The post Alexis DeJoria to Kick-Off Chicago Race with White Sox First Pitch appeared first on Female Racing News | News about Women in Motorsports.
]]>DELRAY BEACH, Fla. (June 25, 2013)— Coming off of two back-to-back race weekends in Bristol, Tenn. and Epping, N.H., the Tequila Patrón Toyota Camry Funny Car team is full speed ahead as they prepare for the 16th annual O’Reilly Auto Parts Route 66 NHRA Nationals in Joliet, Ill. this weekend, June 28-30.
While the past two races were not as successful as the Kalitta Motorsports black-and-green Patrón-backed team would have hoped, the vibe remains positive going into this weekend’s race. “These stretches of nonstop races are pretty grueling, but to be honest, we’re all so amped to pick up that elusive first win that we like to get back out on the track right away and have another shot at it. We’re all working so hard, and want it so bad. Every weekend that we get back out on the race track we feel a renewed sense of energy and are eager to start each race fresh and on a positive note,” said Alexis DeJoria, pilot of the 10,000 horsepower Patrón hot rod.
“In Epping we struggled with dropping cylinders, and that plagued us all weekend, only allowing us to run in the 4.20’s [seconds, elapsed time]. Thankfully, Tommy [DeLago, crew chief] and the guys figured out what the issue was and we’re all looking forward what will hopefully be a weekend filled with fast, consistent runs. We went to the semi-finals in Chicago last year and we’re looking to one-up ourselves at Route 66 Raceway this year.”
Prior to the race weekend, DeJoria will have the honor of throwing out the ceremonial ‘first pitch’ at the Chicago White Sox game on Wednesday, June 26 at 7:10PM, when the Sox take on the Mets at U.S. Cellular Field. “I’m excited to throw out the first pitch. This is such an incredibly opportunity and something I’ve wanted to do for a long time. I’m looking forward to representing not only Team Patrón, but Kalitta Motorsports and the NHRA at the game, and perhaps draw some new fans out to the races this weekend.”
Alexis DeJoria and the Kalitta Motorsports Tequila Patrón Toyota Camry Funny Car team begin qualifying for the Route 66 NHRA Nationals in Joliet, Ill., at 5:15PM on Friday, June 28. For more information, please visit www.alexisdejoria.com. Follow us on Twitter: @ADR_Nitro771 and Like Us on Facebook: Alexis DeJoria. Be sure to tune in to the ‘Alexis DeJoria NHRA Racing Report’ every Friday at 1PM EST on RaceTalkRadio.com.
TV Schedule
Qualifying
June 29, 6:30PM-8PM EST
June 29, 11PM-12AM EST
ESPN2
Eliminations
June 30, 9PM-12AM EST
ESPN2
About Alexis DeJoria
Alexis DeJoria, daughter of the famed John Paul DeJoria, co-founder of John Paul Mitchell Systems and proud owner of Tequila Patr?n, is a professional NHRA race car driver, competing in the nitro Funny Car class on the Kalitta Motorsports team. Alexis drives a Tequila Patr?n-sponsored 2013 Toyota Camry. Alexis, who had all the opportunity in the world to pursue any type of career, felt strongly about following her passion, and her 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 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) Mello Yello 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.
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]]>The post Alexis DeJoria & Team Patrón Ready to Make New England Debut appeared first on Female Racing News | News about Women in Motorsports.
]]>DELRAY BEACH, Fla. (June 18, 2013)— With the second of a string of four back-to-back races just days away, there’s no rest for the weary as Alexis DeJoria and her Kalitta Motorsports Tequila Patrón Toyota Camry Funny Car team head due north this week for the highly anticipated inaugural event at New England Dragway, the Auto-Plus NHRA New England Nationals in Epping, N.H.
The Patrón team, which counts their past race in Bristol, Tenn. as a success, is looking forward to riding the momentum into the newest stop on the 24 race NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series tour. The NHRA has posted numerous reports regarding the incredible fan response for the northeastern race, and DeJoria is looking to leave a lasting impression amongst a new set of fans.
“After last weekend, I feel pretty charged,” DeJoria, an Austin-transplant, says. “I know the team feels pretty pumped right now as well. We got past first round in Bristol, which was good because that has been a struggle for us over the past few races.”
“I’m looking forward to going somewhere we’ve never raced before. It’s kind of nice knowing that this is a new experience for all teams. We’re all going into this race on an even playing field. No one has any prior information from this track, so we all get to go into this race on equal footing. Everyone wants to be the ‘first’ one to win here- to carve out their own piece of history at this track. Of course, we want that too. We want a win so badly, so it would be doubly sweet to not only get to hoist our first Wally, but to do so and make history at the same time would be extra special.”
“I’m very much looking forward to meeting a brand new fan base. I know that the fans in the area have been itching for the NHRA to bring a national event to the area for a while, so I think the energy and the overall vibe at the track this weekend is just going to be incredible. Plus, I’m going to have some of my own personal fans out at the track this weekend. I have family in Rhode Island that will come out. The only other race they’ve been to was Englishtown, so they’re all very excited to check out a new track. It’s always an extra little bonus to have family support at a race- it provides an added boost.”
DeJoria, who sits in the No. 12 spot with 441 points— 73 points out of the NHRA’s Countdown to the Championship Top Ten list— knows the importance of needing to go rounds this weekend. “It’s not crunch time just yet, but we’re getting close. We badly need to add some more round wins to our total count this weekend. The past two races have been very helpful for us, in regards to Tommy [DeLago, crew chief] being able to gather new information. We’re looking forward to taking what we’ve learned and applying it at a new venue this weekend, and hopefully we can put on a good show for the fans.”
Alexis DeJoria and her Kalitta Motorsports Tequila Patrón Toyota Camry Funny Car team will begin qualifying for the NHRA New England Nationals at New England Dragway in Epping, N.H., at 5:30PM EST on Friday, June 21. For more information, please visit www.alexisdejoria.com. Follow us on Twitter: @ADR_Nitro771 and Like Us on Facebook: Alexis DeJoria.
TV Schedule
Qualifying
June 22, 8PM-10PM EST
ESPN2
Eliminations
June 23, 7PM-10PM EST
ESPN2
About Alexis DeJoria
Alexis DeJoria, daughter of the famed John Paul DeJoria, co-founder of John Paul Mitchell Systems and proud owner of Tequila Patr?n, is a professional NHRA race car driver, competing in the nitro Funny Car class on the Kalitta Motorsports team. Alexis drives a Tequila Patr?n-sponsored 2013 Toyota Camry. Alexis, who had all the opportunity in the world to pursue any type of career, felt strongly about following her passion, and her 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 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) Mello Yello 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.
The post Alexis DeJoria & Team Patrón Ready to Make New England Debut appeared first on Female Racing News | News about Women in Motorsports.
]]>The post Alexis DeJoria Races Back into the Top Ten in Houston appeared first on Female Racing News | News about Women in Motorsports.
]]>OUSTON, Texas (April 28, 2013)— For Alexis DeJoria, driver of the Kalitta Motorsports Tequila Patron Toyota Camry, her first race in the Lone Star state as a Texas resident proved to be a successful one. The Austin based Funny Car pilot raced her way to the semi-finals this weekend at the 26th annual O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Spring Nationals at Royal Purple Raceway, located just outside of Houston, and managed to break back into the ‘Top Ten’ of the NHRA’s Countdown to the Championship point standings.
After Saturday’s two nitro qualifying sessions were cancelled due to persistent rain, DeJoria went into the first round of eliminations on Sunday morning qualified in the No. 12 spot with her 4.217-second run from Q2, facing fellow female competitor Courtney Force. The two had met for the first time in competition at this very race last year, with Force coming out as the round winner of the 2012 event. The tables would turn this year as DeJoria would defeat Force, the No. 2 qualifier and only other female Funny Car driver, in the round one matchup after an exciting ‘pedalfest’ run. After hearing car after car have trouble getting down the 1,000-foot stretch during the first round of Top Fuel eliminations, DeJoria, aka ‘La Patrona,’ she knew that she could be up for a rough ride.
“My goal was to get my Toyota Camry to the finish line as best as I could. I noticed a lot of drivers had a tough time getting down there. I prepared myself mentally, cut an excellent light [.046-sec] and luckily, crossed the stripe first. It’s a friendly rivalry between the two of us, but we’re both super competitive and once you’re on the line all bets are off- I was in it to win it,” she said of the high-profile rematch.
Round two of eliminations found Team Patrón again in the right lane facing the current NHRA Mello Yello world champion, ‘Fast Jack’ Beckman. In what was yet another ‘pedalfest,’ where driving skills would reign supreme, DeJoria was able to pilot the black-and-green Patron beast past Beckman and on to victory, with her 4.484-sec run versus the veteran’s 4.65 e.t. “I feel like I’ve finally got a handle on pedaling. All of those times having to pedal paid off, and I’ve figured out the right way to pedal our car with our setup.”
With the quick turnaround time between rounds to accommodate ESPN2’s live race coverage, the Patron team found themselves back on the line a short time later facing Cruz Pedregon in the semi-finals. In the ‘Toyota versus Toyota’ matchup, DeJoria was quick off the line with a better reaction time, but Pedregon was able to take the win after a riveting side-by-side race with his 4.243 over her 4.332. “This felt like a rematch of our Vegas race earlier this month. We found ourselves facing each other in the semis again. He had lane choice and we swapped lanes right before the run, which put us in the left lane for the first time today. I thought I had him there but he ended up passing me.”
Despite not making it all the way to the final round, Team Patron was able to pick up valuable points, moving them from the No. 11 spot, back into ninth where they currently sit with 295 points. “I’m proud of my team. We’re going rounds and gaining points with every round, and that’s what’s important right now. I’m looking forward to getting right back out there in a few days in Atlanta.”
The Kalitta Motorsports Tequila Patron Toyota Camry Funny Car team races next at the 33rd annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals in Commerce, Ga., May 3-5.
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. Alexis drives a Tequila Patr?n-sponsored 2013 Toyota Camry. Alexis, who had all the opportunity in the world to pursue any type of career, felt strongly about following her passion, and her 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 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) Mello Yello 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.
The post Alexis DeJoria Races Back into the Top Ten in Houston appeared first on Female Racing News | News about Women in Motorsports.
]]>The post New Blogger: Natasha Cherchuk appeared first on Female Racing News | News about Women in Motorsports.
]]>Hi everyone, I’m excited to write my first blog for FemaleRacingNews. I have no idea where to start so I think starting from the beginning will be the best.
My name is Natasha Cherchuk and I started my racing career in 1999. When I was born, all my dad wanted was a boy to take to the track, work on cars, and be able to talk cars. Unfortunately for him he was blessed with two daughters. He ended up corrupting me into the world of drag racing. He drove a 1971 Plymouth Duster and at the age of 3 I was his little crew chief. When I saw my first Jr. Dragster I knew I was meant to be in the drivers seat rather than outside of the car and made my dad promise me he’d buy me one when I turned 8. When I was around the age of 5 I was in and out of the hospital and doctors told me that I had Kidney Disease. After many tests, pokes from needles, surgeries, and stays at the hospital I was healthy enough to go back to the one place that truly made me happy, the track. Christmas of ’98 my dad surprised me with my first Jr. Dragster! In the 8 years I raced in the Jr. Dragster class I have accomplished more than some of the boys including 2 NHRA national opens, 5 IHRA national events, 4 consecutive season championships, and runner-up in the Division 6 points chase. All the achievements gave me the nickname Cha-Cha. In 2004 I was featured in a documentary called ‘Girl Racers’ that was aired all over North America. The documentary also included more famous racers like Danica Patricks and Milka Duno.
In 2007, I was able to get my competition license for super pro/Electronics class. It was super late in the season when I was able to get my license so I was only able to make 2 races that year. In my rookie year (2008) I was able to chase down the men who were double, some triple my age and land myself in the 3rd spot in the season points championships. After that we purchased a newer 2006 RaceTech with a 632 PUMP GAS engine that pushes almost 1100hp. In 2011 I won 2 IHRA Pro-Am Nationals and runnered up at the Rocky Mountain Nationals which put me first in the Division 6 Top Dragster class. I am the first female in Canada to win 4 consecutive season championship and first female IHRA top dragster and division 6 in any class to win the championship.
This season I have high hopes for my team. We will be leaving the great white north and head south to Las Vegas for the K&N Spring Fling Nationals. It will be my first NHRA race in years and am excited to try to win some big money against even bigger competition. I’m excited to how our season will pan out but with hard work, team work and determination we can achieve anything!
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]]>The post LEAH PRUETT LOOKS TO CONTINUE MOMENTUM IN PHOENIX appeared first on Female Racing News | News about Women in Motorsports.
]]>CHANDLER, Ariz. (Feb. 21, 2013) – After successfully qualifying for her first NHRA Top Fuel race at the Winternationals in Pomona, Calif., Leah Pruett and the Dote Racing Top Fuel team are looking to maintain their forward momentum at Firebird International Raceway near Phoenix this weekend.
The post LEAH PRUETT LOOKS TO CONTINUE MOMENTUM IN PHOENIX appeared first on Female Racing News | News about Women in Motorsports.
]]>The post Team Patron Looking for Consistency in Phoenix appeared first on Female Racing News | News about Women in Motorsports.
]]>DELRAY BEACH, Fla. (February 19, 2013)— The Kalitta Motorsports Tequila Patron Toyota Camry Funny Car team travels to Phoenix, Ariz. this week in anticipation of the 29th annual NHRA Arizona Nationals, the second event of the 2013 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series.
With just four days in between races, the Patron team packed up shop in Pomona, Calif. yesterday after qualifying in the No. 10 spot at the season-opening NHRA Winternationals this past weekend. Despite encountering a few mechanical issues throughout the first event, Team Green feels pleased with the car’s performance overall and hopes to see their hard work translate into success on the race track this weekend in Phoenix.
“I feel good going into Phoenix even though we had issues at Pomona,” said the team’s driver, Alexis DeJoria, now in her second season as a nitro Funny Car pilot, and eighth season as an NHRA competitor. “At least we found the problems and fixed them. Overall, we’ve been making it down the track. This is a process and it takes time to build a new tune-up. I feel confident in my team’s abilities to perform very well this season.”
With the black and green Toyota Camry making nearly 20 successful passes down the track during winter testing last month, veteran crew chief Tommy DeLago feels confident in the current tuning strategy. “We think we see that there is a way to make this car have a bigger window of opportunity as far as being even more consistent than how it was in testing. Unfortunately, it showed its head a little bit this past weekend in Pomona when it got a little warmer out than what we had seen in testing, which made it a little finicky, but I feel good about the plan we have in place.”
When asked about what he anticipates conditions to be like this weekend, DeLago answered, “You never know what conditions you’re going to find in Phoenix. Some years it’s really good and you can lean on it and run some good ET’s, but it’s one of those places that you don’t really know what to expect until you actually get there. The good news is, we know what the issues were in Pomona and we are able to fix them, so we should have no problem getting down the track this weekend. From there, we will focus on making the car go faster and being more competitive.”
Alexis DeJoria and the Kalitta Motorsports Tequila Patron Toyota Camry Funny Car team compete this weekend at the 29th annual NHRA Arizona Nationals in Phoenix, Ariz. Prior to the weekend, DeJoria will be making an appearance at Loco Patron Mexican Grill in Tempe, Arizona on Thursday, February 21st, 5PM-6:30PM. The event is free and open to the public. For more information, please visit www.alexisdejoriaracing.com
TV Schedule
Qualifying
February 24th, 1AM-2:30AM EST
February 24th, 8AM-9AM EST (re-air)
ESPN2
Eliminations
February 24th, 8PM-11PM EST
ESPN2
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 2013 Toyota Camry. Alexis, who had all the opportunity in the world to pursue any type of career, felt strongly about following her passion, and her 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 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) Mello Yello 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.
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]]>The post Alexis DeJoria Racing Partners with Darrell Gwynn Foundation appeared first on Female Racing News | News about Women in Motorsports.
]]>DELRAY BEACH, Fla. (February 11, 2013)—Alexis DeJoria Racing is proud to announce that it has partnered with the Darrell Gwynn Foundation, an organization dedicated to providing support for people with paralysis and preventing spinal cord injuries.
The Darrell Gwynn Foundation’s namesake founder, a champion driver and legend in the sport of drag racing, was involved in a horrific crash in 1990 leaving him paralyzed. After transitioning from driver to team owner, Gwynn later founded the Darrell Gwynn Foundation in 2002 and has helped hundreds with his foundation’s national Wheelchair Donation Program, which donates custom power wheelchairs to individuals facing medical and financial hardships. His foundation also donates funds to assist patients recovering from spinal cord injuries and educates thousands of high school students annually on ways to prevent spinal cord injuries. A constant presence at the track, Gwynn serves as an inspiration to many, including NHRA Funny Car driver Alexis DeJoria.
According to DeJoria, driver of the Kalitta Motorsports Tequila Patrón Toyota Camry Funny Car, “We’ve [Alexis DeJoria Racing] been friends with Darrell for quite a long time. He’s such a remarkable person and a legend in the sport of NHRA drag racing. What he’s done is absolutely amazing. To be a part of his foundation is so important to our team and we’re honored to be able to help him and his cause. Darrell is a prime example of ‘no matter what happens in life, don’t ever give up.’ Anything we can do to help them along the way; we’re going to do it. I know I speak on behalf of my entire team when I say we’re proud to run the Darrell Gwynn Foundation sticker on our race car this season.”
In addition to running the foundation’s decal at all 24 races of the 2013 NHRA Mello Yello Series, starting with this week’s kickoff event, the 53rd Annual O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Winternationals presented by Super Start Batteries, Alexis DeJoria Racing has established a comprehensive social media plan to help support the Darrell Gwynn Foundation’s fundraising efforts and help increase awareness of their cause. The two organizations plan to partner on developing unique fundraising ideas both on-track and off throughout the course of the 2013 NHRA season.
“The Darrell Gwynn Foundation has helped so many over the years and we’re proud to be able to give back to such a trusted and well-respected organization. Now in our sophomore season, this is the first charitable group that we’ve officially aligned ourselves with and we look forward to focusing our fundraising efforts and being an asset to their foundation. We look forward to a productive 2013 season.”
About Darrell Gwynn Foundation
Founded in 2002 by Champion Racer Darrell Gwynn and his wife, Lisa, the Darrell Gwynn Foundation is a 501(c)3 organization whose mission is to provide SUPPORT for people living with paralysis and PREVENT spinal cord injuries. The foundation’s primary support program is its national Wheelchair Donation Program. With this program the Darrell Gwynn Foundation has donated custom built wheelchairs to hundreds of individuals in need. The foundation also maintains a Patient Assistance Fund offering support services and tools at Craig Hospital in Englewood, Colorado with aspirations to expand this model to several hospitals nationwide. The Patient Assistance Fund also supports two Speediatrics Units the Betty Jane France Pediatric Center, at Halifax Hospital in Daytona, Fla. and Homestead Hospital in Homestead, Fla. Additionally, the Patient Assistance Fund provides financial support through its Fast Track Laboratory with the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis aimed at finding a cure for paralysis. The foundation operates an Education & Prevention Program directed to high school students to educate them on the dangers of risky behavior that can lead to spinal cord injuries. This rapidly growing program reaches over 10,000 students annually at over 50 high schools. In an effort to create more awareness about spinal cord injuries, the Darrell Gwynn Foundation successfully lobbied for and established a National Spinal Cord Injury Awareness Month and Spinal Cord Injury Awareness Week in Florida. With tremendous fundraising partners such as Barrett-Jackson, the NHRA, NASCAR and many more generous sponsors, individual supporters and donors, the Darrell Gwynn Foundation continues to evolve as a leading foundation for those with spinal cord injuries and living with paralysis. For more information please visitwww.darrellgwynnfoundation.org or www.facebook.com/
About Alexis DeJoria
Alexis DeJoria, daughter of the famed John Paul DeJoria, co-founder of John Paul Mitchell Systems and proud owner of Tequila Patr?n, 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 Patr?n-sponsored 2013 Toyota Camry. Alexis, who had all the opportunity in the world to pursue any type of career, felt strongly about following her passion, and her 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 male dominated sport of drag racing. For more information, please visit www.alexisdejoriaracing.com
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]]>The post LEAH PRUETT AND DOTE RACING TO MAKE TOP FUEL DEBUT AT POMONA appeared first on Female Racing News | News about Women in Motorsports.
]]>POMONA, CA (Feb. 12, 2013) — The most recently licensed NHRA Top Fuel driver Leah Pruett will be making her Top Fuel debut at the upcoming historic NHRA Winternationals at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona, Calif., February 14-17. The ink on her license is officially dry as she successfully finished her cross over license from Nitro Funny Car to Top Fuel in the Dote Racing dragster, tuned by Doug Kuch at the PRO Winter Warm up at Palm Beach Intl. Raceway last month.
“It feels great to begin our race season at the first race of the season,” said Connie Dote, manager and co-owner of Dote Racing. “Pomona is one of those historic tracks, where everything begins and ends, and we can’t wait to make our West Coast debut at Pomona.” In prior years the Dote Racing team has elected not to compete on the west coast, making the Gainesville national event their season opener. “Not starting the season at Pomona makes you feel a little, or actually a lot, behind the eight ball, but we have larger goals for this team and this season, and beginning at Pomona is just the start.”
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]]>The post Alexis DeJoria Racing Looking Forward to a Stellar Sophomore Season appeared first on Female Racing News | News about Women in Motorsports.
]]>DELRAY BEACH, Fla. (February 12, 2013)— For NHRA Funny Car driver Alexis DeJoria, February 14th can’t come soon enough. DeJoria, a Southern California native, will return to the Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, the legendary track where she first fell in love with the sport of drag racing. Under the direction of crew chief Tommy DeLago and co-crew chief Glen Huszar, DeJoria and the Kalitta Motorsports Tequila Patron Toyota Camry Funny Car team feel optimistic going into the 2013 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series and are looking to the 53rd Annual O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Winternationals presented by Super Start Batteries, the 24-race series opener, to set the tone for what is sure to be a successful second season.
Shortly after the 2012 NHRA season came to a close, it was announced that DeLago and Huszar would take over the Patron Funny Car team as crew chief and co-crew chief. The newly implemented duo wasted no time getting to work on a winning strategy with Team Patron working around the clock until Winter Warmup, the unofficial week-long test session in West Palm Beach, Fla. in mid-January. Despite the fact that it was the first time ever sending their 10,000 horsepower 2013 Toyota Camry down the track with DeLago and Huszar calling the shots, the test session was a success. According to DeLago, a world-class champion tuner who brings nearly 20 years’ experience working on an NHRA team to the Patron pit, “I don’t want to get ahead of ourselves and try and guess how we’ll perform in Pomona, but overall testing was a success and we accomplished what we set out to do. Everything was consistent, which says a lot about this crew. I don’t necessarily have the performance I want at this point, but I know over the course of the season, we’ll be able to improve upon that. Right now, the most important thing is making sure the car is consistent and we’re doing that, so I think we’re on the right path.”
Early in the 2012 season, the strategy was to have the two Kalitta Motorsports Funny Cars set up mechanically almost identically to one another, and 2013 will be no different. “The cars are fairly close to each other,” says DeLago. “That takes a lot of work and communication throughout the year. Each one of us has to try different things to progress- to go quicker and faster. So far, working with Del [Worsham, driver of the Kalitta Motorsports DHL Funny Car], Nicky and Jon O [Boninfante and Oberhofer, DHL co-crew chiefs] the communication level has been very strong. As we went along in testing, the two cars kept getting closer and closer and closer to running like each other, so I think that shows pretty good promise of how good our communication level is thus far.”
Funny Car pilot DeJoria, now in her sophomore season, also feels confident going into this week’s kickoff event after testing showed so much promise. “I feel good about where we’re at right now- Tommy and Glen are trying to establish the right baseline and then from there, focusing on making the car faster. We have a ton of brain power in our camp, and this is going to be a really great year for Team Patron. I’m not a rookie anymore; I’m taking everything I learned from my first professional season and look forward to applying it to this year. We’re ready for 2013 and ready to be a strong contender in this ultra-competitive class.”
Alexis DeJoria and the Kalitta Motorsports Tequila Patron Toyota Camry Funny Car team will compete this weekend, February 14th-17th, 2012, at the 53rd Annual O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Winternationals presented by Super Start Batteries at the Auto Club Raceway at Pomona in Pomona, Calif. Funny Car qualifying begins at 2:30 PM PST on Thursday. Immediately following the conclusion of Funny Car/Top Fuel qualifying on Thursday, DeJoria will join her Kalitta Motorsports teammates for a Tequila Patron autograph session at the Finish Line Sports Grill, located on the Auto Club Raceway premises at Gate 12.
TV Schedule
Qualifying
February 16th, 10PM- 12AM EST
ESPN2
Eliminations
February 17th, 8PM-11PM EST
ESPN2
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 2013 Toyota Camry. Alexis, who had all the opportunity in the world to pursue any type of career, felt strongly about following her passion, and her 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 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) Mello Yello 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.
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]]>Delray Beach, Florida (October 20, 2012)— A project/build almost six months in the making is slowly coming to the finish line as Alexis DeJoria, driver of the Kalitta Motorsports Tequila Patron Toyota Camry Funny Car, along with NHRA’s Antron Brown and NASCAR’s Clint Bowyer and Kyle Busch, have finished their “Dream Builds” and have put it in the hands of their fans to decide the winner of the Toyota Racing Dream Build Competition.
Over the summer, Toyota Racing selected four of their drivers to compete in their Dream Build Challenge, a build-off competition where the winner receives $50,000 for the charity of their choice. Each driver was given their choice of a Toyota vehicle and could modify that vehicle however they so pleased, keeping within a pre-determined budget. Alexis “La Patrona” DeJoria’s submission for the project is her ‘Tequila Patron Off-Road Pre Runner Tundra.’ “When I heard about this competition, the first thing I thought of was an off-road truck. I wanted to do something different, but something that still represented my passion for racing,” said DeJoria, an NHRA fan-favorite.
The build portion of the project is only half the challenge, as now it is up to the fans to decide which one of the Toyota drivers constructed their favorite vehicle, utilizing social media and the Toyota Racing Dream Build App. “I think it’s really cool they let the fans vote for the winner. I have put my heart in to this truck, and I know my fans will be able to see that. I can’t wait for them to see it!” she said, only minutes after the completed truck was unveiled to her at Racer Engineering in San Jacinta, Calif., her selected build shop for the project. “It really does look just like I wanted it to. Everyone involved did an amazing job and I think we definitely have a good chance of winning this competition and being able to give Safety Harbor Kids [her selected charity] $50,000.”
Voting for the Toyota Racing Dream Build begins today, October 20thand runs until October 29th. In addition to the voting, Toyota is also giving fans a chance to win an exclusive race experience at either a NHRA or NASCAR Race. To vote and register for the sweepstakes, please visit www.toyotaracingdreambuild.com
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 2nd 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.
The post Voting Begins for the Toyota Racing Dream Build Competition appeared first on Female Racing News | News about Women in Motorsports.
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