NORWALK, Ohio (July 6, 2014)— The last leg of a grueling stretch of four back-to-back NHRA races concluded early today for the Kalitta Motorsports Patrón XO Cafe at the 8th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio.
The four race swing started in Bristol, Tenn., moved north to Epping, N.H., and then headed to the Midwest for the Chicago and Norwalk races. The Patrón XO Cafe team had a good showing overall, which included a runner-up finish in Epping, but didn’t quite end the way Team Tequila had hoped, with disappointing first round losses, despite impressive first round numbers, at the past two events.
After qualifying tenth with their 4.076-second at 311.49-mph run from Q4, Alexis DeJoria and the XO Cafe team was matched up against Chad Head in the first round of eliminations this morning at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park.
In the E1 matchup, the purple, gold, and matte-black Toyota Camry crossed the stripe at 4.090-sec, 309.77-mph, but it wasn’t enough for Head’s 4.075-sec run. In a situation similar to last week in Chicago, today’s run would have been good enough to send several other first round winners packing, but unfortunately, it was Head that DeJoria was up against, and the XO Cafe team went home early.
“This wasn’t the way we wanted to end this swing, but we’ve had a good car on race day. That being said, we’ve also hit some bad luck in the first round in the last two races. We made great runs that would have gotten us a round win, but against the wrong opponents,” said DeJoria, who sits fifth in the NHRA Mello Yello points ranking, with 779 points, after climbing as high as second after Epping.
Before going into the infamous three-race Western Swing, NHRA teams will have a weekend away from the race track, giving them time to regroup and recharge. “Taking a week off will give us time to clear our heads and be ready for battle on the Western Swing!”
Alexis DeJoria and the Kalitta Motorsports Patrón XO Cafe Toyota Camry Funny Car team compete next at the Mile-High NHRA Nationals in Denver, Colo., July 18-20. For more information please visit www.alexisdejoria.com, Follow Us on Twitter @ADR_Nitro771, or Like Us on Facebook Alexis DeJoria.
TV Schedule
Eliminations
July 6, 9PM-12AM 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.