Alexis DeJoria Ready for First Full Season as a Professional Drag Racer

Topanga Canyon, CA (February 7, 2012)—And so it begins. After a year of testing and a ‘mini-season’ of four races in 2011, NHRA National Event Winner Alexis DeJoria will be strapping into her new Tequila Patrόn Toyota Camry Funny Car at the NHRA Winternationals in Pomona, CA this Thursday for the kickoff race of her first full season as a professional NHRA Drag Racer.

DeJoria, who has spent the off-season testing and following a grueling training regimen, is anxious to get the season started. “I’m very excited for Pomona. We’ve made a lot of test runs, and we’ve really gelled as a team.  Of course, the addition of Del [Worsham] as Crew Chief has been a huge asset to us as well. Pomona always sets the tone for the year and I can’t wait to go out there and show everyone what we’ve got. The first race is always great because everyone starts off on equal footing and our team is very optimistic about the way the season should pan out,” said the Tequila Patrόn-sponsored Kalitta Motorsports Funny Car driver.

The Patrόn team made at least twenty-five test runs during two week-long test sessions in West Palm Beach, FL during the winter break with new crew chief, 2011 World Champion, Del Worsham. Both Kalitta Motorsports Funny Car teams had the unique opportunity to test out a brand-new Toyota Camry body during the offseason. The team has spent so much time testing and preparing that they haven’t even had enough time to paint the new body, so Team Patrόn will have to debut the car with just vinyl stickers in Pomona. So far, they have found great success with the new body, accomplishing one of their primary goals, which was to get down in the 4.0’s (seconds). Of the new body, DeJoria says “the vision is always very good in the Toyota cars, but the vision in this car is even better. Plus, this body is worth at least three more mph, and definitely some more down force. Everyone at Toyota, from the engineers to Alan Johnson, made a great piece and we’re very fortunate to have the opportunity to use it.”

The crew has been working around the clock getting the car ready for Pomona- digesting everything they’ve learned from testing. In sticking with the 2011 strategy, Del, Jon Oberhofer and Nicky Boninfante are working together to set both Alexis’ and Jeff Arend’s cars to be mechanically as similar as possible, with the biggest difference being the body (Arend is using his 2011 Toyota body).

“We should see some good numbers in Pomona,” said Jim Oberhofer, Vice President of Kalitta Motorsports. “The car looked really good in West Palm, but should look even better in Pomona. The starting line will be better and the track is usually very good there. Because of the difference in altitude, the motor will react a little differently than it did in Florida, but we’ll take what we learned there and apply it to Pomona, and make the adjustments from there. Once Del gets this car tuned in and perfect, we should see some really impressive numbers.”

While so much has been made in the pre-season about Alexis being a top candidate for the coveted Auto Club Road to the Future Award (aka Rookie of the Year), the Kalitta Motorsports driver is determined to not let any of that get into her head. “I just want to go out there and do what I do best- drive. I’m very happy for Courtney [Force] and excited for Blake[Alexander] and Todd [Lesenko]. I’m a very competitive person by nature, so while I welcome the friendly rivalry, I’m not going to focus too much on it. I’ve been preparing for this season for a very long time and I know I’m ready for it- not just against the other rookie drivers, but in this class in general. There are a lot of really good Funny Car teams that are gunning for the trophy and I’m happy to be one of them this year.”

Alexis DeJoria and the Kalitta Motorsports Tequila Patrόn Toyota Camry Funny Car team will compete at the 2012 season opener this weekend at the 52nd Annual O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Winternationals presented by Super Start Batteries, February 9th-12th. Qualifying begins at 1:30PM on Thursday, Feb. 9th.

NHRA FUNNY CAR ROOKIES DEJORIA AND FORCE MEET NATIONAL MOTORSPORTS MEDIA DURING NASCAR SPRINT MEDIA TOUR IN CHARLOTTE


CONCORD, N.C. – NHRA introduced two of the most intriguing rookie drivers in the history of the sport to the national motorsports media today during a press conference conducted as part of the NASCAR Sprint Media Tour hosted by Charlotte Motor Speedway. The legendary multi-purpose motorsports facility annually hosts two NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series events  at its spectacular zMAX Dragway.


Rookie Funny Car drivers Alexis DeJoria and Courtney Force, both an important part of NHRA’s Nitro Generation theme for 2012, joined NHRA President Tom Compton during the season-preview press event, which was held in front of more than 100 of the nation’s top motorsports journalists.


DeJoria, daughter of famed entrepreneur John Paul DeJoria, will drive the Tequila Patron Toyota Camry and Force, youngest daughter of 15-time NHRA world champ John Force, will pilot the Traxxas Ford Mustang. The two drivers will be among the top contenders for the prestigious Auto Club Road to the Future Award, which annually recognizes NHRA’s top performing rookie driver.


The two drivers fielded questions from reporters about the challenges and expectations for their upcoming seasons and posed for photographs alongside a specially-wrapped Funny Car that featured the NHRA Nitro Generation design. NHRA also showed a high-energy video to the media that focused on the thrilling 300-mph performances, powerful side-by-side racing and close finishes that make NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing one of the most intense motorsports attractions on the planet.


Later in the afternoon many of the journalists attending the week-long media tour will participate in an NHRA Full Throttle Media Challenge Drag Race at zMAX Dragway. Media members will race in identically-prepared street-ready Ford Mustangs and DeJoria and Force will serve as driving coaches. DeJoria and Force also will race in the stock Mustangs in an exhibition prior to the media challenge race.


The highly-anticipated rookie battle begins Feb. 9-12 at the 52nd annual O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Winternationals presented by Super Start Batteries at historic Auto Club Raceway at Pomona in Southern California. The tradition-rich race is the first of 23 events in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series for 2012. Tickets are available at www.NHRATIX.com or by calling (800) 884-NHRA (6472).