DEJORIA TOPS QUALIFIED FUNNY CAR FIELD
It is safe to say this has been a breakout season for NHRA nitro Funny Car driver Alexis DeJoria.
Before 2014, DeJoria had no wins and zero No. 1 qualifying spots.
It is safe to say this has been a breakout season for NHRA nitro Funny Car driver Alexis DeJoria.
Before 2014, DeJoria had no wins and zero No. 1 qualifying spots.
That isn’t the case anymore.
DeJoria, who drives the Patron XO Café Toyota Camry for Kalitta Motorsports, now has three wins and three No. 1 qualifying positions.
DeJoria’s third No. 1 qualifying spot came Saturday when she clocked a 3.998-second lap at 314.39 mph at the Auto Club NHRA Finals at Auto Club Raceway.
“This was my hometown, but now I live in Austin, Texas,” DeJoria said. “All my friends and family come out and it is one of the biggest races for our team. It is one of the fastest tracks on the circuit and it is kind of nice to finish out the year here. To be No. 1 right now for our team is just incredible. I’m so happy for them. They’ve done such an incredible job all year long and we are hungry.”
This was DeJoria’s third 3-second run and she is the only woman in NHRA history to make a sub 4-second Funny Car pass.
DeJoria arrived at Pomona eighth in the points and she isn’t at all concerned about the battle for the world championship between Matt Hagan and John Force.
“I wasn’t even paying attention to all that,” DeJoria said. “I’m in my own world right now. Whatever happens to them, happens. We are just trying to go rounds and maybe win a race, you never know. First things first, we got another No. 1 qualifier and it’s so exciting and it is with a 3-second run. It’s probably what you would have to run at this point, it has been an incredible session.”
The 3-second pass didn’t shock DeJoria.
“I knew I had a car like that,” DeJoria said. “I know my crew chiefs Tommy (DeLago) and Glen (Huszar) they are bad a**** and they are not shy. If the conditions call for it, they are going to step on it. Luckily we ran a 4.02 early on and set the tone for the weekend, so we had the chance to see what it had in it. So, they made it happen. It was feisty though. I fought her all the way down that track I did not think it ran a 3.”
DeJoria faces Gary Densham in the first round Sunday.
DeJoria acknowledged having her father, renowned businessman John Paul DeJoria at races, including this one, gives her a boost.
“It’s huge (having him at races) because he is a very busy man,” Alexis said. “To have him come to five or more races a year is incredible. He’s a big supporter and he’s a very positive person, the glass is always half full. This is a humbling sport and not every day is a good day, but man even the bad days you can’t look at it as a total downer. You could be doing something else and I’m real happy to be in this position right now with all the great supporters, Toyota, Patron and everybody.”
Despite her stellar season, DeJoria wasn’t making any bold predictions for 2015.
“I don’t even want to talk about that,” said DeJoria about winning a championship next season. “Obviously, that’s the ultimate goal and we are a hungry team and I think we are very capable. Tommy (Delago) has done it before. You never know. We will just keep truckin’ and we will see what happens.”
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