MADISON, Ill. (Oct. 4, 2026) – Alexis DeJoria and the Bandero Café Chevrolet SS Funny Car team turned in one of their strongest qualifying performances of the season at the NAPA AUTO PARTS NHRA Midwest Nationals. The John Force Racing driver qualified No. 2 and collected bonus points in three sessions before advancing to the quarterfinals Sunday at World Wide Technology Raceway outside St. Louis. DeJoria held on to the No. 7 position in the NHRA Countdown to the Championship Funny Car points standings at the 17th of 20 races in the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season.
DeJoria made an immediate statement in Friday’s opening qualifying session. She charged hard off the starting line and posted a 3.882-second pass at 334.65 mph. The run was the quickest of the session, putting DeJoria in the provisional No. 1 position and earning three bonus points. DeJoria smoked the tires during Friday evening’s second session but returned Saturday still holding the top spot on the qualifying sheet. With numerous teams struggling for traction in Saturday’s third session, DeJoria again delivered a clean run. Her 3.913-second pass at 332.51 mph was the second-quickest effort of the session, adding two more bonus points. DeJoria closed qualifying with another strong performance, recording a 3.910-second pass at 328.30 mph. It was the second-quickest run of the final session, earning two additional bonus points for a total of seven across four sessions. Her opening 3.882-second effort ultimately placed her No. 2 on the final qualifying order and paired her with No. 15 qualifier Bobby Bode for the opening round of eliminations.
DeJoria stepped up to her quickest run of the weekend in the first round. She left the starting line first with a .071-second reaction time and never trailed, powering to a 3.874-second pass at 329.91 mph. Meanwhile, Bode encountered trouble down-track and slowed to a 4.667 E.T. The second round featured an all-John Force Racing matchup between DeJoria and teammate Jordan Vandergriff. DeJoria left the starting line .036 seconds early, ending her chances of advancing. Vandergriff ran a 3.952 E.T. at 327.59 mph to move on to the semifinals.
“I’ve never felt so confident, so charged, so excited about a race weekend as I was about this one,” DeJoria said. “We have such a good car. During qualifying, we had one of the best, if not the best, cars. Friday and Saturday, we got bonus points. It always matters during the Countdown. Every little one matters. We almost got that No. 1 qualifier, but at least it went to my teammate and not some outsiders. My guys, Jonnie Lindberg and Mike Neff, they have a handle on this car. We’ve always been consistent, but now we’re fast and consistent. We’re running the numbers we need to be running. We’re getting down to the wire. There are only three races left. And we’ve come so damn close. We’re just going to use this as motivation to light that fire for our next race.”
DeJoria will move on to one of her home races on the NHRA Mission Foods Series tour, the Stampede of Speed featuring the NHRA Texas FallNationals, Oct. 16-18, at the Texas Motorplex in Ennis, Texas.
Qualified: No. 2 (3.882 E.T. at 334.65 MPH)
Elimination Round Results:
E1: 3.874 E.T. at 329.91 MPH defeated Bobby Bode 4.667 E.T. at 175.27 MPH
E2: 16.295 E.T. at 67.92 MPH defeated by Jordan Vandergriff 3.952 E.T. at 327.59 MPH
Napa NHRA Midwest Nationals
Napa NHRA Midwest Nationals
Napa NHRA Midwest Nationals
Napa NHRA Midwest Nationals
Napa NHRA Midwest Nationals
Napa NHRA Midwest Nationals
Napa NHRA Midwest Nationals
Napa NHRA Midwest Nationals
Napa NHRA Midwest Nationals
Napa NHRA Midwest Nationals
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DeJoria made an immediate statement in Friday’s opening qualifying session. She charged hard off the starting line and posted a 3.882-second pass at 334.65 mph. The run was the quickest of the session, putting DeJoria in the provisional No. 1 position and earning three bonus points. DeJoria smoked the tires during Friday evening’s second session but returned Saturday still holding the top spot on the qualifying sheet. With numerous teams struggling for traction in Saturday’s third session, DeJoria again delivered a clean run. Her 3.913-second pass at 332.51 mph was the second-quickest effort of the session, adding two more bonus points. DeJoria closed qualifying with another strong performance, recording a 3.910-second pass at 328.30 mph. It was the second-quickest run of the final session, earning two additional bonus points for a total of seven across four sessions. Her opening 3.882-second effort ultimately placed her No. 2 on the final qualifying order and paired her with No. 15 qualifier Bobby Bode for the opening round of eliminations.
DeJoria stepped up to her quickest run of the weekend in the first round. She left the starting line first with a .071-second reaction time and never trailed, powering to a 3.874-second pass at 329.91 mph. Meanwhile, Bode encountered trouble down-track and slowed to a 4.667 E.T. The second round featured an all-John Force Racing matchup between DeJoria and teammate Jordan Vandergriff. DeJoria left the starting line .036 seconds early, ending her chances of advancing. Vandergriff ran a 3.952 E.T. at 327.59 mph to move on to the semifinals.
“I’ve never felt so confident, so charged, so excited about a race weekend as I was about this one,” DeJoria said. “We have such a good car. During qualifying, we had one of the best, if not the best, cars. Friday and Saturday, we got bonus points. It always matters during the Countdown. Every little one matters. We almost got that No. 1 qualifier, but at least it went to my teammate and not some outsiders. My guys, Jonnie Lindberg and Mike Neff, they have a handle on this car. We’ve always been consistent, but now we’re fast and consistent. We’re running the numbers we need to be running. We’re getting down to the wire. There are only three races left. And we’ve come so damn close. We’re just going to use this as motivation to light that fire for our next race.”
DeJoria will move on to one of her home races on the NHRA Mission Foods Series tour, the Stampede of Speed featuring the NHRA Texas FallNationals, Oct. 16-18, at the Texas Motorplex in Ennis, Texas.
Qualified: No. 2 (3.882 E.T. at 334.65 MPH)
Elimination Round Results:
E1: 3.874 E.T. at 329.91 MPH defeated Bobby Bode 4.667 E.T. at 175.27 MPH
E2: 16.295 E.T. at 67.92 MPH defeated by Jordan Vandergriff 3.952 E.T. at 327.59 MPH
Napa NHRA Midwest Nationals
Napa NHRA Midwest Nationals
Napa NHRA Midwest Nationals
Napa NHRA Midwest Nationals
Napa NHRA Midwest Nationals
Napa NHRA Midwest Nationals
Napa NHRA Midwest Nationals
Napa NHRA Midwest Nationals
Napa NHRA Midwest Nationals
Napa NHRA Midwest Nationals
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