by Allison McCormick, Stealth Motorsports
BOCA RATON, Fla. — NHRA driver Alexis DeJoria of Stealth Motorsports broke two Top Alcohol world records this past weekend at the 2011 GatorNationals in Gainesville, FL. During Saturday’s third qualifying round, Alexis’ new Tequila Patrón sponsored car reached a record speed of 267.91 mph. Additionally, she broke a ‘time’ record with an elapsed time of 5.446 seconds, advancing her to the Semi-Finals. While Alexis’ records were subsequently broken by 14-time world champion and 30 year veteran Frank Manzo later that weekend (268.08 mph, and 5.439 seconds), Alexis still holds both records of any Top Alcohol female in the sport.
Nick Bastiao, the team’s crew chief and co-owner of Stealth Motorsports, feels confident that Alexis will continue to break more world and track records in this new car. In fact, the Tequila Patrón car is one of only five cars in the world to make it down the track in less than 5.50 seconds in the Top Alcohol class. “This car is in a class of its own right now,” says Bastiao. “While our times were beat by Manzo, it should be noted that prior to this race, we only had 10 runs under our belt in this new car and our team in general, is very young.” Not only was Alexis able to break two records in her new Tequila Patrón car, but the inner-workings of the car itself were recognized this weekend as well, beating out over 350 cars to win the coveted NHRA ‘60th Annual GatorNationals Best Engineering’ award.
Alexis advanced to Sunday’s semi-finals but red-lit and the car smoked its tires, which prematurely ended their run. Regardless, Team Patrón feels good coming out of Gainesville because they know the unstoppable combination of Alexis at the wheel and an exceptionally well-engineered car will lead them to win races and break more records.
Alexis’ next national race will be the SummitRacing.com Nationals in Las Vegas on April 1st. Prior, Alexis will be in Las Vegas on March 24th testing a different motor combination which will give her car 300 more horsepower. She will be competing in the regional race March 25th-27th. Says Bastiao, “We expect to break several track records in Vegas.”
About Alexis DeJoria
Alexis DeJoria, daughter of the famed John Paul DeJoria, of Paul Mitchell Systems, and Patrón Spirits, is currently the Top Female Top Alcohol Funny Car Racer. Her team, Stealth Motorsports, co-operated by Alexis, is one of the few female-owned and operated teams in the industry. Alexis made racing history when she competed in the first ever ‘woman vs. woman’ race in her class in 2010. She is the 2nd woman ever to win a Top Alcohol Funny Car race. Alexis is also well-known for her infamous 2009 Englishtown, NJ crash.
Alexis, who has all the opportunity in the world to pursue any type of career, felt strongly about doing something she is passionate about, and she is proud to encourage and inspire young women to go after their dreams. Alexis’ 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 the dangerous, sometimes deadly, male-dominated sport of drag racing. Alexis recently announced that she will transition into the Nitro Funny Car category in the fall of 2011. She will receive assistance from the Kalitta Motorsports team.
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