The DC Motorsports team entered the NHRA Carolina Nationals following a strong showing from last weekend’s outing in Reading, Pennsylvania where they advanced to the semifinals from the No. 2 spot. Alexis DeJoria and the Del Worsham-led team were looking to keep building upon their recent momentum and continue their climb in the NHRA Mission Foods Series Funny Car points standings. A steering issue in qualifying, however, caused the Top 10-ranked team to fall behind, and the weekend culminated with an early exit on race day at zMAX Dragway near Charlotte.
DeJoria opened the 2024 NHRA Countdown ranked 10th in the Funny Car standings but thanks to their success at the Pep Boys NHRA Nationals less than one week prior, the driver of the Bandero Café GR Supra started the second of two Charlotte-area events from the No. 7 position on the leaderboard. A steering issue in the first round of qualifying caused DeJoria’s machine to cross the centerline, disallowing the run. Traction issues followed in Friday night’s ‘field setting’ run and continued into Saturday. By the time the Funny Car elimination ladder was set, the team found themselves starting race day without yet having made a full pass down the zMAX Dragway track.
“Didn’t expect this race to turn out the way it did,” said DeJoria, who started race day from the No. 13 seed with a first-round match versus Austin Prock, the Funny Car points leader. “We got set back during qualifying. We had some steering issues that plagued us the first couple of qualifying runs, so we ended up 13th and then just went out and smoked the tires first round while Austin made a full pass in the other lane.
“Last weekend, everything was perfect. The car was running strong, we qualified second, went rounds and then we came here, and something happened with our steering and it just set us back. But, everything’s good, we got it fixed and we’re headed to St. Louis in a few days and we get to do it all over again.”
While it’s safe to say the 2024 Carolina Nationals is an event DeJoria and the Bandero Café Toyota GR Supra team would rather soon forget, they won’t have to wait long for the opportunity to get back to a weekend full of quick and consistent passes. The NHRA heads to Madison, Illinois this week for the NHRA Midwest Nationals, September 27 – 29, at Gateway Motorsports Park near St. Louis. DeJoria, who celebrates a birthday on Tuesday, September 24, leaves Charlotte having maintained her No. 7 ranking in the Funny Car standings.
This story was originally published on September 23, 2024. 
