Alexis DeJoria, a five-time semifinalist in 2025, closed out the first half of the NHRA Countdown to the Championship with a quarterfinal finish this weekend at the NHRA Midwest Nationals in Madison, Ill. It was a solid outing for DeJoria and her Bandero Café team as they continue their climb in the Mission Foods Funny Car standings heading into the final stretch of the season. With three races to go, DeJoria will leave World Wide Technology Raceway in ninth place and within two round wins of the No. 7 and No. 8-seeded drivers.
DeJoria began her weekend at the St. Louis-area facility by powering her Bandero Café Funny Car down the track in 3.956 seconds at 326.95 mph to place her in the provisional No. 7 spot. On Friday night under the lights, DeJoria was straight down the groove once again, clocking a 3.900 E.T. at 332.84 mph to move up one spot to sixth. Saturday’s first run gave way to tire smoke and in the final qualifying session, DeJoria appeared to be on another good run before her machine lost traction just past halftrack. With four rounds of qualifying in the books, DeJoria’s Q2 pass held strong for sixth to secure a qualifying position in the top half of the field for the 10th time this year.
During Sunday eliminations, DeJoria lined up against Paul Lee in round one. Lee nabbed the early lead but started to lose traction and DeJoria had him chased down by the time the two cars reached halftrack. Her car started to pull the tires loose shortly after, but she hung on for the win to advance into round two. In the quarterfinals, DeJoria and Daniel Wilkerson put on an incredible show for the fans. Aboard their 12,000-horsepower vehicles, DeJoria and Wilkerson clocked the two quickest elapsed times of the round, but ultimately, it was Wilkerson who was able to get the win with his 3.947 E.T. versus DeJoria’s 3.966-second effort. While DeJoria would have preferred a longer race day, she takes comfort in knowing she will head into the final three events with a fast and consistent hot rod.
“Friday night qualifying, we kicked butt and that led us to finish in the top half of the field in sixth and we were really happy about that,” DeJoria said as she recounted her weekend. “The lanes were a little tricky here. Sometimes you go out there and smoke the tires at 330 (feet), and sometimes you make it down. First round, we mostly got past the trouble zone and managed to get the win. Wasn’t my best work on the starting line, and we didn’t make a full run, but we got lucky that round and were able to make it to round two, which got us some good points. Surprisingly, we had lane choice against Daniel Wilkerson despite that 4.28 from E1. We swapped lanes at the last minute and made a great run. We had the second-best E.T. of the round. Unfortunately, the car we were running had the best E.T. of the round. If we had lined up next to anyone else, we would have won, but that’s how it goes sometimes.
“That being said, we’re happy with how our car ran this weekend. (Crew chiefs) Mike (Neff) and Todd (Smith) have been working on some things, and the car did what they wanted it to do, so that is progress. We’re not hanging our heads. Drag racing is hard. You’ve got to build, you’ve got to connect; sometimes you’ve got to get a lucky draw. That’s just how it is out here. But when you win, it just melts all your troubles away like magic, and that’s why we do this. Not a lot of people can handle it; it’s a mental sport, and if you’re not mentally strong, you’re not going to last here.”
DeJoria, a six-time Funny Car winner who appears on the cusp of scoring her first Wally trophy with her first-year JCM Racing team, will leave St. Louis ranked ninth in the Funny Car standings, up one position from their Charlotte outing last week. The Bandero Café team will return to their JCM Racing headquarters near Indianapolis, where they will prepare for the upcoming Texas NHRA FallNationals, Oct. 10 – 12.
Qualified: No. 6 (3.900 E.T. at 332.84 MPH)
Elimination Round Results:
E1: 4.281 E.T. at 219.19 MPH defeated Paul Lee 4.524 E.T. at 191.38 MPH
E2: 3.966 E.T. at 329.83 MPH defeated by Daniel Wilkerson 3.947 E.T. at 323.43 MPH
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DeJoria began her weekend at the St. Louis-area facility by powering her Bandero Café Funny Car down the track in 3.956 seconds at 326.95 mph to place her in the provisional No. 7 spot. On Friday night under the lights, DeJoria was straight down the groove once again, clocking a 3.900 E.T. at 332.84 mph to move up one spot to sixth. Saturday’s first run gave way to tire smoke and in the final qualifying session, DeJoria appeared to be on another good run before her machine lost traction just past halftrack. With four rounds of qualifying in the books, DeJoria’s Q2 pass held strong for sixth to secure a qualifying position in the top half of the field for the 10th time this year.
During Sunday eliminations, DeJoria lined up against Paul Lee in round one. Lee nabbed the early lead but started to lose traction and DeJoria had him chased down by the time the two cars reached halftrack. Her car started to pull the tires loose shortly after, but she hung on for the win to advance into round two. In the quarterfinals, DeJoria and Daniel Wilkerson put on an incredible show for the fans. Aboard their 12,000-horsepower vehicles, DeJoria and Wilkerson clocked the two quickest elapsed times of the round, but ultimately, it was Wilkerson who was able to get the win with his 3.947 E.T. versus DeJoria’s 3.966-second effort. While DeJoria would have preferred a longer race day, she takes comfort in knowing she will head into the final three events with a fast and consistent hot rod.
“Friday night qualifying, we kicked butt and that led us to finish in the top half of the field in sixth and we were really happy about that,” DeJoria said as she recounted her weekend. “The lanes were a little tricky here. Sometimes you go out there and smoke the tires at 330 (feet), and sometimes you make it down. First round, we mostly got past the trouble zone and managed to get the win. Wasn’t my best work on the starting line, and we didn’t make a full run, but we got lucky that round and were able to make it to round two, which got us some good points. Surprisingly, we had lane choice against Daniel Wilkerson despite that 4.28 from E1. We swapped lanes at the last minute and made a great run. We had the second-best E.T. of the round. Unfortunately, the car we were running had the best E.T. of the round. If we had lined up next to anyone else, we would have won, but that’s how it goes sometimes.
“That being said, we’re happy with how our car ran this weekend. (Crew chiefs) Mike (Neff) and Todd (Smith) have been working on some things, and the car did what they wanted it to do, so that is progress. We’re not hanging our heads. Drag racing is hard. You’ve got to build, you’ve got to connect; sometimes you’ve got to get a lucky draw. That’s just how it is out here. But when you win, it just melts all your troubles away like magic, and that’s why we do this. Not a lot of people can handle it; it’s a mental sport, and if you’re not mentally strong, you’re not going to last here.”
DeJoria, a six-time Funny Car winner who appears on the cusp of scoring her first Wally trophy with her first-year JCM Racing team, will leave St. Louis ranked ninth in the Funny Car standings, up one position from their Charlotte outing last week. The Bandero Café team will return to their JCM Racing headquarters near Indianapolis, where they will prepare for the upcoming Texas NHRA FallNationals, Oct. 10 – 12.
Qualified: No. 6 (3.900 E.T. at 332.84 MPH)
Elimination Round Results:
E1: 4.281 E.T. at 219.19 MPH defeated Paul Lee 4.524 E.T. at 191.38 MPH
E2: 3.966 E.T. at 329.83 MPH defeated by Daniel Wilkerson 3.947 E.T. at 323.43 MPH
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