Alexis DeJoria powered the Bandero Premium Tequila Toyota GR Supra Funny Car to the provisional pole on Friday at the NHRA Sonoma Nationals. Right out of the gate, DeJoria and her Del Worsham-led team unloaded with the quickest pass in the opening qualifying session, recording a 3.942 E.T. at 326.56 MPH to go to the top of the timing sheets.
As the No. 1 qualifier after the first round, DeJoria was in the final pairing of Funny Cars to run during what is typically considered the ‘field setting’ Q2 night session under the Sonoma Raceway lights. DeJoria and the Bandero team watched as every single Funny Car ahead of them struggled to make a full pull down the track. With no sub-four-second runs on the board, DeJoria’s Q1 pass remained in the top spot when she pulled up to make her second qualifying run. The three-time finalist in 2023 laid down another stout pass, clocking a 3.966 at 327.82 MPH. For posting the two quickest runs of the day, the Bandero team was rewarded with six bonus points, scooping up all points available to them.
“Del Worsham, Nicky Boninfante, and our whole team have done such a great job with making this car consistent. We have one of the best race cars out here, we’re just missing that Wally on race day. We were hoping to run a bit faster tonight; we were on track to run an 84 but it just ate up the clutch. But hey, we still made it down the track when no one else did, and that says a lot,” explained DeJoria.
“Going to the top in that first session was so important,” she added. “It sets the tone and gives us a little room, and of course, we have the luxury of seeing what every other car is doing ahead of us, and are able to adapt. We’ve had one of our best starts to the season this year. We’re capable of winning on any given Sunday. Our car is running so strong, we just need it all to come together on race day, but this is definitely a really good start to the weekend so far.”
With two more qualifying runs scheduled for Saturday, DeJoria and the No. 3 ranked Bandero Premium Tequila will look to maintain their place at the top of the Funny Car sheet and score their first No. 1 qualifier of the season, and DeJoria’s seventh overall.
This story was originally published on July 29, 2023. 
