Alexis DeJoria reached the final round in her John Force Racing debut two weeks ago at Gainesville Raceway and, having earned her first career NHRA Funny Car victory at Firebird Motorsports in 2014, the driver of the Bandero Premium Tequila Chevrolet SS Funny Car has every confidence she can pick up another Wally at this weekend’s FMP NHRA Arizona Nationals presented by NGK Spark Plugs.
DeJoria and her Mike Neff / Jonnie Lindberg team took out Cruz Pedregon, Spencer Hyde and JR Todd enroute to the runner-up finish against Chad Green at this year’s Gatornationals. The three round wins in the 2026 NHRA season-opening event brought her career total to 198 heading into this weekend’s Arizona Nationals.
“It was absolutely wonderful to be able to get to the final round at Gainesville in our very first race with John Force Racing,” said DeJoria. “It had been two years since I’d been to a final so just the way our Bandero team already works so well with the other JFR teams, the camaraderie, the knowledge and expertise is just unmatched gives us a great base to build on heading to Phoenix.”
Her run to victory at the 2014 Arizona Nationals was even more impressive. After a first-round victory over Jeff Arend, the six-time NHRA Funny Car winner bowled over two of her biggest racing heroes – Del Worsham in the second round and current team owner and 16-time NHRA Funny Car Champion John Force in the semi’s. Those two major wins set up the final-round matchup against eventual three-time Funny Car Champion Robert Hight, where she ran 4.043 seconds at 309.63 mph while Hight’s John Force Racing entry lost traction and spun the tires.
“Getting my first career Funny Car win in Phoenix in 2014 was such a major deal because I beat my heroes, John Force and Del Worsham, to get there,” DeJoria said. “Those are some huge names there but, my gosh, you’ve got to beat the best to be the best. Going back to Phoenix with the success I’ve had there in the past and what we already have with the current Bandero team, there’s an even greater confidence level in just knowing the racetrack, its little quirks here and there. I was also part of the inaugural Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty race there, which we’re a part of this week, is a hell of a confidence booster.”
Television coverage includes qualifying action on FS1 at 10 p.m. ET. on Friday and 12 p.m. on Sunday, leading into eliminations at 6:30 p.m. ET.
To purchase tickets to the FMP NHRA Arizona Nationals presented by NGK Spark Plugs, fans can visit www.NHRA.com/tickets. For more information on NHRA, please visit www.NHRA.com.
This story was originally published on March 18, 2026. 
