Alexis DeJoria advanced to the final elimination quad on Sunday afternoon at the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals near Charlotte, where she recorded her second semifinal finish of the season. It was DeJoria’s first time running for an NHRA Wally trophy since joining the JCM Racing team over the 2024-2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series off-season. DeJoria’s strong performance at zMAX Dragway moved her within striking distance of the Funny Car Top 10 and was a much-needed confidence boost for the tenured racer and her Mike ‘Zippy’ Neff/Todd Smith-led team after a frustrating outing at the most recent race in Las Vegas where they narrowly missed a chance to compete in the event’s elimination field.
Aboard the Bandero Café Funny Car, DeJoria opened her weekend in Concord, N.C. with a solid 3.963-second at 323.35 mph pass, giving her team a good baseline to work from heading into the remaining qualifying rounds. On Friday night under the zMAX Dragway lights, DeJoria recorded her best run of the weekend, crossing the finish line beams in 3.925 seconds at 324.51 mph. In Saturday’s hot conditions, DeJoria posted two more quality runs – a 3.979 and 4.001 E.T. – before settling into the No. 12 spot on the Four-Wide Nationals Funny Car elimination ladder. Her round-one race day quad featured a showdown between DeJoria, No. 4 qualifier Spencer Hyde, No. 5 qualifier Jack Beckman, and No. 13 seed Chad Green, leading NHRA to name the tough draw the Four-Wide Nationals Funny Car marquee matchup.
In the first round of eliminations on Sunday, DeJoria was strong leaving the starting line and posted a 4.012 E.T. at 297.16 mph to defeat Beckman and Hyde’s tire-smoking attempts. She was quick off the line yet again in round two, clocking a .042-second reaction time which helped her to snag the holeshot advantage over her opponents. DeJoria’s machine lost traction as it approached the top end, slowing to a 5.115 E.T., but it was enough to move the Bandero Café team into the final elimination quad as Dave Richards had problems as soon as he stood on the throttle and Green suffered a red light start. DeJoria advanced to the final alongside Matt Hagan where the two also faced Austin Prock and Ron Capps.
Racing for a chance to hoist the Wally for the first time since the 2024 Phoenix event, DeJoria lined up ready to make a run for her first zMAX Dragway triumph. The showdown featured an exciting side-by-side race with all four drivers nearly even as they hurtled down the 1,000-foot stretch. DeJoria clocked a run of 3.933 seconds at 327.98 mph but Prock and Capps’ slightly quicker E.T.s propelled them through the finish line beams first.
“The momentum just picked right back up, especially after our last race,” said DeJoria, who now has three four-wide final quad appearances between the Charlotte and Las Vegas events. “We threw it down this weekend. Made four good runs in qualifying and made it all the way to the final quad today. Ran a good number in the final there, got some good points, and it just really feels like we’re moving in the right direction. It’s still early on, but within the first five races, we’ve already got two semifinal finishes, which is pretty impressive considering we really hustled just to get everything ready in time for the start of the season and we’re only getting better. Just really proud of this JCM Bandero Café team, and I can’t wait to get back at it in Chicago.”
With her semifinal finish, DeJoria moved one spot up to 11th in the championship standings where she sits only three points out of 10th and within one round of the No. 8 ranked driver.
The NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series moves onto the Route 66 NHRA Nationals in Joliet, Ill., May 16 – 18, where DeJoria will continue her quest for her first victory of the year.
This story was originally published on April 28, 2025. 
