Drag racing at super swift and super scenic Brainerd International Raceway produced some major team relief and some milestones during NHRA’s Lucas Oil Nationals.

(Alexis Dejoria collected a rewarding & relieving win during the NHRA Lucas Oil Nationals)

Alexis DeJoria raced her Tequila Patrón Toyota Camry Funny Car to victory and with that became the 250th female to win a national NHRA event and shared the Winners Circle stage with Top Fuel event champion, Leah Pritchett.

Along the way to the Brainerd Winner’s Circle, DeJoria defeated Tim Wilkerson, Cruz Pedregon, John Force and Tommy Johnson Jr. Sunday’s victory was DeJoria’s fifth career Funny Car win and eighth visit to the final round.

The Patrón Funny Car pilot qualified 10th for the Brainerd event and started race day ranked 14th in the NHRA Countdown to the Championship, 48 points out of the No. 10 spot. After defeating Tim Wilkerson in the first round of eliminations, DeJoria found herself in a Countdown-critical matchup with Pedregon. Both DeJoria and Pedregon are part of a fierce five-way battle for the coveted final NHRA Countdown Top 10 spot. DeJoria’s 3.883-second pass easily defeated Pedregon’s 4.505 and advanced Team Patrón to the semifinals.

DeJoria faced John Force in the semifinal round and once again, her expertly-tuned Patrón Camry made another stout run (3.892) and ended the 16-time World Champion’s day.

The final round saw Team Patrón squaring off against Tommy Johnson Jr. Both drivers were quick off of the starting line but Johnson Jr.’s 3.933-second pass was no match for DeJoria’s 3.906.

With the Brainerd victory, DeJoria has moved into the No. 10 Countdown spot and will go into the final event of the regular season defending her Countdown to the Championship berth opportunity, rather than chasing it. DeJoria has a 12-point lead over the 11th ranked Countdown contender.

(The fuel FC final saw Alexis out duel Tommy Johnson Jr)

DeJoria became the 250th female to win a national NHRA event on Sunday and shared the Winners Circle stage with Top Fuel event champion, Leah Pritchett. Sunday’s win marked the first time two female drivers in the nitro categories won the same national event.

“This was a huge win for us,” said Alexis. “All day long I was up against a bunch of badass drivers. There were no gimmes. We got a little bit of luck against Timmy [Wilkerson] in the first round and that’s what we needed. We haven’t had any good breaks lately. Its been hard. I got beat on a holeshot the last two races and that just kills me, but today me and my team, we were all on our game.”

The performance ridden event also included the quickest ET ever seen in Funny Car class racing when Robert Hight broke though the 3.8 secs zone barrier with a pole qualifying and national record setting 3.793 secs ET.

“To be the first – that’s history,” said Hight who went on to a semi final finish on Sunday. “That is a big milestone. It’s going to be a long time before we get into the 3.60s. To be a part of a milestone – I’ve been on John’s teams when he’s cracked barriers, but never done it as a driver – so this is big for me and the whole team. We’re ecstatic.”

(It was the quickest side by side run in FC history – Robert Hight (3.793 secs) – Matt Hagan (3.807 secs)!

Event Essentials:   NHRA Lucas Oil Nationals (August 17-20, 2017) 

Posted with files by Allison McCormick, Lee Montgomery & Bruce Biegler

All photos by Jim Kampmann