It was a feeling Alexis DeJoria had experienced before.

When she left her house in Austin, Texas, DeJoria told her husband, Jesse James, she had a very good feeling about the 60th Annual U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Raceway.

It was a feeling Alexis DeJoria had experienced before.

When she left her house in Austin, Texas, DeJoria told her husband, Jesse James, she had a very good feeling about the 60th Annual U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Raceway.

“I knew it when I left the house in Austin,” DeJoria said about her premonition. “That’s not a joke. On my way to the airport I said I felt really good about this race, that I thought I was going to win this one. Then I forgot about it so I could race.”

This had happened to her once before, when she was leaving for the February Carquest Auto Parts NHRA Nationals in Phoenix, where she would end up claiming her first-career Funny Car win by defeating Robert Hight in the finals.

“Phoenix…I knew it before I left the house,” she said when asked if she ever felt like this before. “I said, ‘Babe, I think we’re going to win this one.’ It was just one of those things.”

In Indy the feeling was the same, her opponent’s team was the same, but the driver in the lane opposite her Patron XO Cafe Toyota Camry was much different…16-time world champion John Force.

DeJoria left John Force at the starting line with a .037 reaction time to take the lead, and held him off down the track to take the win light. Though Force, who left in .071, tried to reel her in he simply he ran out of asphalt.

DeJoria posted a 4.038 at 310.34 miles per hour to better Force’s 4.039 at 319.67.

With the win, DeJoria became the first woman to win three Funny Car national events in a season in NHRA history. It was her first final round appearance at Lucas Oil Raceway and the fourth female professional win in race history.

After qualifying seventh, DeJoria defeated Cruz Pedregon in the first round before toppling Brady Alexander in the quarterfinals.

DeJoria defeated Courtney Force in an all-female semifinal that involved some friendly starting line games.

In the first round against Pedregon, DeJoria got out of her routine when Pedregon deep-staged his car against her.

“I caught myself because I glanced over and I don’t usually do that,” she said of her reaction to him putting out the top bulb. “Then I had a bad light, an .097 and I was kicking myself. Courtney had texted me and I texted her back. At that moment we didn't know we were going to race each other yet because we hadn’t run the second round.”

But they did have to square off.

“Sure enough, she goes in and lights both bulbs,” DeJoria said of Courtney Force at the starting line. “I was thinking to myself, ‘If she pulls some stuff like that, I’m going to punch her.’

“Sure enough, it happened and I don’t know if she meant it or not. It doesn’t matter. It’s racing and I can’t be mad at her for that, but at the top end I got out and told her I couldn’t believe she lit both bulbs on me.

“We’re buddies and it was funny. We got a good laugh out of it and I got the win. That’s all that matters.”

DeJoria said defeating John Force in the final gave her a great deal of satisfaction.

“Yeah, there’s a few reasons but I’m not going to mention them,” she said. “It is tough out here and he’s a hell of a competitor, obviously. He’s won more championships than anybody out there and he knows how to win races.

“We have a really good car, too. I never doubted our car or our abilities for a second, no matter who was in the other lane.”

The win in Indianapolis had added meaning for DeJoria. Her father, John Paul DeJoria, was in attendance and was able to join team owner Connie Kalitta in the team’s traditional starting line mosh pit after the final round win.

“For my dad to be able to come to as many races as he does, with his busy schedule, is very impressive,” she said. “I was so happy to be able to do it…to win while he was here. The two times we’ve won this year he wasn’t at those races.”

DeJoria qualified fourth in the Countdown to the Championship standings heading into the first race in Charlotte, but she doesn’t want to get ahead of herself.

“We’ll keep our heads down, stay true to ourselves,” DeJoria said of her team’s approach. “We’re happy with this win and are really happy to be a part of the Countdown.”

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