Alexis DeJoria, driver of the Bandero Café Funny Car, is gearing up to compete at the prestigious 65th Annual Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip. DeJoria, who considers Pomona her home track, has delivered strong performances here in the past, including a runner-up finish at the 2021 NHRA Finals and a No. 1 qualifying position in 2014.
Entering the 2024 event, DeJoria aims to bounce back from her recent outing at Phoenix, where she qualified sixth but was eliminated in the first round by Cruz Pedregon. Despite a challenging start at this year’s Winternationals, where she did not qualify, DeJoria is optimistic as her team introduces a newly completed backup car. This strategic addition will allow the Bandero Café Funny Car team to adopt a more aggressive racing approach, enhancing its competitive edge.
DeJoria holds an impressive career record with 237 NHRA Funny Car events under her belt, accumulating six event wins and securing six No. 1 qualifiers. Her historical achievements at Pomona include making NHRA history as the first female Funny Car driver to record a sub-four-second run, clocking in at 3.997 seconds in 2014.
Fans attending the event will have opportunities to meet DeJoria, who will be signing autographs at the Bandero midway display on Friday from 11:00 to 11:30 a.m. and Saturday from 10:30 to 11:00 a.m.
Reflecting on her return to Pomona, DeJoria remarked, “Going back to my old stomping grounds, Pomona, California. All of my West Coast friends and family will be attending. We’re off to a good start this season, our car is running well, and I’m really excited to keep that momentum going in Bandero Premium Tequila’s backyard. We now have our second car completed, so that’s a huge relief. Now that we have the backup car, we’re going to be able to really step on it without any hesitations, so that brings us a lot of extra confidence.”
This story was originally published on March 26, 2025. 
