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.(...)
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Topanga Canyon, CA (April 25, 2012) — A comprehensive simulated test session at the Lockheed Martin Low Speed Wind Tunnel at Lockheed Martin’s Marietta, Georgia facility coupled with a day spent testing in the hot Carolina sun following the NHRA FourWide race has provided the Kalitta Motorsports Tequila Patron Toyota Camry Funny with new critical information which will be applied to this weekend’s 25^th Annual O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Spring Nationals event.

After a successful weekend at the NHRA FourWide race in Charlotte, NC, Del Worsham, crew chief for Team Patr?n, stayed behind and spent the day testing a new clutch combination that he has been fine tuning all season long with the DHL Funny Car team. While Worsham saw excellent results with the clutch combination and plans to implement it this weekend, another benefit of the test day was being able to run the DHL Funny Car (which is setup identically to the Patron Funny Car) in warm and humid weather conditions.(...)
Read the rest of Team Patron Arrives in Houston Armed with Critical New Information

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© Jeff Riedel/Contour by Getty Images

Topanga Canyon, CA (April 11, 2012)— Alexis DeJoria, driver of the Kalitta Motorsports Tequila Patr?n Toyota Camry Funny Car team, looks forward to making her ‘four-wide’ debut at zMax Dragway this weekend, as she and the team prepare for the 3^rd Annual NHRA Four-Wide Nationals.

Coming off two solid back-to-back race weekends (Vegas and Gainesville), Team Patr?n looks to build on their current success and keep the momentum going into this weekend’s race. The two Kalitta Motorsports Funny Car teams (the Patr?n and DHL cars) will continue to stick with their current strategy of having both cars set up almost identically, allowing them the benefit of working off each other. In the past two events, the teams have been able to get back on track with that strategy and have found it to be extremely beneficial. Now that the DHL car will be sporting the new Toyota Camry body for the very first time this weekend (the Patr?n car has been using the new body all season long), the cars will be that much more alike, making this strategy that much stronger.

“Del [Worsham, the team’s crew chief] has really gotten a good handle on this car and has been able to get up and down the track without any significant issues. I think we can expect to see exciting things out of he and the team this weekend,” says Jim Oberhofer, Vice President of Kalitta Motorsports. “I had said after the last race that we needed one more good weekend under our belt to get the cars right where we need to be, and I think that as long as we stay on track this weekend, we’ll be very competitive.”(...)
Read the rest of Alexis DeJoria to Experience the ‘Four-Wide Phenomenon’ for the First Time this Weekend

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Topanga Canyon, CA (April 4, 2012)—With four good runs, each smoother than the last, under their belt at the 13^th Annual NHRA SummitRacing.com Nationals, the Kalitta Motorsports Tequila Patron Toyota Camry Funny Car team is happy with the way their season has progressed as of late, and left Las Vegas yesterday feeling good about things.

After a shaky start to the 2012 NHRA season, Team Patron has seen more consistency, performance-wise, out of the Toyota Camry in the last two race weekends (Vegas Nationals and Gatornationals).

“These past two races have been great. We had just come off a pretty solid weekend at the Gators [Gatornationals] going into Vegas, so team morale was high. After another good race weekend, with the car performing as we hoped, our whole team is feeling even better. We definitely feel confident going into Charlotte,” said driver Alexis DeJoria.(...)
Read the rest of Team Patron Finds Consistency in Las Vegas

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Post tags: alexis dejoria, Funny Car, kalitta motorsports, las vegas, NHRA, patron team, patron tequilla, toyota camry

The Tequila Patron Toyota Camry Funny Car team took a break from their usual stomping grounds of the drag strip to visit the oval track in Bristol, TN this past weekend for the Food City 500 NASCAR races at Bristol Motor Speedway.

The Tequila Patron NHRA team made the trip down to the land of country music, Funny Car in tow, for a jam-packed ‘NHRA Meets NASCAR’ weekend, and what the team considered an exciting introduction to the NASCAR crowd.

Down in Tennessee, they were greeted with open arms by NASCAR fans and media alike. For Team Patron’s driver, Alexis DeJoria, it was especially exciting as it was her first time ever attending a NASCAR event.(...)
Read the rest of Rookie of the Year Contenders Alexis DeJoria and Danica Patrick Meet in Bristol!

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© Jeff Riedel/Contour by Getty Images

Topanga Canyon, CA (February 20, 2012)— Coming off a solid last run at the NHRA Winternationals in Pomona, CA, where Kalitta Motorsports driver Alexis DeJoria gave seasoned veteran John Force a real run for his money, the Tequila Patr?n Toyota Camry Funny Car team had high expectations going into the NHRA Arizona Nationals in Phoenix, AZ this past weekend.

Unfortunately, mechanical issues plagued the Kalitta Motorsports Funny Car team all weekend long. From damaged pistons to dropped cylinders to clutch issues, it seemed as if it was a case of just plain bad luck for Team Patr?n.

During the first qualifying attempt, DeJoria smoked the tires and had to shut the car off, not making it into the Top Twelve. Things were looking up during the second round. She ran a nice, smooth 4.226-sec at 291.82-mph pass, which initially was enough to put her in the field, but by the end of the round, Team Patr?n was bumped out by fellow Kalitta Motorsports teammate Jeff Arend.(...)
Read the rest of Short Weekend for Team Patron

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1^st of 23 races in the NHRA Full Throttle Series

52^nd annual O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Winternationals

Auto Club Raceway at Pomona

Pomona, Calif.
Feb. 9-12, 2012

* * * *

POMONA, CA — Heading into the weekend at the 52^nd annual O’Reilly NHRA Winternationals John Force Racing is half in and half out but totally focused. Led by John Force and Courtney Force in the provisional No. 6 and No. 8 positions respectively, John Force Racing will have two more qualifying opportunities on Saturday.

John Force once again led the quartet of Blue Oval Funny Cars with the quickest time of the group, a solid 4.185 second pass at 300.40 mph. At the top end Force was excited to be back in the game on back to back days and he was also confident his teammates would turn it around.

“Mike Neff and that Castrol Mustang were flying. I don’t know what happened. It looked fast. He knows where he is at with his tune-up. I am excited to have Traxxas out here, our new sponsor with Castrol, Auto Club, Ford, Mac Tools and BrandSource. Thank you Mr. Jenkins (Mike Jenkins president of Traxxas) for the job,” said Force.

At the end of the day Force was looking at how his team had pulled together to start the season with some new personnel and a new tune-up.

“We have struggled for a year now and with Courtney being new she just needs to make laps. I am not worried about (crew chiefs) Jimmy (Prock) or (Mike) Neff. Neff had some deal with the tree or with the way that he staged. He made a good run it just didn’t show it in the ET. These numbers today don’t matter when you get into tomorrow with the cool air because everybody will be running 4.0s and low teens,” said the 133-time national event winner. “For my team led by Dean Antonelli and Danny DeGennaro getting two good runs was critical. We have struggled for a long time and now we have a new combination. We are walking into it and we didn’t try and step on it and run a 4.10.  We were trying to run 4.16 and it dropped a cylinder and ran 4.18.”

Force’s attention has been on his Castrol GTX HIGH MILEAGE Ford Mustang Funny Car and the development of his youngest daughter’s driving skills.(...)
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POMONA, CA — The 2012 NHRA season got off to a “Force-ful” start as Automobile Club of Southern California Road to the Future rookie of the year candidate, Courtney Force made her official pro debut at the 52^nd annual O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Winternationals. In her smart looking black and red Traxxas Ford Mustang Funny Car Courtney posted a solid time of 4.21 seconds at 303.16 mph. She held on to the provisional No. 1 position for three of pairs of Funny Cars before ultimately slipping to No. 6 one spot behind her 15-time Funny Car champion father John Force’s 4.192 second, 302.89 mph pass.

“My first run was very exciting. It was very nerve-racking. It is something I have been thinking about for such a long time. I think my dad was a little more nervous than me. I definitely had some butterflies and I just went up there knowing I didn’t have anything to lose. This was the dream that I was getting to live,” said the 23 year-old rookie. “I just wanted to go out there and do the best that I could as a driver. I wanted to take everything I learned from last year and take it to the race track. I am still a new driver and I am still learning every time I get in the car.”(...)
Read the rest of THE FORCES SHINE ON DAY ONE OF WINTERNATIONALS

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Melanie Troxel, the fan favorite drive that’s been behind the controls of almost everything in the sport with wheels on it, confirmed via her Facebook page on Friday that effective immediately, team owner Roger Burgess has ceased operations of the Funny Car portion of R2B2 Racing.

Said Troxel:

“R2B2 Racing is shutting down the funny car operation as of today. We are all very sad about the news, but as John Medlen says this is just the end of one chapter, a new one starts tomorrow. I have had a wonderful 4 years with this team, and am very grateful to Roger Burgess for the opportunities he provided. I will continue to work on sponsorship and have spoken with several teams about adding another car. Keep your fingers crossed for me, and I will keep you posted on how its going.”

Troxel, who piloted both the In-N-Out Burger Funny Car and R2B2?s “Silver Bullet” ’53 Corvette Pro Modified entry, will not drive for the team in 2012 as she searches out new marketing partners and driving opportunities for the future. There have no reports to suggest that Burgess and R2B2 will not continue their Pro Modified efforts, although which cars the team will campaign and who will drive is unknown. Tuner Steve Petty, who helped carry R2B2 drivers to wins at 4 of the series’ 10 races last year, recently took his talents to Troy Coughlin’s JEG’S operation for 2012.(...)
Read the rest of R2B2 Funny Car Parked: Fan Favorite Troxel On The Sidelines

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Post tags: Funny Car, In-N-Out burger, Melanie Troxel, NHRA, r2b2, roger burgess

JFR/Traxxas

COURTNEY FORCE

Pre-Race Package for the 52nd annual O’Reilly Winternationals

Feb. 9-12, 2012

Auto Club Raceway at Pomona                                                                                                                      

Pomona, Calif.

First event in the 2012 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series

COURTNEY FORCE, 23, is making her professional debut at the same race at which her sister, Ashley Force Hood, began her pro career in 2007.  The youngest of John Force’s four daughters, Courtney this year will drive the Traxxas Ford Mustang for crew chief Ron Douglas.

                                                                  ***                                                                          

FORCE SETS OUT ON FUNNY CAR JOURNEY

POMONA, Calif. (February 6, 2012) – Many childhood dreams begin with a small glimpse into the working world their parents live in, but when your father is 15-time NHRA Funny Car Champion John Force and races to speeds topping 300 mph, you may think some kids would change their minds.

This was not the case for Courtney Force.

The 23-year-old addition to John Force Racing took on the racing world at the age of 16, competing in classes such as Super Comp Dragster and Top Alcohol Dragster. Her sister Ashley Force Hood, who is a four-time Funny Car national event winner including back to back Mac Tools US Nationals titles in 2009 and 2010, began the tradition.

(...)
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