Fresh off their second runner-up appearance through the first six events, Alexis DeJoria and the Bandero Café Funny Car team continued to run with the top of the class when the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series made its debut appearance at Maryland International Raceway for the NHRA Potomac Nationals. Aboard her 12,000-horsepower Chevrolet SS, DeJoria was solid throughout qualifying at the inaugural event, picking up five bonus points en route to securing a qualifying position in the top half of the field. A tough first-round match against Ron Capps awaited in the opening round of eliminations, and although DeJoria made another consistent pass, it wasn’t enough to outpace the points leader, ending her day earlier than she had hoped.
The Bandero Café team’s first-ever run down the MIR track was a stout 4.025-second pass at 318.32 mph, placing DeJoria in the provisional No. 2 spot after Friday’s first round of qualifying. Traction issues followed in the second and third qualifying sessions, but crew chiefs Mike Neff and Jonnie Lindberg turned up the wick in the final qualifier, tuning DeJoria to a session-best 3.997 E.T. at 326.16 mph, which held up to be the only three-second run of the round. For their efforts, they were rewarded with three bonus points, bringing DeJoria’s total for the weekend to five overall, and placing her seventh on the Funny Car ladder to secure the advantage of lane choice over Capps. The veteran drivers lined up Sunday morning and although DeJoria gave it a good run, clocking a 4.009 E.T., the race was all Capps, who held the lead from start to finish. While DeJoria had hoped to continue to add to her 10 season round wins, she has nothing but confidence in her John Force Racing team and is eager to get right back into her Bandero Café Chevrolet SS next weekend for some redemption.
“I’m extremely proud of the Bandero nitro Funny Car team, and beyond blessed,” DeJoria said. “It’s a dream come true to be able to race for John Force. He comes up to me when I’m in the waterbox and he points at me, and I tap my heart and point back at him. There’s no better feeling than knowing you have the support of the best Funny Car driver in the sport, and that right there gives me so much confidence. I love these JFR cars. I’ve never driven a better car; they drive so well, and my team, and Mike Neff and Jonnie (Lindberg), have such a great handle on it.
“Racing here at MIR was a brand-new experience for all of us. I love it here; it’s beautiful. We made some good runs and we’re continuing to progress. We’re consistent, and now we’re focusing on just getting a little bit faster. We got five bonus points, which is especially helpful since we didn’t get past first round today. Ron Capps has been a thorn in my side and one of these days, we’re going to give it back to him. We’ve got Epping and Bristol coming up these next two weeks, and I love when we go from one race into the next. After going out first round today, I want to get right back in that race car.”
DeJoria and the Bandero Café Chevrolet SS Funny Car team will leave Maryland International Raceway ranked sixth in the Funny Car standings. Up next for the Mission Foods Series is the NHRA New England Nationals near Epping, N.H., June 5-7.
This story was originally published on June 2, 2026. 
