Funny Car Archives – Page 2 of 3

Courtney Force finishes second in Denver

July 25, 2016 // by Horsepower & Heels

NHRA Funny Car driver Courtney Force finishes second in Denver at the 37th Annual NHRA Mopar Mile High Nationals. Force qualified No. 1 for the event, and advanced to her 16th career final round, before falling to her father, John Force in a close race. She leaves the event in the No. 2 position in NHRA Mello Yello Funny Car point standings.

Bandimere Dragway proved to be a successful event for Courtney Force and her Traxxas Funny Car team. The 28 year-old picked up eight key bonus points throughout qualifying, grabbing the No. 1 qualified position with a 3.917 second ET at 318.39 mph. The pole was her tenth career No. 1 start, and Courtney has converted those No. 1 qualified positions into wins in four of those attempts.

“We had a great weekend out here starting off the Western Swing at the Mile High NHRA Nationals in Denver. This is one of the most challenging race tracks and I’m so proud of my team because I definitely think that we turned things around in a huge way coming to this track. We did quite a bit better than we have in the past and it definitely goes to show the type of team that I have working on my car. My crew chiefs, Danny Hood and Ronnie Thompson, they’ve given me a consistent race car round by round,” said Force.

In the opening round of eliminations, the youngest racer in the John Force Racing stable was paired up with Jim Campbell, the first time the two racers had met in competition. Force easily dismissed Campbell, running a 3.972 second, 315.42 mph pass that was good for low of the round and lane choice as she advanced to the quarterfinals.

Her round 2 match-up with Tommy Johnson Jr. marked their fourth meeting this season. Both drivers left with nearly identical reaction times, but Force was able to pull away with an early lead. The Traxxas Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car raced straight down the groove to get the second round win with a 4.016 at 315.56 mph to Johnson Jr.’s 4.032 ET at 315.71 mph. It was an extremely close race with a margin of victory at .0154 seconds, approximately seven feet. Force is now 7-4 against Johnson Jr. in eliminations.

Unfortunately, she lost out on lane choice for the third round of eliminations against teammate and JFR President, Robert Hight. The teammates have met four times this season, with Courtney showing a match-up record of 7-10 against Hight. But a stellar performance by Force leading with an .052 second reaction time and race day low ET of 3.937 seconds at 322.04 mph took the immediate win after Hight red-lighted and fouled out on the starting line. She would take lane choice into the finals against her father, 16-time champion John Force.

The final round would prove to be a close one. John would take a slight advantage at the starting line, which would prove to be all that he needed by the finish. He would take the hole shot win, running 3.965 seconds at 319.45 mph to Courtney’s quicker, but losing 3.963 at 314.75 mph.

“I’m proud of my dad for getting that win. We were right there. He was right out my window the whole way down. I actually thought we had him. We had a little bit of trouble with the belt on the car. It kind of shredded up right at the finish line and he went by me for the win. He’s done a great job all weekend in his Realtree PEAK Camaro and he definitely snuck up on me with that camo, so great job to him and his team, but our Traxxas team is going to be ready for Sonoma,” said Force.

Courtney Force finishes second in Denver, not only for the event, but also in NHRA Mello Yello championship points. The team heads to the next stop of the western swing, the NHRA Toyota Sonoma Nationals, in Sonoma, CA on July 29-31.

“I’m so proud of my guys. We moved up to second in the points in this Traxxas Chevy Camaro. We were one of the fastest on the mountain for the Fastest Name in Radio Control cars. I’m really proud of all they did this weekend. I’m bummed we weren’t able to go home with the win against my dad in the final round, but excited that it was on the FOX network. I think that’s huge for our sport.”

Alexis DeJoria’s appearance at Gino’s East

July 7, 2016 // by Horsepower & Heels

NHRA Drag Racing fans can take part in a special meet and greet opportunity with Funny Car driver Alexis Dejoria’s appearance at Gino’s East. The top ten-ranked Tequila Patrón Toyota Camry Funny Car driver will join Jordan Himmel in the kitchen of the renowned Gino’s East establishment tonight to help make the world-famous Gino’s traditional Chicago-style deep dish pizzas. DeJoria will then jump behind the bar to teach Himmel how to make her version of a perfect Patrón margarita, and sign autographs for fans in attendance.

Alexis DeJoria’s appearance at Gino’s East

The Alexis DeJoria appearance at Gino’s East will kick off at 5:00 PM in the Chicago establishment, and serve as the unofficial opening activities for her weekend at the K&N Filters Route 66 NHRA Nationals in Joliet, IL. The fan-favorite event at Route 66 Raceway, located at Chicagoland Speedway south of Chicago, marks the official start to the second half of the 24-race 2016 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season.

WHEN: Thursday, July 7
5:00 P.M. to 7:00 P.M.

WHERE: Gino’s East
162 E. Superior St.
Chicago, Ill. 60611

Second round exit for Alexis DeJoria

May 17, 2016 // by Horsepower & Heels

The 36th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals resulted in a second round exit for Alexis DeJoria, driver of the Kalitta Motorsports Tequila Patrón Toyota Camry Funny Car. The 4 time Funny Car winner started the 2016 season off slowly, before a chassis change turned their luck around with a Vegas win.

With strong and consistent performances since, the Patrón team entered Atlanta hoping to regain some ground in the NHRA Mello Yello Funny Car points standings. They qualified in the No. 4 position with a 3.949 second E.T at 318.69 mph.

We did pretty well in qualifying here in Atlanta at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals,” said Alexis on her qualifying position. “We made it down the track three times out of four and qualified fourth. We are headed into Sunday feeling pretty pumped and hopefully we can collect some more round wins tomorrow.”

This placed her against No. 13 qualified Dave Richards for the opening round of Eliminations on Sunday. Alexis would defeat Richards with a 3.950 second E.T. at 324.05 mph to his losing 4.355 second, 213.57 mph effort.

DeJoria advanced to Round 2, where she would have lane choice against Tommy Johnson, Jr. Unfortunately, her stellar 3.942 second, 322.11 mph performance would be all for naught, as DeJoria’s red light foul handed the win to Johnson, Jr. at the tree.

It was a really tough loss today in round two. We had a car to beat all weekend. Our Patrón Toyota Camry was very consistent getting down the race track. It was just one of those things today. I was up against Tommy [Johnson Jr.] at the last race and he cut a better light than me and we ran the same so I got beat on a holeshot. I just wasn’t going to let that happen today. Unfortunately I guessed a little too soon on the light and had a red light start and that was the end of our day. I’m very pleased with the progress we’ve made as a team. Our car is running very well and I cannot wait for Topeka.”

Alexis leaves Atlanta currently in the No. 9 position in NHRA Funny Car Mello Yello Points standings.

Semifinal finish in Atlanta for Force

May 17, 2016 // by Horsepower & Heels

Semifinal finish for Courtney Force in Atlanta — Photo: Gary Nastase, JFR

NHRA Funny Car driver, Courtney Force, ended a six-round consecutive win streak with a semifinal finish in Atlanta at the 36th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals.

It was a great race day for our team. We didn’t go home with the win here in Atlanta but definitely made some really strong passes out here this weekend in the heat and in cooler conditions. Those kind of runs really excite this Traxxas team. We have a good car and we had some tough competitors today,” said Force.

Force, the 2012 rookie of the year, qualified in the No. 3 position for the second race in-a-row, entering eliminations with the Funny Car class points lead. This was the highest starting spot for the Traxxas Chevy Camaro team at Atlanta Dragway.

Force lined up beside her 32^nd different Funny Car opponent, Jeff Diehl, in the opening round. She posted a 3.915 ET at 327.74 mph. She took the win, but this unfortunately paired her against teammate Robert Hight in the second round. She advanced over Hight with a 3.950 ET at 327.35 mph to his tire-smoking 8.205 ET at 88.55 mph.

Semifinal finish in Atlanta for Courtney Force — Photo: Gary Nastase, JFR

Force matched up against Matt Hagan in the semifinals without lane choice. Her Traxxas Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car smoked the tires and Hagan advanced.

Force is leaving Atlanta with the points lead for the second race in-a-row.

“We laid down some pretty solid numbers but then lost lane choice going into the semifinals. We hit a bump in the left lane and spun the tires against Hagan. We were a little worried about it but we tried to put the same set-up we had for qualifying,” said Force. “We are going to just have to try and figure that lane out next year. We are going to move on to the next race in Topeka. We are just excited we are going home with the points lead and we learned a lot this weekend. I am really proud of how this Traxxas Chevy went down the track every run except for one this weekend.”

The winningest female Funny Car driver was tied with veteran Tim Wilkerson for the lead in the Funny Car point standings coming into the weekend, but was able to take the lead via bonus points on Friday. Force picked up a total of seven bonus points throughout qualifying for being the quickest of Q1, third-quickest of Q2, and quickest of Q3.

The 27-year-old driver went to the final round at Atlanta Dragway in 2014 after qualifying No. 8. It was her ninth career final round in Funny Car.

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.

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.”

DeJoria adapts to new chassis changes

March 21, 2016 // by Horsepower & Heels

The Kalitta Motorsports Tequila Patrón team had their work cut out for them entering the 47^th annual NHRA Gatornationals as NHRA Funny Car driver Alexis DeJoria adapts to new chassis changes made between races.

Following the Phoenix race, Team Patrón decided to run teammate and 2015 Funny Car World Champion Del Worsham’s back-up chassis going forward. Despite the initial challenges, crew chief Tommy DeLago feels confident that the adjustment will pay off in the long haul and make Team Patrón that much more competitive as the 2016 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season labors on.

The Patron team struggled to make it down the track throughout most of qualifying during this weekend’s three-day history-rich event at Gainesville Raceway. The car failed to make a full pull until the fourth round, where a run of 4.041-seconds at 314.61-mph put them in the No. 12 qualifying spot going into round one of eliminations. Sunday morning, DeJoria found herself without the advantage of lane choice against opponent Matt Hagan.

DeJoria falls first round — Photo: Gary Nastase

DeJoria was able to make progress, powering her Patrón Toyota Camry down the drag strip in 3.992-secs in the opening session, her best run of the weekend. But it wasn’t enough to take the win, as the Patrón team came up short against Hagan’s 3.966-second run, ending their day early in Gainesville.

This weekend we started running Del’s back-up chassis,” said DeJoria, a three-time Funny Car winner, adding, “Our car that we started the year off with had a ton of runs on it so we wanted to try out a new chassis and see if making that change could get us back to where we want to be performance-wise. That being said, there are a lot of different things on the car that we all need to adapt to. Not only is the chassis different, taking different input from the crew chiefs, but as a driver, the steering wheel is different, the brake handle is different, the reverser is different, my seat belts are different; so it might take a race or two to get this thing handled. We’re chipping away at it, little by little, and once we figure everything out, I think we’re going to do really well. We made another full pass again today and we’re back in the three-second range again, so that’s a plus. We didn’t get the round win but we were really concerned about trying to make progress with this new setup that we have.”

DeJoria made it to Round 2 in the Pomona season opener, but also exited in the opening round in Phoenix. They are hoping the chassis changes will help them to regain ground in the Funny Car points chase, where she currently sits in the No. 9 position. The team is looking forward to the upcoming 17th Annual DENSO Spark Plugs NHRA Nationals on April 1-3 in Las Vegas, where Alexis earned her second Funny Car win previously.

“I think Vegas will be good- we’re looking forward to that race,” DeJoria said. “This chassis will prove to be much better than what we ran in the first two races.“

Courtney Force is ready to start fresh in 2016

February 10, 2016 // by Horsepower & Heels

The off season was incredibly long and Courtney Force is ready to start fresh, putting a tough 2015 season behind her. After wrapping up her toughest season since her 2012 Funny Car debut, her Traxxas team weathered a win-less season, with 15 first-round losses that left her outside the top 10 for the Countdown to the Championship. Though they struggled, Force did qualify on the pole at two events (Pomona and Charlotte) and had a runner-up finish in Norwalk, Ohio. She posted a new career-best ET of 3.933 seconds in qualifying at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway at the end of the year. She was able to maintain a firm hold on the record for most Funny Car wins in a season by a female (four) and most Funny Car wins overall for a female Funny Car driver with seven career tour victories.

I think I’ve become mentally stronger as a driver going into my 5th year of racing and have learned through all the ups and downs. I think any mistake you make as a driver is only for the better and you can take some much away from that if you choose to look at it with a positive attitude, and that’s what I’m doing this season,” said Force.

Force is ready to start fresh with her Traxxas team for the 2016 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing series tour, and already is showing optimistic improvements. During the Nitro Spring Training pre-season test sessions at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park, the team worked through some issues on the car in the first few days, leading Courtney to impressive full pulls which led to a career-best 3.890 seconds at 323.89 mph.

This season we are pushing hard to get our car back in that top 10 since we missed that opportunity last year. We are going to fight hard at every race with that as our primary focus. Obviously we have high hopes of having a race car to chase that championship, but we are going to take this one race at a time. We have a couple new guys on my team and have Dan Hood and Ronnie Thompson as co-crew Chiefs this year so I am eager to get started!”

The season opener will be the first event for new Traxxas Chevy Camaro SS Funny Car co-crew chiefs Dan Hood and Ronnie Thompson at the Force Family’s home track in Pomona. Both Hood and Thompson were assistant Crew Chiefs until this year.

I think our team made some huge progress this past week during testing in Phoenix. I think we have a better handle on this car than we did last year going into Pomona so that is giving us some confidence. When we ran my career best during testing and the car showed some consistency on the runs, it made me really excited for the upcoming season,” said Force.

Courtney Force and the Traxxas team hope to defend their 2015 pole with a strong start at the 56th Annual Circle K Winternationals in front of their home crowd and fans at Auto Club Raceway. This year also marks the 50th Anniversary for the Funny Car class. Qualifying will begin Thursday, February 11th, with sessions on Friday and Saturday. Eliminations will begin Sunday, February 14th.

Event Information:
Auto Club Raceway at Pomona
2780 Fairplex Drive
Pomona, CA 91768
NHRA.com
Elevation: 1,100 feet

Tickets: nhra.com/tickets; 800-884-NHRA (6472)
Radio Frequency: 105.3 FM

100th race for Alexis DeJoria

February 8, 2016 // by Horsepower & Heels

NHRA Funny Car driver Alexis DeJoria will be breaking into the triple digits this weekend at the 56th annual Circle K NHRA WinterNationals in Pomona, California. The event will mark her 100th race in NHRA professional Funny Car competition, the most events in the class for a female driver.

Along the road to 100, DeJoria has picked up three national event wins to her credit, including the prestigious 60^th annual U.S. National in Indianapolis, IN. She became the first female to break the three-second Funny Car barrier, and earned three No. 1 qualifiers in the class, finishing in the Top Ten in Funny Car championship series points for the past two seasons.

The season opener in Pomona will begin her fifth season at the controls of the Tequila Patrón Toyota Camry Funny Car. Previous to her professional debut in the Funny Car class, Alexis DeJoria spent nearly six years behind the wheel of a Top Alcohol Funny Car (TAFC), even owning her own team at one point.

As she gears up for this weekend’s 2016 NHRA season-opener, DeJoria reflects on her journey to this milestone. She joins Shirley Muldowney, Erica Enders, Angelle Sampey among other women in NHRA’s ‘100 race club’.

When I found out that Pomona would be my 100^th race, it kind of took me back. I just can’t believe I’ve already competed 99 times in a Funny Car. It went by pretty fast,” said DeJoria. “I’ve learned so much over these first 99 races and I think it really does take about 100 races before you feel settled in that race car. When there are things that come up- and there always will be- I feel much more acclimated to my race car, to my team, and to my series. It’s been a short but long journey, and I’m really proud to be in this position and say that after this weekend, I’ve been able to compete in 100 NHRA Funny Car events.”

Alexis DeJoria’s history making weekend kicks off on Friday, February 12^th as she and the Kalitta Motorsports Tequila Patrón Toyota Camry Funny Car team begin qualifying for the 56^th annual Circle K NHRA Winternationals in Pomona, California.

Back in Green: Alexis DeJoria

January 28, 2016 // by Horsepower & Heels

Alexis DeJoria has just unveiled her 2016 NHRA Funny Car livery.

The team is going back to their roots for the 2016 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing season. Operating out of the Kalitta Motorsports camp, The Patrón Spirits Company-backed Toyota Camry Funny Car team will be “Back in Green for 2016”, once again sport the iconic ‘Patrón Green’ as they return to the distiller’s signature Patrón Silver label.

Driver Alexis DeJoria began her NHRA career in 2005 representing the ultra-premium spirits company’s Patrón Silver brand. Making her debut in a black and green Patrón Super Gas Corvette Roadster, Alexis turned heads in the recognizable color scheme as she progressed through the NHRA ranks, eventually making her highly anticipated Funny Car debut in 2011.

DeJoria’s race team became synonymous with the Tequila Patrón brand. After eight years in green, the team shocked the NHRA world by showing up to the 2014 season-opener in Pomona, California in purple and gold. The team represented the Patrón XO Cafe liqueur brand throughout the 2014 season until the final race of the year when they surprised fans yet again with a red, orange and yellow car emblazoned with Patrón’s latest incarnation, Patrón XO Cafe Incendio. While the Incendio brand was originally intended to be a one-race-only look, fan response was so positive that the new colors remained for the 2015 season.

As the Patrón team enters its fifth year of Funny Car racing, they will return to the quintessential green Patrón Silver scheme.

Alexis and the entire Patrón team were tremendous partners in helping us launch and generate excitement and awareness for the new Patrón XO Cafe Incendio. However, in 2016, we decided to return to the classic Tequila Patrón livery on Alexis’ Toyota Camry Funny Car for the 2016 season. Additionally, this more closely aligns Alexis DeJoria Racing with our global motorsports marketing platform, including our Tequila Patrón ESM Team, racing in the World Endurance Championship series,” said Lee Applbaum, Chief Marketing Officer at Patrón Spirits. “Though it can sometimes be difficult to see clearly at 300-mph, we couldn’t be more proud to fly our colors, and our iconic Patrón Silver bottle, on Alexis’ incredible 10,000-horsepower race car.”

Three-time Funny Car winner Alexis DeJoria couldn’t be more excited about the decision to return to the classic Tequila Patrón livery.

We started our first season in Funny Car branded with Patrón Silver. I love the way the green and silver looks on the car, it’s incredibly sharp,” said DeJoria. “It makes sense to represent the company’s flagship spirit on our Toyota Camry. I think the fans will like it too- it’s very recognizable. Everybody knows that label. When you think of Patrón, you automatically think of the Patrón Silver bottle. Over the years, we’ve had a lot of fun with the other Patrón brands on our car, but I’m really happy to get back to our roots for year five.”

Alexis DeJoria and the Tequila Patrón Toyota Camry Funny Car team take to the track on Friday, February 12^th in Pomona, California for the first qualifying round of the NHRA season at the 56^th annual Circle K NHRA WinterNationals. Fans can get a sneak preview of Team Patrón’s updated look at the NHRA Nitro Spring Training test session in Phoenix, Arizona, February 3-6.