PHOENIX, Ariz. (February 22, 2015)— Alexis DeJoria and the Patrón XO Cafe Incendio Toyota Camry Funny Car team came into the CARQUEST Auto Parts NHRA Nationals as the defending Phoenix Funny Car champions, hungry for a repeat, and although they weren’t able to claim the title for the second year in a row, the weekend can still be considered an overall success.
They qualified fourth with their 4.000-second run from Q2, the second quickest of Friday qualifying, pitting them against No. 13 qualifier Tony Pedregon in round one of eliminations on Sunday morning. After watching all three of her Kalitta Motorsports teammates defeat their opponents and move on to round two, DeJoria powered her 10,000-horespower Patrón XO Cafe Incendio Toyota Camry to a run of 4.038-sec at 311.56-mph, setting off the win light and advancing her team on to the second round as well.
Round two found DeJoria squaring off against Tommy Johnson Jr., but a 4.082-sec at 305.84-mph run by the Patrón team sent Johnson Jr. packing, and ‘team tequila’ was off to a semi-final matchup versus Matt Hagan.
Unfortunately the semi-final round was where Team Patrón’s day would conclude. Two dropped cylinders caused DeJoria’s parachutes to deploy early, ending her chances at adding the 2015 Phoenix Funny Car Wally to her growing trophy collection.
“We were definitely on a roll here on race day. We made it all the way to the semi-finals, had two good runs down the race track, and beat two very good competitors in the sport,” said DeJoria, who picked up her career first Funny Car win at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park one year prior, kicking off what can only be considered her ‘breakout season.’
“The semis did not go the way we planned, obviously. Right at the step we dropped two cylinders and the ignition system turned off, which set off the safety system causing my parachutes to deploy. I had to get out of it early so it wouldn’t blow up. Not to mention, the two cylinders out at the step affected my reaction time. All of that combined meant it just wasn’t going to happen for us here again this year, unfortunately. But at the end of the day, we picked up some good bonus points this weekend [Q2], went to the semis, and moved up from tenth to seventh in points. Now it’s off to Gainesville, which I’m really looking forward to.”
Alexis DeJoria and the Patrón XO Cafe Incendio Toyota Camry Funny Car team leave Phoenix with 110 points, ranking seventh in the NHRA Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship Funny Car points system. They compete next at the NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla., March 13-15. For more information, please visit www.alexisdejoria.com, Follow Us on Twitter @ADRnhra, or Like Us on Facebook Alexis DeJoria.
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 racecar driver, competing in the nitro Funny Car class on the Kalitta Motorsports team. Alexis drives the Patrόn XO Cafe Incendio-sponsored 2015 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.