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DELRAY BEACH, Fla. (August 13, 2013)— Despite one final and four semi-final round appearances for the Kalitta Motorsports Tequila Patrón Toyota Camry Funny Car team throughout their high-profile career, a visit to the coveted Winner’s Circle has continued to elude the Ypsilanti, Mich. based team, now in their sophomore season.
With just eight events left in the 24-race season, Team Patrón has their sights set on one major goal- win a national event. The team has experienced their share of ups and downs throughout the 2013 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing season, but recent changes to the car has the team feeling optimistic that the chance to pick up their first Wally will happen soon.
That next chance could be this weekend at 32nd annual NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway. Following the grueling Western Swing, the black-and-green team had a weekend off from racing to regroup, refocus and prepare for the ever-popular event, which draws legions of loyal fans to the area.
“The Western Swing didn’t exactly play out the way we were hoping it would,” said DeJoria, an Austin, Texas transplant. “That first round loss in Seattle set us back and was definitely disappointing, especially coming off of our visit to the semis in Sonoma. Thankfully, we were able to make progress with our new chassis over that three race stretch.”
“There are only two races left before the cutoff for the Countdown to the Championship and we sit 169 points out of tenth, so making it into the Top Ten is pretty much an unrealistic goal at this point. Right now we’re just focusing on the positives and we’re going to keep charging forward. Brainerd always draws out such an enthusiastic fan base and the vibe there is great. We’d love to seal the deal and put this Patrón Toyota Camry in the Winner’s Circle this weekend in Minnesota.”
Alexis DeJoria and the Kalitta Motorsports Tequila Patrón Toyota Camry Funny Car team begin qualifying for the 32nd annual NHRA Nationals at 3:30PM CST on Friday, August 16. For more information, please visit www.alexisdejoria.com. Follow us on Twitter: @ADR_Nitro771 and Like Us on Facebook: Alexis DeJoria. Be sure to tune in to the ‘Alexis DeJoria NHRA Racing Report’ every Friday at 1PM EST on www.RaceTalkRadio.com.
TV Schedule
Qualifying
August 17, 11PM-1AM EST
ESPN2
Eliminations
August 18, 9PM-12AM 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.