Quarterfinal Finish at Phoenix for Top 10-Ranked DC Motorsports Team
CHANDLER, Arizona (February 27, 2022) – Alexis DeJoria achieved her career-first Funny Car win at the NHRA Arizona Nationals in 2014, and was hoping for a repeat performance on Sunday at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park. Starting from the No. 9 position, DeJoria faced fellow Toyota Gazoo Racing pilot J.R. Todd in what was billed as NHRA’s first-round ‘Funny Car marquee matchup.’ In the battle of Supra versus Supra, DeJoria came out on top by lighting up the scoreboard with a 3.944 E.T. to secure the definitive win over Todd’s tire-shaking 4.303-second pass. In the quarterfinals against Matt Hagan, DeJoria was first on the throttle, ripping off an impressive .046-second reaction time against her opponent but the holeshot advantage wasn’t enough to outpace Hagan who clocked a 3.864 E.T. versus DeJoria’s 3.941.
“It’s the second race of the season, and our weekend wasn’t as great as we had hoped for, but we are making progress with our new Bandero GR Supra Funny Car,” said DeJoria. “It’s been a little bit of a learning curve in certain ways, but this new body is absolutely incredible and once we get a few more laps under our belt, we are going to be a force to reckon with.
“Got that round-one victory today, which was great. It was the marquee matchup; Supra against a Supra, and our Bandero team got the win. Second round, cut one hell of a reaction time on Hagan, one of the best leavers in the sport, and that made me feel pretty good. We made it down the track, not as fast as we wanted to, but it’s progress and we’ll be alright. It’s early in the season, and we're looking forward to getting back after it in Gainesville." The No. 6 ranked DC Motorsports team heads to Gainesville Raceway next for the NHRA Gatornationals, March 11-13.
Qualified: No. 9 (3.911 E.T. at 323.12 MPH)
Elimination Results:
E1: 3.944 E.T. at 324.59 MPH defeated J.R. Todd 4.303 E.T. at 285.41 MPH
E2: 3.941 E.T. at 324.44 MPH defeated by Matt Hagan 3.864 E.T. at 329.91 MPH
| 1 | Robert Hight | 247 |
| 2 | Matt Hagan | 182 |
| 3 | Ron Capps | 159 |
| 4 | Cruz Pedregon | 131 |
| 5 | Tim Wilkerson | 110 |
| 6 | Alexis DeJoria | 106 |
| 7 | Bob Tasca III | 104 |
| 7 | John Force | 104 |
| 9 | J.R. Todd | 86 |
| 10 | Jim Campbell | 64 |
About Alexis DeJoria
Alexis DeJoria is a professional race car driver competing in the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series’ Funny Car category. She is a Top 10-ranked driver, and including her prestigious 2014 U.S. Nationals triumph, DeJoria is a six-time NHRA national event Funny Car champion. Prior, DeJoria found success competing in the NHRA’s Super Comp and Top Alcohol Funny Car categories where she notched wins in both, making her an eight-time race winner overall.DeJoria joined DC Motorsports in 2020 as co-owner and driver of the Bandero Premium Tequila/ROKiT Toyota Funny Car. The Austin, Texas resident became the first woman to clock a sub-four second Funny Car pass in 2014, and is currently in pursuit of becoming the series’ first female Funny Car world champion.
