MORRISON, Colo. (July 20, 2014)— The first leg of the infamous Western Swing started in Denver this weekend, where NHRA teams kicked off the three-in-a-row stretch with mile-high racing. Going into the weekend, Alexis DeJoria and the Patrón XO Cafe Toyota Camry Funny Car team was ranked fifth in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Countdown to the Championship points standings, and with just five races left before the Countdown begins, they were hoping to pick up some round wins in Denver.
Denver has long been considered by many teams as one of the most challenging stops on the 24-race NHRA tour. The high altitude makes it difficult for teams to make horsepower and create downforce, and the tuning setup is unique to any other track. Although the Patrón XO Cafe team was able to make two good qualifying passes on Friday (4.157-seconds at 301.81-mph, and 4.113-sec at 279.22-mph), they struggled to make it down the tricky track on Saturday, putting them in the No. 9 qualifying spot vs. No. 8 qualifier Matt Hagan going into round one on Sunday morning.
Unfortunately for two-time Funny Car winner DeJoria and the XO Cafe team, the car lost traction at about 300-feet, and Hagan was able to take the win and advance to round two.
Although disappointed that her day was cut short, DeJoria’s spirits did not dampen, as the team is headed to Sonoma next, a track where they’ve been successful in the past. “We didn’t want to leave here without winning a round, at least,” she said. “It’s just been a tough weekend- it was tricky, and there are different conditions up here completely. We did pretty well the first day, but Saturday we struggled to get down the track in the heat of the day.
“Denver is a wonderful place and the Bandimeres are great people and have a great facility, but I’m definitely excited to get back to normal elevations and a fast track,” she said, referring to Sonoma’s sea level elevation. “We’ve just got to go out and dominate next weekend. I’m excited to race every race, but I’m especially looking forward to getting back to Sonoma- the last two years we made it to the semis. I know our car is capable, we just need to get our consistency back and go rounds on Sunday.”
The Kalitta Motorsports Patrón XO Cafe Toyota Camry Funny Car team is currently ranked 6th with 811 points. They compete next at the 27th annual NHRA Sonoma Nationals in Sonoma, Calif., July 25-27. For more information please visit www.alexisdejoria.com, Follow Us on Twitter @ADR_Nitro771, 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 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.