Women in Racing

Semi final 4-Wide finish for Enders

April 25, 2016 // by Horsepower & Heels

Erica Enders 4-wide — Photo: Geiger Media

The results may not be obvious, but Pro Stock driver Erica Enders and her Elite Motorsports/Mopar Dodge team continue to make progress in the 2016 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season. A semi final 4-Wide finish for Enders at the 7th Annual NHRA 4-Wide Nationals presented by Lowes on Sunday moved her up the standings in championship points to the No. 7 position.

The two-time Pro Stock world champion switched manufacturers for 2016, and combined with some NHRA-mandated rules changes, the Elite team has been playing catch-up through five races. Enders keeps battling and her team keeps improving.

We learned a lot this weekend,” Enders said. “We completely used this race as a test session for us. I’m glad we were able to learn some stuff, and we certainly made a move in the right direction. The things we figured out this week we’ll apply to Houston. Our rigs were supposed to go directly to Houston, but they’re going to go back to the shop and we’re going to work on our race cars and try to do our best to win in our hometown next week.”

Enders has won the last two races at Royal Purple Raceway, site of the Pro Stock race next weekend. She heads there with some momentum. Enders finished second in her quad in the first round, making a pass of 6.630 seconds at 209.88 mph and trailing only teammate Drew Skillman.

First round was a much better run for us,” Enders said. “But by no means was it a great run. That was encouraging.”

Enders then drilled her three competitors on the Christmas Tree in the semifinals with a .024-second reaction time. Had she matched her first-round elapsed time, Enders would have made it to the final, but the Dodge Dart shook the tires and she had to lift.

With her first-round light of .027, Enders remains one of the top drivers in the class at the starting line.

To me, that part’s easy,” Enders said. “That’s my job, to be focused. I really pride myself on my driving techniques. I try to perform as perfectly as possible every time. There are a lot of extra distractions here at this event, and I feel like we’re the best in the world. We proved it two years in a row, and we’re just going to keep getting better.”

4-Wide Win for Brittany Force

April 25, 2016 // by Horsepower & Heels

NHRA Top Fuel driver, Brittany Force, may have waited a few seasons to earn her first win in the class, but she didn’t waste any time getting a second victory under her belt. The Monster Energy Top Fuel dragster team delivered consistently all day on Sunday, resulting in a 4-Wide Win for Brittany Force.

Over the course of three elimination rounds of Four-Wide racing, Force had the quickest Top Fuel dragster in all three quads she raced. When it mattered the most, Force was able to keep focused and used stellar reaction times to secure her second win in three races.

The format for the 7th Annual Four-Wide Nationals presented by Lowes Foods confuses the most veteran of drivers. In the chaos, drivers crossing the finish line at nearly 320 mph don’t know whether to celebrate or suffer in defeat.

“I didn’t see (the win light) and didn’t even know we won until they pulled me in to where all the Fox Sports 1 cameras were. I asked them to make sure. I said, ‘Did we win?’ So I didn’t even know until I got out of the car and that was very exciting. No one could probably see, but we thrashed to get up here and I didn’t think we were going to make it up to the lanes in time to run here,” said Force. “Our belts got pulled back when they put the car back together and we had to unbolt the car and then re-buckle me in and I wasn’t sure we were going to make it. But we did and I guess it’s good because under pressure we all figured it out and got the car down the track.”

The Monster Energy team is hitting its stride to start the season thanks in part to the technical alliance with Torrence Racing and the oversight of Top Fuel tuner Alan Johnson and crew chief Brian Husen. Brittany has raced to three final rounds in the last four races.

“I just want to say thank you to Alan Johnson and Brian Husen and the entire team because I am just so proud of everyone,” added Force. “That is just incredible to know that Alan Johnson and Brian Husen can put a car together that is that consistent every single run and run like that. It’s insane and I am so proud to be teamed up with them. It really shows and it really builds my confidence up for the season. The season is still getting started but we are definitely off to a really good start.”

Force earned her first victory at the Gatornationals, and has won a total of twelve rounds of racing this season. In the previous two seasons, it took Force twelve races to capture twelve rounds wins and her career best final round total in one season is four. It took the Monster Energy team 75 races to get their first win but only two races to pick up win No. 2.

People say that the first win is the toughest and it was because it took me ’til my fourth season. My second one came easier but I wouldn’t say easiest because it is still tough. These guys on my team are the hardest workers that I have seen and they have dedicated everything into this car. Now I get to celebrate with them in the winner’s circle,” added Force.

The win was Force’s first at zMAX Dragway, and marked the first win by a female in the Four-Wide format. The only racetrack that features four lanes of action, Charlotte’s 4-Wide Nationals are tricky for even the most seasoned drivers. Many struggled with staging mishaps and were distracted by the chaos that ensues with 40,000 HP all taking the starting line at the same time.

“I am still just trying to get over that Four-Wide deal where I got so screwed up in qualifying and just not coming in with a clear head. I was just trying to find my focus and it’s tough and to be able to win four wide is amazing. To be the first female, that is pretty awesome.”

Force had to out run two-time Top Fuel world champion Antron Brown in every quad of eliminations to score the victory. In the first session, Force was the first to the finish line with an event-quickest elapsed time of 3.734 seconds. In the second quad, she was able to pick her lane again and had to face off with Brown, Richie Crampton and JR Todd. Again Force got to the finish line first with Brown on her heels.

In the final quad, Force had her best reaction time of the day, .042, to leave first on Doug Kalitta, Brown and Clay Millican. The winning elapsed time of 3.764 seconds at 319.98 mph was enough to edge out Brown’s runner-up time of 3.779 seconds.

But before that final run, Force’s team had to thrash in the staging lanes and the 2013 NHRA Rookie of the Year was afraid they might not make the call.

You know, sometimes drivers just do better under pressure and I always wondered what type I was. It wasn’t just me, it was the entire team. I don’t know if everyone could see but I was coming up here there was a problem with the belts. But they unbolted the car and we got it figured out and we got the win,” explained Force in the pressroom.

While Force was focusing on beating some of the toughest competition in recent Top Fuel history the crew chiefs were battling twice as many lanes as normal and tricky track conditions. This resulted in several rounds of lane swap shuffling that often resulted in 4 cars being backed out and moved several times before the round would begin.

The thing is that it’s the most challenging about this place is that there are four lanes. And you have to have lane choice and there are four to pick from and this place is so challenging because there are four to pick from and the starting line is tough. Our goal of the day was maintaining lane choice every round and we did a good job of that,” said Alan Johnson outside the winner’s circle celebration.

Two Wallys in Charlotte for Megan Meyer

April 24, 2016 // by Horsepower & Heels

Hot-streak NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster rookie, Megan Meyer, landed her third consecutive final round today at the 7th Annual NHRA 4-Wide Nationals in Charlotte, NC. The Randy Meyer Racing team had the Racers Evolved A/Fuel dragster running strong all weekend, first picking up the win for Best Appearing Crew and then making it all the way to the finals again, resulting in two Wallys in Charlotte for Megan Meyer.

Meyer began the weekend from the No. 2 qualified position, running 5.252 second, 278.81 mph in the shortened qualifying program on Saturday. She proved to be the fastest car in qualifying – just missing the No. 1 position by the quickest car, Mia Tedesco. This is the second time this year that these two ladies have grabbed the top two qualifying spots – and the fifth time in the history of the class that two women held 1 & 2.

In Round 1 of eliminations, Megan Meyer would face Jake Allen for the first time in her career. The race was over from the start, as Allen would redlight and then go up in smoke, leaving Megan to a clean pass – a 5.308 second, 274.94 mph effort.

Round 2 would continue on Sunday, with Meyer having lane choice against Wayne Morris. Megan would take the starting line advantage and never look back, running a 5.281 second, 280.19 mph pass for the win and low E.T. of the round.

Like clockwork, Megan Meyer’s Racers Evolved A/Fuel Dragster would be first off the line in the Semi Finals, taking the win against Richard Bourke with another consistent 5.281 second, 279.56 mph run and placing Meyer in her third consecutive final this season.

The finals would pair Megan against Josh Hart, also gunning for his first Top Alcohol Dragster win. Meyer would have lane choice, and took the early advantage to reach the finish line first with a 5.325 at 278.46 mph for her first-ever Top Alcohol Dragster event victory.

We had a very quick and consistent car all weekend and we were able to take advantage of the good weather and track and use our data from the previous year’s to finely tune the car and make the necessary adjustments to get the round wins!”

Two Wallys in Charlotte

Having been awarded the title of Best Appearing Crew earlier that morning, this meant two Wallys in Charlotte for the emotional rookie, Megan Meyer.

WOW what an amazing day! This is such a dream come true I still can’t believe it!! I want to give a huge THANK YOU to all of the fans and fellow racers from sportsman to top fuel who have told me congratulations today – you guys rock!!!! I’m still very emotional about this victory to be able to win this for my sponsors, my team, and my family.”

Her victory made her the 12th woman to win in the Top Alcohol Dragster ranks.

Megan has two national event finals under her belt this season – the first in Gainesville, where she debuted her new Racers Evolved Dragster and won Best Appearing car; and now her double win in Charlotte. She also made the final in Belle Rose, LA at the South Central regional event a few weeks ago.

Congrats to Megan on her first Top Alcohol Dragster victory!

Top qualified DeJoria exits early

April 24, 2016 // by Horsepower & Heels

NHRA’s Alexis DeJoria, driver of the Tequila Patrón Toyota Camry Funny Car ended her consistent streak in the first round of the 7th Annual NHRA Four Wide Nationals event. Top qualified DeJoria exits early in the first round with a disappointing loss after the two best passes of her career the day before.

DeJoria, NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series’ most recent Funny Car winner, claimed her first No. 1 qualifier of 2016 after driving her 10,000-horsepower Patrón Camry down the 1,000-foot stretch in 3.934-seconds in Q4, resetting the zMAX Dragway E.T. record.

The pole was DeJoria’s career fourth No. 1 qualifier, an achievement that although highly coveted, seems to result in the Patrón team falling victim to the dreaded ‘first round gremlins.’ And that’s just what happened. DeJoria was quick off of the line in E1; her 0.066-second reaction time gave her the starting line advantage over her three first round opponents- Tim Wilkerson, Robert Hight, and Jeff Diehl.

Unfortunately for Team Patrón, their Toyota Camry smoked the tires hard at about the 200-foot mark. DeJoria pedaled, in an attempt to recover, but Wilkerson and Diehl were already too far down track, setting off their win lights respectively and ending Team Patrón’s day.

The curse of the dreaded No. 1 qualifier,” joked DeJoria, a four-time Funny Car winner. “Honestly, the guys gave me a great car all weekend. It just wasn’t our day, unfortunately. We went out there and smoked the tires hard. I got it to recover a little bit but then I looked down-track and saw two cars already at the finish line so I let up. I could’ve done better in my pedal job, but there wasn’t much left to do. Wilkerson and Diehl had already taken the cake for that run. We’ll just come back out here next year and try and tackle this beast of a race.”

Until Sunday’s tire smoking opening round of eliminations, the Kalitta Motorsports Tequila Patrón Toyota Camry Funny Car team had made 11 consecutive 4.0-second runs or better. Team Patrón heads straight to Baytown, Texas for the next stop on the 24-race NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series tour. There, they will look to build on the momentum they created when they took to the track at the last race in Las Vegas. Team Patrón leaves zMAX Dragway sitting in eighth with 277 points.

Megan Meyer 4-Wide Nationals

April 21, 2016 // by Horsepower & Heels

This weekend’s 7th Annual NHRA 4-Wide Nationals event marks the third race of 2016 for NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster rookie Megan Meyer and so far, the second generation A/Fuel driver is off to an incredible start.

Megan debuted her new Racer’s Evolved A/Fuel Dragster at the beginning of the 2016 season to start her official rookie campaign. She opened the year with two runner-up finishes, first at the Gatornationals event in March, and then most recently at the LODRS South Central regional event in Belle Rose, LA.

This weekend marks her first racing experience at the unique Charlotte, NC zMax Dragway facility, which features 4 lanes of head-to-head competition. Her father, Randy Meyer, has competed at the facility previously in TAD, but has not yet landed a Meyer Racing victory at the track.

Megan Meyer 4-Wide National debut will begin with her in the No. 6 position in championship points, after a strong start at the National and Regional levels. But competition at the 4-Wide Nationals event will be tough, and over 20 entrants will battle for a qualifying spot in the field.

A lot of the front runners of TAD will be there this weekend, and I’m excited to be in the top 10 in points so far, so we are expecting it to be a tough weekend for all of us. The points that we gain early in the season can make or break us in the end, so we are going to give it our all to claim as many points as possible,” said Megan Meyer of her Charlotte debut.

The Horsepower & Heels ambassador is ready for the challenge – and her Meyer Racing team has prepared for a long, hard-fighting weekend in Charlotte.

There are over 20 cars entered for this race, and I’d say they are the best cars in our field, so we are going to have our best tune up and best parts this weekend to stay in the top half of the field and hopefully take our dragster to the finals again!”

Megan is gunning for her first Top Alcohol Dragster class victory. She has posted three final-round appearances so far, but has yet to earn her first win and is hoping the continuing momentum will land her in the winner’s circle on Sunday.

Top Alcohol Dragster qualifying for the 7th Annual NHRA 4-Wide Nationals presented by Lowes Food will take place Friday at 3:45PM and 5:45PM EST. Final qualifying will run Saturday at 1:15PM, with first round of eliminations beginning at 3:15PM.

Pritchett racing in Charlotte

April 20, 2016 // by Horsepower & Heels

NHRA Top Fuel driver, Leah Pritchett, has just confirmed that she will be competing at the 7th Annual NHRA 4-Wide Nationals in Charlotte, NC. She will take the seat driving the Nitro Ninja Top Fuel dragster owned by the Lagana family with backing from primary sponsor FireAde 2000.

Pritchett and her entire Bob Vandergriff Racing team were recently released after a retirement announcement by owner Bob Vandergriff, Jr. This left the recent event winning Top Fuel driver scrambling once again as a free-agent to continue her driving career in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series.

Since the surprise announcement last Monday, Pritchett was able to coordinate a joint effort between her primary sponsor in FireAde 2000 and longtime partners Bonifante Friction, Aerodine Composites, and her friends in the Lagana family. Prtichett racing in Charlotte is, for now, a one-race commitment allowing Leah to continue accruing points, and maintaining visibility on the circuit while searching for a long-term opportunity.

It has been a whirlwind of a week, but continuation of my pursuit to compete in Top Fuel has been made possible by FireAde 2000, with joint efforts of longtime partners Boninfante Friction, Aerodine Composites, and of course the Lagana family. Having partners able to come in clutch at the last moment enables me to enter one more race at this time, and will help me stay relevant in the NHRA Mello Yello Series Championship Point standings,” said Pritchett. “This will also buy me a bit more time to work on sufficient funding for the rest of the season to compete with a readily available team.”

FireAde 2000 joined Pritchett at the beginning of the season as a multi-race sponsor on her BVR dragster for 2016. Although her run there ended prematurely, the fire safety company has stepped up to support Leah at the 4-Wide Nationals event with the Lagana team.

Just as the FireAde products continue to surpass industry standards, whether fighting blazing wildfires on the land, in the oil fields, or with a can of FireAde 2000 that should be in every garage or household, they continue to exceed my expectations. FireAde is helping me get through this high temperature of a time, and as a dedicated partner, I look forward to representing them as best I can for as long as am I able to.”

Ron Thames, CEO and Founder of FireAde is also excited about this weekend stating, “In a short time Leah has proved to be an incredible ambassador for our company, on and off the track, and we are pleased to be able to continue our partnership with her and support her efforts during this time”.

Pritchett is grateful for the opportunity, and welcomes being surrounded by friends in the Lagana family and even a few of her former crew members at BVR. Ironically, she will be driving the same dragster she competed against just a few weeks ago at the Gatornationals, driven by rookie Tripp Tatum. The Nitro Ninja dragster runs on a limited schedule, but are always competitive, headed by crew chief John Stewart.

Beyond working alongside and being close friends with the Laganas, I feel fortunate to bring the proper resources to their operation to compete at this event. Experiencing this portion of my journey with people I know, respect, and trust, makes this quick turnaround of a time, that much more rewarding. I will even have a couple of my former crew members from my BVR dragster driving down and working on the car with me this weekend.”

Qualifying sessions for the 7th Annual NHRA 4-Wide Nationals presented by Lowes Food begin on Friday at 4:30PM and 7:30PM EST. Television coverage will be on FOX Sports 1 with qualifying coverage on Saturday at 10 PM and eliminations Sunday at 4:30 PM EST.

Leah Pritchett free agent again

April 11, 2016 // by Horsepower & Heels

An announcement by Bob Vandergriff, Jr. delivered a shocking blow in the NHRA Top Fuel pits today – unfortunately leaving Leah Pritchett a free agent again.

Competition Plus reported today that the two-car Bob Vandergriff Racing Top Fuel operation has been shut down effective immediately. All employees, including Top Fuel driver, Leah Pritchett, were released.

Vandergriff sited a personal decision to retire immediately from NHRA Drag Racing to spend time with his family. The loss of his friend and primary supporter, C&J Energy’s Josh Comstock, influenced his departure and immediate retirement.

I’ve missed a lot of things in my children’s lives over the years and the desire to spend more time at home with my family has weighed on me greatly the last few years and when combined with the struggles the oil and gas industry has been facing over the last 12-18 months it seemed like now was the right time to retire,” said Bob Vandergriff, Jr. according to a statement. (Source: Competition Plus)

Speculation about the financial state of C&J Energy, BVR’s primary sponsor, preceded the announcement as annual financial records showed a plummeting loss in 2015 for the publicly traded C&J Energy Services (NYSE: CJES) of $872.3M. (Source: Market Watch)

Leah Pritchett Free Agent Again

No stranger to free-agent status, Pritchett also encountered the loss of a ride when Dote Racing announced it would not return to NHRA Top Fuel competition after their 2015 partial season. Hard work and hustle during the off season led her to a late PRI announcement that paired her with Quaker State, FireAde and teamed her with Bob Vandergriff Racing.

Leah Pritchett joined the BVR team at the beginning of the 2016 season. She earned her first professional victory in the Top Fuel class in just her second event with the team.

With no word on the details of the Quaker State or FireAde agreements, the sudden loss of her BVR team makes Leah Pritchett a free agent again.

It is beyond unfortunate, surprising, and a tip of a seahorse to say the least with the retirement news of Bob…

Posted by Leah Pritchett on Monday, April 11, 2016

Her back against the wall several times before, we are confident the smart and business-savy NHRA Top Fuel champion will be back soon.

Our best wishes to Leah Pritchett and the entire BVR team as they pursue other opportunities.

LODRS Runner up for Meyer

April 10, 2016 // by Horsepower & Heels

Fresh off a final appearance at the NHRA Gatornationals event, A-Fuel driver Megan Meyer continued her winning momentum with another runner-up finish at the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series (LODRS) Division 4 South Central Region “Nitro on the Bayou” season opening event.

The event marked the first Top Alcohol Dragster regional race for the South Central Division at No Problem Raceway in Belle Rose, Louisiana. Megan Meyer and her Racer’s Evolved sponsored team, led by father and renowned Top Alcohol tuner, Randy Meyer, had never raced at the facility previously.

“Racing in Belle Rose, LA is a first for myself and my father, so we were both excited to be racing somewhere new,” said Megan of her LODRS debut.

The weekend started a bit off-paced for Meyer and her Racer’s Evolved team. Qualifying attempts on both Friday and Saturday resulted in traction problems on the unfamiliar track surface. But the rookie driver showed poise and control, pedaling her Racer’s Evolved A/Fuel dragster down the track to a No. 7 final qualifying position with a 5.511 second at 270.48 mph effort.

“Two quick pedal jobs for me landed me with a 5.51 at 270, which isn’t that bad of a pass, but definitely not what I was wanting,” the ambitious young driver said.

LODRS Nitro on the Bayou Eliminations

Her first round opponent on Saturday evening would be fellow competitor and friend, No. 2 qualified David Brounkowski. Without a complete pass in qualifying for data on the new track, Meyer and her team made some small changes between qualifying and the start of eliminations and were optimistic that it would put them back on-target.

Those changes would pay off, as Megan quickly closed a small starting line gap to power onto the round win, with a 5.294/271.19 mph to Brounkowski’s 5.613/251.91 mph. She also captured low E.T. for Rd. 1 with this impressive improvement, and would earn lane choice in Rd. 2.

On Sunday, Meyer would take on the No. 6 qualified Monroe Guest in Round 2 of eliminations. Although Guest would take a slight advantage on the start, Megan would take the semi-final victory, improving yet again with a 5.280/272.45 mph effort. Guest ran into traction problems early, sending Megan into her second consecutive final round against the No. 1 qualified Gord Gingles.

Meyer would not have lane choice entering her second consecutive final, and Gingles as the top qualifier, had been the car to beat all weekend. The pair left with nearly identical reactions, and Meyer posted a 5.358/270.97 mph run. But it would be Gingles holding onto the win with his 5.319/269.29mph.

LODRS Runner up for Meyer | TAD

This was Megan Meyer’s third career TAD runner-up finish. In March, she made her way through the field to a runner up finish at the NHRA Gatornationals event. She had also earned another regional LODRS runner-up finish at her 2015 debut in St. Louis.

The LODRS Nitro on the Bayou event marked the first of six South Central divisional races, where drivers accumulate points towards regional and national championships.

Megan Meyer partners with Horsepower & Heels

This weekend also marked the start of a new partnership between Megan Meyers and Horsepower & Heels, an organization dedicated to celebrating, promoting and supporting women in motorsports.

We are truly excited to have Megan joining with us at Horsepower & Heels. Her competitive and enthusiastic spirit represents everything that Horsepower & Heels is passionate about, and we look forward to showcasing her career and helping to support and promote her efforts in NHRA Drag Racing,” says Erica Ortiz, Horsepower & Heels founder.

Horsepower & Heels publishes regular news, features and updates on women in a wide variety of motorsports – from drivers, crew personnel, motorsport industry professionals and other women involved in automotive and racing. In addition to promoting the careers of female motorsport participants, Horsepower & Heels continues to expand offerings to help women in the sport by offering specialized training, public relations and marketing programs, and helps to build a network of trusted partners for and with women in motorsports.

Readers can follow Megan Meyer and her rookie Top Alcohol Dragster season at www.horsepowerandheels.com.

Fourth career win for Alexis DeJoria in Vegas

April 4, 2016 // by Horsepower & Heels

After a slow start to the 2016 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing season, “lady luck” has once again found her way to the Tequila Patrón Toyota Camry Funny Car team. Progress from chassis changes made in Gainesville finally paid off at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, landing a fourth career win for Alexis DeJoria.

DeJoria qualified No. 6 with a 3.947 second elapsed time, placing her against Tommy Johnson Jr. in the opening round of eliminations on Sunday with lane choice. She would take the win in the Rd. 1 match-up, running a 4.006, 313.00 mph against Johnson Jr.’s 4.073, 308.35 mph effort.

Round two, DeJoria would meet former Funny Car champion Robert Hight, taking the holeshot win in a spectacular side-by-side finish – a 4.005 second, 315.86 mph effort defeating Hight’s quicker, 4.004 second, 320.20 mph pass.

Alexis would move onto take on 16x Funny Car champion and defending event winner, John Force, in the semi-finals, running 4.012 at 316.97 mph to his 4.053 at 319.52 mph. The win here pushed Alexis DeJoria into her seventh career final round against Kalitta teammate, and former World Champ, Del Worsham.

Vegas has been lucky for Alexis since 2013, where she has finished in the semi-finals or better. This year, hoping for a repeat of her 2014 NHRA Vegas Spring National event win, Alexis squared off against her teammate in another tight race to the finish. Lady luck didn’t disappoint in another hard-fought win, 3.968 at 315.49 mph defeating Del’s 3.988 at 323.58mph.

This wally marked the fourth career win for Alexis DeJoria in Funny Car competition, and the third straight event win for women in the 2016 NHRA Mello Yello Series.

“To be a part of that, it’s incredible. Three women in the last three races including myself have won. It’s an amazing time in NHRA Drag Racing. We’ve come so far.”

The win comes after a rough start to the 2016 NHRA season and a 2015 season that included more ‘downs’ than ‘ups.’ DeJoria suffered two first round losses and bottom-half qualifying efforts at the past two events in 2016. But as history would have it, the Tequila Patrón team would find success once they returned to the Vegas drag strip.

“Man, we just needed to catch one break. Lately, we couldn’t get down the track much in qualifying and then the first round, we would turn it around and do so well, but the other person would just do a little bit better so it was a lot of tough breaks,” said DeJoria, whose last win came at the 2014 U.S. Nationals.

Racing her teammate and mentor, Del Worsham in the final was a memorable occasion for DeJoria, marking the first all-Kalitta Motorsports final.

“It’s been a dream of mine to race Del in the finals, and going up against him, it’s no easy feat. I was pretty excited to race him in the final but man, I wanted to win so bad,” said DeJoria.

Sorting out some issues that had been plaguing the team, their hard work finally granted them the consistency that proved key this time, leading the team to a fourth career win for Alexis DeJoria.

“This fourth trophy was definitely a difficult one to come by. It took a lot of races to get here but we’ve been consistent all weekend. We made four good runs in qualifying and on race day as well. I don’t know the last time we’ve done that. We definitely didn’t do it at the last race, that’s for sure. It’s just been such a turnaround. The last race was heartbreaking because I knew we could do better and we definitely accomplished that this weekend,” said DeJoria.

DeJoria’s win moved her from ninth in the Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship points standings up to eighth with 233 points. The win also earned her a spot in the prestigious Traxxas Nitro Shootout.

“I’m just so proud of my team. My guys have worked so incredibly hard and really turned everything around. They’ve done such a good job and it’s just been an awesome weekend. To top it all off, the Patrón Spirits Company’s corporate office is here, and to be able to put our Tequila Patrón Toyota Camry in the Winners Circle once again in their backyard is just incredible.”

Dina Parise at New York International Auto Show

March 29, 2016 // by Horsepower & Heels

Special guest and IHRA Pro Mod driver, Dina Parise will display her championship-winning Cadillac Pro Mod “Stella” at New York International Auto Show 2016. Held at the Jacob Javitz Center, the New York International Auto Show showcases the latest automotive trends, new designs and other automotive innovation.

Dina Parise will showcase her award-winning ‘Stella’ the 3,000HP Pro Mod Cadillac that earned her the 2015 IHRA Pro Mod Championship as part of the Lincoln Technical Institute booth (1E Hall). Parise will be in the booth for photos and autographs on Wednesday, March 30th from 10AM to 12PM.

A regular partner with Dina Parise Racing, Lincoln Tech’s accelerated career training programs help mold the future of students. Their education and training programs cover a large variety of fields in six disciplines: Automotive, Skilled Trades, Business and IT, Cosmetology, Health Sciences, and Culinary.

I am thrilled to be appearing at the New Your Auto show along with Lincoln Tech for many reasons. Their career training programs are second to none,” said Parise. “They believe in pushing people to following their dreams. Lincoln Tech speaks to what people are passionate about, and encourages them to expand on it. That is surely a recipe for success in my book!”

The Lincoln Tech booth is part of the 2016 Automotive Career & Education Fair at the New York International Auto Show. The New York International Auto Show’s Career Fair brings carmakers, suppliers, and advanced automotive training programs together so candidates can learn about careers in the automotive industry.

Parise will also speak at the National Awards Banquet, the awards ceremony that recognizes winners of regional and state contests held to determine the nation’s best automotive students. The winning student teams will be at the NYIAS to represent their state at the national finals. The National Automotive Technology Competition will take place on Tuesday, and winners for the title of The Nation’s Best Automotive Technician selected at the banquet ceremony.

I am honored to have been asked to address these talented students at the Awards Banquet,” said Parise. “I’m looking forward to giving them some insight into my life and how I made my way into the automotive industry. I will convey to them that it was not always an easy road but in the end it was completely worth it! I don’t ever want them to give up.”