Alexis DeJoria, the driver of the John Force Racing Bandero Café Chevrolet SS Funny Car, is unshaken as she leaves Sonoma Raceway, despite a first-round loss to Cruz Pedregon on Sunday at the DENSO NHRA Sonoma Nationals. The seasoned Funny Car driver is leaving Sonoma Raceway confident that her first win of the season is within her grasp.
In the opening round of qualifying, DeJoria wowed fans as she blasted down the track to record a stunning pass of 3.917 seconds at 329.26 mph, the second-quickest of the session. The Bandero Café Funny Car shook the tires on Friday evening, but on Saturday, she sped to another outstanding qualifying performance, running a 3.955 at 330.80.
DeJoria wound up on the seventh rung of the qualifying ladder, facing No. 10 qualifier Pedregon in the first round of eliminations. The pair left the starting line within two-thousandths of each other and DeJoria was in the lead until she ran into tire smoke around the midpoint, allowing Pedregon to get around her.
“I’m heartbroken for our team,” said DeJoria. “Because we have everything it takes to win races. We are a very good team. We have one of the best cars out here – very consistent. Coming into this race, I felt it in my bones as I was packing my suitcase. We were going to win this race. That’s the same mindset I will have for the rest of the year. Everything clicked a couple of races ago, and since then, man. Just watch out. It’s coming.”
DeJoria won’t have to wait long for another chance at a diamond Wally. The John Force Racing Bandero Café Funny Car team will load up and head north to Seattle for the Muckleshoot Casino Resort NHRA Northwest Nationals at Pacific Raceways, July 24-26.
