returns to Bristol Dragway this week, where she will compete in the 14th annual NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals for the third time in her professional Funny Car career.
It was at the scenic Tennessee track during the 2012 Thunder Valley Nationals where DeJoria and the Kalitta Motorsports Patrón XO Cafe Toyota Camry team raced to their first ever final round- a great achievement for the then rookie driver and team. They’ve come a long way since that time.
The Patrón XO Cafe Toyota Camry has become one of the fastest and most consistent hot rods of the 2014 season, and the team has held on to their position in the ‘Top Three’ since February- quite the accomplishment for the ultra-competitive Funny Car class.
In the two years since that first final round appearance, the Patrón team has accumulated an impressive list of career highlights which include two national event wins, a history making run, a number one qualifier, and a track record. They plan to add to that list this weekend.
With Bristol being the first in a grueling stretch of four back-to-back races, the XO Cafe team looks to the Thunder Valley Nationals to set the tone for the next month. According to crew chief Tommy DeLago, “We didn’t do as well as we wanted to on the last three race swing, but we didn’t do terrible either. The car is running well, and we’ve all had a week off from racing to regroup and rejuvenate.
The team is hoping history will repeat itself this weekend and they’ll find themselves yet again, pulling up to the line for the final round of the Thunder Valley Nationals, only this time, they plan to race their 10,000-horsepower Camry all the way to the Winner’s Circle.
“The vibe is really positive right now, and I’m a firm believe that positivity breeds success- just as it did when we won our first two races in the beginning of the season. Going into this four race swing, we definitely plan on winning one or two of these things, if not all four,” added DeLago.
The Kalitta Motorsports Patrón XO Cafe Toyota Camry Funny Car team begins qualifying for the 14th annual NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway at 5:30PM EST on Friday, June 13. 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 14, 6PM-8PM EST
ESPN2
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.