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DELRAY BEACH, Fla. (October 23, 2013)— A little ‘Vegas luck’ may be all that’s needed for Alexis DeJoria and the Kalitta Motorsports Tequila Patrón Toyota Camry Funny Car team as they head to The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway this weekend for the 13th annual NHRA Toyota Nationals.
The team, which has seen a steady rise in quick, consistent, full passes over the past several races, has just two chances to pull out a win before the 2013 NHRA Mello Yello Series season concludes, and they’re hoping that this could be the weekend where they do just that.
“I’m excited to go back to Vegas,” said DeJoria, an Austin resident whose family keeps a home in Las Vegas. “It’s the second to last race of the year; we only have two more chances to win a Wally before the year’s up, so like always, we’ll give it our all. Our car has been running well at the past few events, so as long as we can keep that up, I think this could be our weekend.”
“We always have a lot of support in Vegas, which is great. Our sponsor Tequila Patrón has their corporate offices there so they’ll come out to the track and cheer us on. Additionally, my father was selected to be the Grand Marshall of this weekend’s NHRA Toyota Nationals- our sponsor’s title race- so he’ll be out there rooting us on as well.”
In addition to family and sponsor support, the team will also host representatives of the Nevada Health Centers (NVHC) in the Patrón pit. NVHC is parking their mammovan (a mobile mammography unit) behind the Alexis DeJoria Racing pit for the duration of the weekend. Any woman over the age of 40 attending the Toyota Nationals will have the opportunity to receive a free mammogram while at the track, regardless of health insurance status. “I’m very grateful that we were able to partner with the Nevada Health Centers this year, and provide this incredible service in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month,” said DeJoria, who will be stopping by the mammovan throughout the weekend to hold hands and provide comfort for those women who may be intimidated about having the necessary screening performed.
Prior to the race weekend, Alexis will spend Thursday making the media rounds, participating in the annual NHRA Fanfest on Fremont Street and appearing at the Las Vegas Airport Liquor Library from 2PM to 3:30PM for a Tequila Patrón bottle signing. Qualifying for the 13th annual NHRA Toyota Nationals begins at 2PM PST on Friday, October 25. For more information, please visit www.alexisdejoria.com
TV Schedule
Qualifying
October 27, 2:30AM-4AM EST
October 27, 3PM-4PM EST
ESPN2
Eliminations
October 27, 8PM-11PM EST
ESPN2
About Alexis DeJoria
Alexis DeJoria, daughter of the famed John Paul DeJoria, co-founder of John Paul Mitchell Systems and proud owner of Tequila Patrόn, is a professional NHRA race car driver, competing in the nitro Funny Car class on the Kalitta Motorsports team. Alexis drives a Tequila Patrόn-sponsored 2013 Toyota Camry. Alexis, who had all the opportunity in the world to pursue any type of career, felt strongly about following her passion, and her need for adrenaline drove her to pursue the unlikely profession of auto-racing. The determination to ‘blaze her own trail’ continues to drive her and push her to higher levels in male dominated sport of drag racing.
About Kalitta Motorsports
Based in Ypsilanti, Mich., Kalitta Motorsports is a Top Fuel and Funny Car drag racing team in the NHRA (National Hot Rod Association) Mello Yello Drag Racing Series. The team was founded and is owned by drag racing icon Connie “the Bounty Hunter” Kalitta. For more than 50 years, Connie has been involved in the sport as a driver, tuner, and an owner. Kalitta Motorsports is one of the most successful teams in the history of auto racing with five world championships and over 50 national event titles in five different professional drag racing sanctioning bodies since it was established by Connie in 1959.