Boca Raton, FL (May 22, 2012) — Going into the 24th Annual Dollar General NHRA Summernationals in Topeka, KS, the Kalitta Motorsports Tequila Patron Toyota Camry Funny Car team looked to get two solid qualifying runs under their belt on Friday evening, when track conditions would likely be at their best. At around 5:30PM, the air temperatures were still pushing ninety degrees, but Team Patron was able to accomplish a nice, clean 4.206-second at 296.76-mph pass in round one, and an impressive 4.135-sec at 303.91-mph, edging out lane partner John Force’s 4.136-sec pass in round two, finishing out the day in the tenth spot.

Sitting in eleventh by the time she went up to the line in round three, it was driver Alexis DeJoria versus Force again, this time against daughter and fellow Rookie of the Year candidate, Courtney. Unfortunately, the Patron car struggled and lost traction at the 330-foot mark, resulting in a 4.78-sec pass.

In what was a seemingly never-ending matchup of Force family members for DeJoria this weekend, she was up against veteran John Force yet again in her last attempt to improve her standings before going into Sunday’s elimination rounds.  The two drivers put on an exciting side-by-side show, with Team DeJoria running a 4.169-sec to Team Force’s 4.19-sec run. Although the run was solid, the Patr?n team remained in the eleventh spot.

“We stayed middle-of-the pack all weekend,” said Jim Oberhofer, VP of Kalitta Motorsports. “That’s both good and bad. The good news is, we continue to see consistency, and the car is getting down the track without any major issues, but we were hoping to see some numbers in the 4.0’s [secs] and really break away into the top of the pack. Our sixty foot times improved slightly, but it wasn’t completely what we wanted, so it’s been quite frustrating for Del [Worsham, Crew Chief] and the team.”

Come Sunday, DeJoria faced ‘Fast Jack’ Beckman in round one of eliminations. The Patron Toyota Camry was ahead initially, but started to fall behind fairly quickly. The car then smoked the tires at around the 330-ft mark, forcing DeJoria to back off the throttle and give up the run.

“The Top Fuel cars were running really good in the first round on Sunday, so everyone in Funny Car thought they’d be able to duplicate the performance of the Top Fuel guys. Unfortunately, it ended up being a little trickier for both of our [Kalitta Motorsports] Funny Cars.  Both cars ran smoothly to the 330-ft mark, but then both pulled the tires up in the same spot,” said Oberhofer. “Jeff [Arend] was up before Alexis, and his car made a nice improvement to the 330-ft mark. We adjusted the Patron car based on his run, but didn’t have quite the same results. Right now we have three challenges- we’re trying to figure out why the two Funny Cars are running differently, whether or not the changes we made helped out at the 330 mark, and if they did, then why did we spin the tires at a track that’s as good as Topeka?”

While the crew has some work to do with the car on their end, DeJoria has continued to improve upon her reaction times. According to Oberhofer, “She’s doing an excellent job. If we can just give her a car that can run competitive numbers, this team will be right up there with the best of them, and we should be capable of going a couple of rounds on raceday.”

“Of course each Sunday, I’d like to advance a little farther than the previous elimination day, but I’m happy with the fact that we’re getting down the racetrack and we seem to be headed in the right direction. I had some good, consistent reaction times this weekend, and I’m very proud of the 4.13 we ran on Friday night,” said DeJoria. “We definitely need to get some round wins in Englishtown, but overall I’m happy with the progression of the team.”

Alexis DeJoria and the Kalitta Motorsports Tequila Patron Toyota Camry Funny Car team will compete next at the NHRA Supernationals in Englishtown, NJ, June 1^st-3^rd.

About Alexis DeJoria

Alexis DeJoria, daughter of the famed John Paul DeJoria, co-founder of John Paul Mitchell Systems and proud owner of Tequila Patron, is a professional NHRA race car driver, competing in the Nitro Funny Car class on the Kalitta Motorsports team. She is their second Nitro Funny Car driver and fourth member of the team. Alexis drives a Tequila Patron-sponsored 2012 Toyota Camry.

Alexis had a successful career in the Top Alcohol Funny Car category where she co-owned and operated her team, and was one of the few females ever to do so. She left the TAFC category holding the title of Top Female Top Alcohol Funny Car Racer and 2011 NHRA Northwest Nationals TAFC event champion. Alexis made racing history when she competed in the first ever ‘woman vs. woman’ race in her class in 2010, and she is the 2^nd woman ever to win a TAFC race. She is currently the female world record holder for the fastest and quickest TAFC speeds. Alexis is also well-known for her infamous 2009 Englishtown, NJ crash.

Alexis, who had all the opportunity in the world to pursue any type of career, felt strongly about following her passion. 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, male dominated sport of drag racing.

About Kalitta Motorsports

Based in Ypsilanti, Mich., Kalitta Motorsports is a Top Fuel and Funny Car drag racing team in the NHRA (National Hot Rod Association) Full Throttle Drag Racing Series. The team was founded and is owned by drag racing icon Connie “the Bounty Hunter” Kalitta. For more than 50 years, Connie has been involved in the sport as a driver, tuner, and an owner. Kalitta Motorsports is one of the most successful teams in the history of auto racing with five world championships and over 50 national event titles in five different professional drag racing sanctioning bodies since it was established by Connie in 1959.