Lots of recent testing is starting to pay off for Alexis DeJoria and the DC Motorsports team, as she drove her Bandero Café Toyota GR Supra Funny Car to a semifinal finish at the first race of the NHRA Countdown to the Championship, the Pep Boys NHRA Nationals, Sunday at Maple Grove Raceway. DeJoria’s best race day finish since the start of the season helped her move up three spots to seventh in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Funny Car points standings.
DeJoria’s turnaround weekend started with a strong qualifying effort on Friday. She raced to the provisional No. 1 spot in the first session with a 3.915 E.T. at 330.80 mph, earning three bonus points for the performance. With crew chief Del Worsham turning the knobs, DeJoria charged to a 3.867-second pass at a career-best 336.40 mph in the second session to qualify No. 2. That was also the second-quickest pass of the session, giving DeJoria two more bonus points. Traction issues followed in Saturday’s two qualifying sessions, though DeJoria held on to the second qualifying position, marking the second time DeJoria qualified No. 2 this season.
DeJoria kicked off Sunday eliminations with a decisive win over Jim Campbell, with the Bandero Café GR Supra launching first and charging to a 3.94-second pass to move on to the second round. There, DeJoria and Cruz Pedregon left the starting line together and both ran into tire smoke, but DeJoria charged hard out of the gate and held on to win with a 4.748-second effort. A thrilling pedalfest followed in the semifinals, with DeJoria and Jack Beckman pedaling their nitro machines several times in an effort to find traction. It was a close race, but Beckman in John Force’s car reached the finish line first.
“This race just continued our progression from Indy,” said DeJoria, who had one of the quickest cars on race day at the prestigious Toyota NHRA U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis. “We tested a lot over the last few weeks and months. We picked up where we really needed to within our 60-foots, getting through the trouble zones down-track, and just putting together very stellar runs. We’re super stoked. We qualified really well in second, which helps on race day, and went rounds. The last one, I thought we had it and then just at the very end I saw Jack. We gave it our all and we’re going to the next race with heads held high. Can’t wait to see what happens next.”
DeJoria will look to continue climbing the point standings when the Countdown to the Championship continues at the NHRA Carolina Nationals, Sept. 20-22, at zMAX Dragway outside Charlotte, N.C.
This story was originally published on September 16, 2024. 
